I haven’t been posting for a bit because I have been trying to make progress on my new piece for The Crossing, to be premiered this June here in Philadelphia. But I am lifting up my head from the drafting table to point out that I have a couple of premieres coming up, one with Lyric Fest, the other with Network for New Music. (I’ll write about the Network piece in a future post.) Kiera Duffy, soprano (pictured at left), and Laura Ward, piano, will give the first performances of my Waltzing the Spheres at Lyric Fest concerts Friday, March 28, at Bryn Mawr College’s Goodhart Hall (7:30 pm) and at the Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce Street in Philadelphia (3:00 pm).
At a moment when the voice and piano recital is said to be something of a tough sell, Lyric Fest, like the New York Festival of Song, SongFusion, and SongFest, is an organization finding a good deal of success in its commitment to the medium. Founders Laura Ward, Suzanne DuPlantis, and Randi Marazzo are expert at devising intriguing programs. The upcoming concerts are devoted to settings of American women poets, with some familiar pieces, some little known, and some brand new - besides myself, Abbie Betinis, Benjamin Boyle, Douglas Cuomo, Michael Djupstrom, Daron Hagen and Maurice Wright will have new pieces done.
My text is by Susan Scott Thompson. I first came across the poem when I heard it recited on a Bill Moyers program very shortly after 9/11. I found the text terrifically touching, and immediately knew that I wanted to set it. It took a little while to track down the poem and the author, but I did eventually get a letter from Susan granting permission to set the poem. Sadly, she died a few years ago, and never got to hear this setting. You can read an article by Susan that includes the poem and discusses the PBS use of “Waltzing” here.
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