COTTON: Denyce Graves, mezzo-soprano and Justin Austin, baritone

Celebrated mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, acclaimed for her riveting performances on the world’s great opera stages, her activism in support of diversity in the arts, and her championing of new music, brings the New York premiere of an immersive exploration of African American stories through song, poetry, and photography.

COTTON is inspired by photographer John E. Dowell’s haunting images of South Carolina cotton fields – captured in his 2018 exhibit Cotton: The Soft, Dangerous Beauty of the Past. The work comprises a song cycle by acclaimed composer Damien Geter – performed by Graves with exciting rising star baritone Justin Austin – with original poems by Nikki Giovanni, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Afaa Michael Weaver, Lauren Alleyne, Charlotte Blake Alston, Glenis Redmond, Alora Young, and Trapeta Mayson, and Dowell’s evocative photographs. A poignant and powerful multidisciplinary work that speaks to the resilience of soul and psyche, led by one of music’s most compelling vocal stars.

COTTON was inspired by the cotton photography of John E. Dowell. The poetry and music were commissioned by Lyric Fest (Philadelphia) in honor of its 20th Anniversary.

TICKETS and INFO

Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 4:30pm

Symphony Center | 220 S Michigan Ave | Chicago, IL

JOEL THOMPSON - In Response to the Madness

SHAWN OKPEBHOLO - CryptOlogiE

DAVE RAGLAND - Eight Tones for Elijah

DAVE RAGLAND - I Believe

JASMINE BARNES - New Work (World Premiere, CSO MusicNOW Commission)

DAMIEN GETER - Annunciation (libretto by Josh Banbury)

CARLOS SIMON - Work to be announced

Link: https://cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-musicnow/montgomery-blacknificent7/

The Recording Inclusivity Initiative (RII) was created by All Classical Portland, a public radio station based in the Pacific Northwest, in collaboration with N M Bodecker Foundation. RII seeks to address the gap of classical music composers and musicians from underrepresented communities that make it into the concert hall and onto the airwaves. With your nominations, we will work together to change America’s playlist by producing new high-quality recordings of classical music by underrepresented composers.

LEARN MORE HERE

August 2023

Co-commissioned by Virginia Opera and Richmond Symphony

DAMIEN GETER - Loving v. Virginia

Libretto by Jessica Murphy Moo

Link: https://vaopera.org/loving-v-virginia/

Saturday, May 27, 2023 – 8:00pm

Grace Church-on-the-Hill
300 Lonsdale Rd, Toronto

The closing concert for the 2022-23 season will feature:

• The Chariot Jubilee – R. Nathaniel Dett

• I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes & Shout For Joy – Adolphus Hailstork

• and the Canadian Premiere of Cantata for a More Hopeful Tomorrow – Damien Geter

TICKETS AND INFO

Damien Geter’s brand new work for harpsichord and strings pays tribute to Baroque techniques with a funky twist. The musicians of the Seattle Symphony pair it with J.S. Bach’s famous Goldberg Variations — intricate, ingenious and forming a great imaginative arc.

>MORE INFO & TICKETS

New Multi-Media Work Inspired By The Cotton Photography Of Philadelphia Artist John Dowell

For its 20th Anniversary LF has commissioned an extraordinary new song cycle by Damien Geter that brings together music, poetry, and the fine art photography of John Dowell. Featuring Metropolitan Opera stars Denyce Graves and Justin Austin, and with Laura Ward, piano.

Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, D.C.
February 28, 2023 @ 7:30 pm

New Multi-Media Work Inspired By The Cotton Photography Of Philadelphia Artist John Dowell

For its 20th Anniversary LF has commissioned an extraordinary new song cycle by Damien Geter that brings together music, poetry, and the fine art photography of John Dowell. Featuring Metropolitan Opera stars Denyce Graves and Justin Austin, and with Laura Ward, piano.

The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral
February 25, 2023 @ 7:30

Russell Thomas at the Colburn

A Recital

Zipper Concert Hall 200 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

Russell Thomas will be performing a commissioned work “Visions” from the Fever Dream, by Damien Geter. (Words by Josh Banbury)

Russell Thomas to Give Recital at LA Opera | January 30, 2023 OPERA WIRE

>For more info and tickets

Tune in to All Classical Portland 89.9 on Thursday, February 16, 2023, at 7:00 PM PT for a special encore broadcast of Damien Geter’s powerful An African American Requiem. Listen at 89.9 FM in Portland or from anywhere in the world via our mobile app or the live player on our website.

The broadcast is hosted by All Classical Portland’s Suzanne Nance and WQXR’s Terrance McKnight, and produced by Sarah Zwinklis and Eileen Delahunty. The world premiere broadcast has also been made available for syndication to public radio stations throughout the U.S.A, at no cost to carrying stations, ensuring broad access to and amplification of Geter’s important work.

>MORE INFO

This profound work by Damien Geter was recently premiered May 7 by the Resonance Ensemble and Oregon Symphony, and is the first Requiem to honor African Americans who have lost their lives due to racial violence. Mr. Geter has integrated the traditional Latin Requiem with contemporary text, such as Ida B. Wells speech from 1909, Lynching is Color Line Murder, civil rights declarations, poetry, and the famous last words of Eric Garner and now George Floyd, “I can’t breathe”. The music is infused with elements of jazz, gospel, and spirituals. Presented in 19 movements, the Requiem will be conducted by Mr. Geter himself with soloists Bernard Holcomb, Karmesha Peake, Brandie Sutton, Thomas Cannon, poet and heARTivist Dr. S. Renee Mitchell, the Fort Worth Opera Chorus, prepared by Alfrelynn Roberts, and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. This epic symphonic social commentary will honor past and present victims of racial violence and spur reflection on how to build a more hopeful future.

TICKETS AND INFO

A MORE HOPEFUL TOMORROW (Oct. 22, 2022)

The Singers launch their 19th season with a concert that features Damien Geter’s Cantata for a More Hopeful Tomorrow– a work about COVID’s dramatic impact on the Black community, and how we all work to heal and recover. The score draws inspiration from J.S. Bach, African American spirituals, and the words of Walt Whitman. Also on the program are works uplifting works by Jocelyn Hagen, Scott Senko, Karen Marrolli, and Paul Rudoi.

TICKETS AND INFO

CONCERT – DAMIN SPRITZER – HOLY ROSARY, EDMONDS – KILGEN ORGAN

July 5 @ 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm

July 5, 2022 at 3:00 pm

TICKETS AND INFO

JUSTICE & PEACE

Kennedy Center Concert Hall | Sunday, June 12, 2022 at 5 pm

The program opens with the world premiere of Become the Sky by Roshanne Etezady, then moves to the DC premiere of “Justice Symphony” by Oregon composer Damien Geter, a recent composer with Washington National Opera American Opera Initiative. The program concludes with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ stunning cantata “Dona Nobis Pacem,” a cantata for chorus, orchestra, and soloists that is a true cry for peace.

For more information: click here

This will premiere on April 7, 2022

New choral music by a range of groundbreaking contemporary composers is at the core of the critically acclaimed Pacific Chorale’s trailblazing 2021-22 season, which opens on October 30. The resident choir at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, CA, conducted by Artistic Director Robert Istad, presents two world premieres by Tarik O’Regan, West Coast premieres by Damien Geter and Frank Ticheli plus works by a number of other leading composers.

website

Fridays with 45th Parallel

February 12, 2021 @ 6:00 PM PST

This Friday our tribute to Black History Month continues with the virtuoso women of mousai REMIX performing Neo Soul, featuring music of Portlander Damien Geter, Nia Imani Franklin, and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson.

Join us on Facebook or Youtube.

WORKS

Damien Geter: Neo Soul
Nia Imani Franklin: Burgundy in Autumn
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson: String Quartet No. 1 “Calvary”

PERFORMERS

Emily Cole, violin
Shin-young Kwon, violin
Jennifer Arnold, viola
Marilyn de Oliveira, cello