Dating back to the tenure of Danish composer Asger Hamerik as the Conservatory’s second director, composition has a long and storied history at Peabody. Over the years, students, faculty, and alumni have produced groundbreaking, prize-winning, and influential work in a wide variety of formats and genres. Throughout this year, Peabody celebrates 150 years of composition with a series of concerts and special events focused on the work of Peabody composers, beginning in October with a Peabody Symphony Orchestra reading and performance of student compositions and a short residency with the Talea Ensemble. The Peabody Archives of the Arthur Friedheim Library have curated an archival exhibit on campus and an online resource guide where you can explore the works of Peabody composers. And stay tuned for special content in Peabody Magazine celebrating the legacy of composition at Peabody.

It seems the only place to begin today’s message is to simply say how thrilled and grateful we are to be back on the Peabody campus, together as a community after these many months. Nearly 750 students are on campus and already deeply engaged with the semester’s work, greeting old and making new friends, and studying with our fabulous faculty to advance their artistic and career objectives. This resonated so clearly this past week, which began with Convocation. This was actually the first time I, and most others, had experienced live performance in a year and a half. Three beautiful student and faculty performances marked the occasion – that’s when it really struck me that we’re back. That feeling has continued as I’ve met and chatted in the halls with faculty, staff, and students for the first time in so many months. And it is just so palpable to see how important it is to our students to have been able to resume their education and training in person. I could see it on the faces of every one of the students in my Arts Leadership Today class, which also had its first meeting last week.

As I noted in my comments at Convocation, I just marvel at how well Peabody came through the last 18 months. That just would not have happened without the determination of our students, the commitment of our faculty, and the strength of a staff to do whatever it took to make the work of our students and faculty possible. But now we are back. And all of us are determined to make this year a great one – and perhaps with an even deeper appreciation for what it means to be truly together as a community.

Fred Bronstein, Dean

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra will give the world premiere of Assistant Professor of Composition Felipe Lara’s Double Concerto, featuring Esperanza Spalding, voice and double bass, and Claire Chase, flutes. The Double Concerto was jointly commissioned by the HPO and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and both Chase and Spalding contributed to the composition process in a highly collaborative creative effort. The performance will be streamed to YouTube and on the orchestra’s website.

Richard and Elizabeth Case Chair of Jazz Studies Sean Jones and faculty artists Nasar Abadey and Richard Johnson are performing in the Billie Holiday Project for Liberation Arts’ Third Annual Billie Holiday Tribute Jazz Concert. The free event at Baltimore’s Lafayette Square Park is a musical celebration of the rich and important legacy of Billie Holiday.

The Johnstown Symphony Orchestra performs Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” during a Twentieth Memorial Tribute Concert at the Flight 93 National Memorial. The event, free and open to the public, will be livestreamed. The orchestra will also perform works by Gustav Mahler, Samuel Barber, and George Walker during a Luminaria Ceremony at the Memorial on the evening of September 10. Jessica Satava (MM ’04, Voice) is the orchestra’s executive director.

Todd Craven’s (GPD ’18, Conducting) tenure as music director and conductor of the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra begins with the celebratory first performance of the NFSO's 35th anniversary season, featuring works by Peter Boyer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Patrick Harlin, and Ottorino Respighi. Tickets to the concert, held at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center in Niceville, Florida, are available online.

Soprano Kerri Lynn Slominski (BM ’09, Voice) and Alex Kuczynski, piano, perform Francis Poulenc’s one-act opera La Voix Humaine as part of the 2021 Rochester Fringe Festival. Tickets to this in-person event, staged at Rochester’s MuCCC, are available online.

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Peabody Notes highlights select off-campus performances featuring Peabody performers. For other events, please visit our Peabody Conservatory Facebook page.