Attention, Birminghamians: I would like to share a bit of *last-minute* concert information with you, for anyone who might be in the mood for some new music this evening! I'm very happy to announce that G. William Bugg and Kathryn Fouse will be performing my 2008 song cycle Songs About God tonight at 7:30, as part of Life Love Loss – the final concert of the Birmingham Art Music Alliance's 2009-2010 concert season.I am deeply grateful to Bill and Kathryn for their willingness to bring these songs forth once again, as they were the catalysts for its commission and subsequent performance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in October, 2008. In addition to the Carnegie premiere, they also performed the work at the University of Alabama at Huntsville, as well as on multiple occasions at Samford University, including one performance that was reviewed by Michael Huebner, music critic for the Birmingham News. In the summer of 2009, Bill went on to perform the songs at a solo recital program during the International Haydn Festival in Vienna, with Beth McGinnis on piano.
The songs themselves are, perhaps, a reflection of homesickness on my part; for whatever reason, I have taken to reading such Southern authors as Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy and John Crowe Ransom with renewed fervor ever since I moved to Los Angeles nearly three years ago. Ransom's early poetry struck a particular nerve, leading me to set four poems from his 1919 collection Poems About God for this particular song cycle.
Although I won't have the privilege of attending tonight's concert in person, my parents are driving over from Atlanta expressly for the occasion (thanks, Mom and Dad for always going to such lengths to support my musical endeavors, even when I'm on the other side of the continent)!
Other performances on the program include James A. Jensen's stirring Lullaby for Louise, as performed by Donald Sanders and Jeffrey Flaniken, along with new works by Craig Biondi, William Price, Cynthia Miller, and Monroe Golden, performed by artists such as Craig Hultgren, Laura Noah, Adam Bowles, Donnie Ashworth and Leonard Candelaria.
As a former member of BAMA, I am deeply grateful to be included on their concert programs from afar – I hope that those of you in the area will be able to go and support this outstanding organization for new music, if you can!
The concert begins at 7:30 this evening (Monday, April 12), and it will be held in the lovely Brock Recital Hall at Samford University. Tickets are $6.00 for adults, $3.00 for students (with ID), and free for all Samford students (with ID).
