Light and Dark: Musical Poetry in the Modern Eras

Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum is delighted to welcome back performers pianist Michelle Huang and Soprano Susan Payne O’Brien, and welcome first time visiting performers violinist Dawn Posey and cellist Emily Hu for Light and Dark: Musical Poetry in the Modern Eras.

This concert features a wide array of musical works inspired by poems of the 20th century and the contemporary era. Many of the works were written by females and underrepresented composers such as Florence Price, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Nadia Boulanger, and Jennifer Higdon. Explore the duality of light and dark, of love and anguish, reflected in the poetry and the music of the selected works:

• Florence Price Song to the Dark Virgin

• Ruth Crawford Seeger White Moon

• Charles DuParc Invitation au voyage

• Samuel Barber  O Boundless Evening