Christopher Shepard, conductor
Malcolm J. Merriweather, baritone soloist
The final concert of the season, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, features several commissioned choral works that use the poetry of Walt Whitman. The concert begins with settings of Whitman’s poetry by twentieth century American composers Howard Hanson and Gregg Smith. Along with reprises of two Dessoff commissions from earlier in the season, the second half of the concert will offer two world premieres – a commissioned work by Eve Beglarian and Mathew Aucoin’s commissioned choral excerpts from his critically acclaimed opera, Crossing.
Pre-concert talk: 7:15 pm
Composers Writing to Whitman
Dr. Malcolm J. Merriweather along with
Eve Beglarian
Tania Leon
Douglas Geers
Mathew Aucoin
Song of Democracy Howard Hanson (1896-1981)
Quicksand Years Ian Sturges Milliken (b. 1984)
Whitman’s New York Gregg Smith (1931-2016)
WHITMAN PREMIERE Eve Beglarian (b. 1958)
WHITMAN PREMIERE Tania León (b. 1943)
WHITMAN PREMIERE Douglas Geers (b. 1968)
Crossing Matthew Aucoin (b. 1990)
