Court Street Music & Henry Waldinger Memorial Library present words & music by Amanda Gorman, Langston Hughes, Joseph Jones, Leonard Lehrman, Abel Meeropol, Kevin Scott, Edith Segal, Elie Siegmeister in honor of Black History Month.
The concert will include premieres of works by Kevin Scott, Joseph Jones, and Leonard Lehrman performed by mezzo-soprano Patrice Eaton, violinist/violist Daniel Hyman and pianist Leonard Lehrman. Soprano Helene Williams will also be performing in works by Hale Smith, Abel Meeropol, Edith Segal and Elie Siegmeister. Lehrman's setting of Amanda Gorman's poem, "The Hill We Climb," premiered here, is the first, and so far the only setting of the complete poem she wrote for President Joseph Biden's inauguration last year.
2022 First Commission
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Interim for trio and electronics (2022)
New Thread Quartet
Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, soprano saxophone
Erin Rogers, alto saxophone & mentor
Zach Herchen, baritone saxophone
The recipient of the 2022 Composers Now First Commission Award is Ebun Oguntola. Ebun is a 16-year-old contemporary classical composer, violinist, pianist and saxophonist living in upstate New York. Her music was brought to the attention of Composers Now by the founders of Luna Composition Lab, Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid. With mentorship from composer/saxophonist Erin Rogers, Ebun will create a chamber work for the New Thread Quartet that received its world premiere as part of the Opening Event of the 2022 Composers Now Festival.
