Samuel Barber: Knoxville: Summer of 1915

James Agee’s essay is a dreamy, conversational, almost improvisatory piece of prose reflecting on summers spent with his family at their home in Tennessee.

Orchestral Music, Vocal MusicChris MyersMarch 16, 2016Barber, Knoxville, Voice, 20th Century Music, American Composers, Agee, Orchestral Music

The Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein

Their songs and stories have become such an integral part of our culture that it is easy to forget how revolutionary the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were.

Vocal Music, Orchestral Music, Musical TheaterChris MyersFebruary 6, 2015Rodgers & Hammerstein, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Musical Theater, Theater, Voice, Carousel, Sound of Music, South Pacific, Oklahoma!, The King & I, Orchestral Music

Richard Wagner: Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music from Die Walküre

Few scenes in opera present the conflict between love and duty quite so touchingly as the finale of Die Walküre.

Orchestral Music, Vocal MusicChris MyersSeptember 25, 2014Wagner, Die Walküre, Wotans Abschied, Wotan's Farewell, Magic Fire Music, Opera, Romantic Music, Orchestral Music, The Valkyrie

Benjamin Britten: Canticle III: Still falls the Rain

An academic analysis of the work written to accompany a lecture-recital.

Chamber Music, Vocal MusicChris MyersJuly 10, 2012Britten, British Composers, English Composers, Sitwell, Voice, Piano, Horn, Chamber Music, Canticle, Still falls the Rain

Program Notes