On Sunday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m., New Yorkers of all ages will take the Zankel Hall stage for All Together: Songs for Joy, a special evening of new and original songs inspired by a new adaptation of Friedrich Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy" by former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith who has reimagined the original poem as a contemporary meditation on community, politics, and spirit.
Continuing a citywide creative learning project that began last fall, the new songs created for this program were written by New Yorkers from
Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) education and social impact programs. Among the songwriters whose works have been selected for the concert are members of Future Music Project Ensemble, a teen collective that comes together weekly in the Hall's Resnick Education Wing to create, perform, and produce original music, and members of
Carnegie Hall's Musical Connections workshop at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Additional songwriters/performers include New York City public school students, WMI teaching artists, songwriters from
Carnegie Hall's Lullaby Project, and teachers who take part in the Hall's Music Educators Workshop. The concert will also feature celebrated mezzo-soprano
Joyce DiDonato and members of Ensemble Connect conducted by
James Ross. This one-night-only concert experience promises to be an uplifting and inspiring evening.
The selected songs-composed in a wide variety of styles from pop to soul to classical to Latin and jazz-explore different themes of joy including acceptance, love, hope, peace, and happiness. The songwriter's original music shows the different expressions and ways that we interact with joy, both as individuals and communities. Listen to demos of these brand new tracks
here.
"This season, songwriters from across New York City have reflected on how joy connects communities and inspires hope, creating visionary songs," said
Sarah Johnson, Chief Education Officer and Director of
Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. "What we're doing by looking at the "Ode to Joy" poem is exploring how the notion of joy can spark conversations that help us to better understand one another." "The songwriters have been inspired by this global project to create music throughout the season to explore both the light and dark themes of the poem in relevant and inspiring song. We can't wait to showcase these incredible new songs on the Zankel Hall stage, celebrating the many songwriters from our WMI community."
"Joy is something that we have to seek, make space for, and welcome," said Tracy K. Smith. "I was excited to be able to work with things that felt so real and pressing in this project, and to be able to ask them to help me get at something joyful. I hope that some of the questions and wishes that drive the poem speak to similar feelings in the reader and listener."
To read Tracy K. Smith's adaptation of the "Ode To Joy" poem, click
here. Listen and read about Tracy K. Smith's artistic process
here.
This April Songs for Joy program is part of
All Together: A Global Ode to Joy, the yearlong, worldwide project led by conductor
Marin Alsop during the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth in which Alsop leads 10 orchestras across six continents as they reimagine Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Each partner orchestra will work with Ms. Alsop to reimagine the concert experience for their own community, incorporating newly created music alongside the symphony and featuring artists from their own region. In each performance, the "Ode to Joy" will be adapted or translated anew into a local language.
