Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Richard Russell Awarded a Commission by Fordham University's Poets Out Loud

Founded in 1992, Fordham University's Poets Out Loud is charged with the mission "...to bring a public audience to Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus and to foster the appreciation, creation, and study of poetry both within the University and in the wider NYC community."

In Fall 2009, Poets Out Loud put out a call for scores for composers interested in collaborating with the poets of their organization. I am delighted to announce that I was awarded a commission for this project, and I was paired with poet Elisabeth Frost. I selected three of her poems and composed a cycle called "Time is Not an Option."

The premiere will be Saturday, April 24 at 7:30pm at Fordham University's Lincoln Center Campus, Columbus Avenue at 60 Street, in the 12th Floor Lounge. The concert is free and open to the public.

The performers will be sopranos Clarissa Lyons and Ilana Zarankin, with Shun-Yang Lee on piano. Other composers on the bill include Martin Hennessy, Alexander Nohai-Seaman, Lawrence Kramer, and Mary Ann Joyce-Walter. In addition to my collaborator, Elisabeth Frost, other featured poets are Heather Dubrow, Edward Hirsch, Janet Kaplan, and D. Nurkse.

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