Our fifteenth season explores the theme of words in music. Shades of Words features works by Hannah Kendall, Jeffrey Mumford, Andile Khumalo, Jessie Cox, and George Lewis. Some of the compositions pull words from poetry; for example, Kendall’s Even sweetness can scratch the throat takes its title from a poem by poet Ocean Vuong, calling to mind the dichotomy between the sweetness of sugar and the human exploitation it took to produce sugar throughout history. In Andile Khumalo’s Shades of Words, the ensemble develops fragments of spoken poetry through musical textures. The pieces on the program employ a variety of imaginative mediums to weave together words and music, from the use of a narrator, to walkie talkies, to breaking the fourth wall between performers and audience.
Jeffrey Mumford: Undiluted Days (1999-2000)
Hannah Kendall: Even sweetness can scratch the throat (2023)
Jessie Cox: After-were(l)ds (2019)
Andile Khumalo: Shades of Words (2012)
George Lewis: ANTHEM (2011)
Tickets available here.
