Songstruck: Episode 7, Taking Names, Jasmine Barnes & Karen Slack

Episode 11: In this blue room, Kile Smith

Kile Smith's spellbinding jazz-inspired cycle, In this blue room, was commissioned and premiered by Lyric Fest in 2015. Based on poems written in response to artist Laura Madeleine's Batik paintings, the premiere featured Suzanne DuPlantis, mezzo-soprano, Daniel Teadt, baritone, and pianist Laura Ward. For more information, visit https://lyricfest.org/commissions/in-this-blue-room/ [https://lyricfest.org/commissions/in-this-blue-room/].

Episode 10: COTTON, Damien Geter

Lyric Fest’s COTTON is a spellbinding multimedia song-cycle by Damien Geter based on the extraordinary cotton photography of John Dowell. The song cycle features commissioned poems by Nikki Giovanni, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Lauren K. Alleyne, Glenis Redmond, Trapeta Mayson, Afaa Michael Weaver, Alora Young, and Charlotte Blake Alston.  For more information, visit lyricfest.org.

Episode 9: Any of Those Decembers, Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg & Jeanne Minahan

Take a glorious wintry stroll through an extraordinary new song cycle, Any of Those Decembers, from the brilliant young composer, Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg, and Philadelphia poet, Jeanne Minahan.

Songstruck: Episode 8, Dear Future Roommate, Lori Laitman

Celebrated composer Lori Laitman discusses setting a "letter" (in reality, Mike Gioia's college admissions essay) to music is the hilarious song, Dear Future Roommate.

Songstruck: Episode 7, Taking Names, Jasmine Barnes & Karen Slack

Composer Jasmine Barnes and curator and soprano Karen Slack revisit the powerful song, Taking Names, written as a reflection on the murder of Breonna Taylor, as well as the plague of violent deaths of many Black women.