As many of our regular readers know, 2012-13’s Annual Art Song Contest was our third collaboration with Chicago’s Singers On New Ground (SONG), an organization that promotes new composers working with art song. Each year, SONG and Memorious bring together poets and composers for a collaborative work that is performed in Chicago and recorded for publication in Memorious. This year, SONG director Eric Malmquist selected composer Brian Baxter as our guest composer. Entry to this free contest was open to all poets, and the Memorious staff screened the entries to pass on to Baxter, who selected Phoebe Reeves, Keith Leonard, Sam Cha, and Tyler Mills as the finalists, and Richie Hofmann as the winner.
On May 10, 2013, the third annual Ars Poetica concert from SONG and Memorious was brought to the Poetry Foundation, offering an evening of art song by various poets and composers, and featuring Baxter’s setting of Hofmann’s “Old World Elegy.” The piece was performed by Angela Tomasino and Chicago Q Ensemble, which consists of Kate Carter (violin), Ellen McSweeney (violin) , Bridget Callahan (viola), and Sara Sitzer (cello).
The evening also included Alison Wahl, Kate Carter, and Bridget Callahan performing former Memorious Art Song Contest guest composer Luke Gullickson’s setting of former contributor Chloe Honum’s poem “Spring;”Allison Wahl and Chicago Q Ensemble performing Seth Boustead’s setting of two Laura Kasischke poems; Jenna Lyle and Ellen McSweeney performing Lyle’s setting of Virginia Conchan’s poem “Aqualung;” and Alison Wahl and Chicago Q Ensemble performing Eric Malmquist’s setting of editor Rebecca Morgan Frank’s “Payatas.” For more pictures from the evening at the Poetry Foundation. visit the Memorious Facebook page.
You can read Richie Hofmann’s winning poem, and listen to Brian Baxter’s setting of “Old World Elegy” in the new issue of Memorious, where you can also read poems by our four art song finalists.
Many thanks to the Poetry Foundation, SONG, and Eric Malmquist, as well as all of the composers, musicians, and poets, especially Brian Baxter and Richie Hofmann, Angela Tomasino, Kate Carter, Ellen McSweeney, Bridget Callahan, and Sara Sitzer, for their generosity in helping us bring to you this stunning collaboration. We are grateful to be a home for all of their talent and hard work.
MEMORIOUS: A JOURNAL OF NEW VERSE & FICTION 