American Landscapes

Presenting works by American composers Libby Larsen, Z. Randall Stroope, and Gwyneth Walker, with special guests Penn High School's Viva Voce and Woodwind Quintet.

Gwyneth Walker’s new work The Great Lakes is a musical journey across the magnificent five lakes bordering the eastern United States and Canada. Texts by American and Canadian poets make up the cantata’s lyrics. The journey moves from East (Lake Ontario) to West (Lake Superior), stopping to explore the unique character of each lake en route. Libby Larsen’s The Settling Years is a three-part collection based on poetry by American pioneers. The texts are full of a kind of raw energy, swashbuckling attitude, and profundity of heart and commitment characteristic of those settlers. Passage is a set of three “poetic landscapes” that reflect on three elements of the great Northwest of the United States—rivers, mountains, and prairies—each distinct, but part of one vast expanse.

Larsen’s piece features and accompaniment woodwind quintet and piano. Walker’s piece is originally composed for large orchestra, but she has transcribed it for winds, piano, and percussion for this concert. Stroope’s piece is for woodwind quintet and string quintet, but he has transcribed the string quintet parts for piano for this concert, which will feature the talented woodwind players of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra.

The excellent advanced chamber choir from Penn High School, Viva Voce, will join us for several of these works. Their conductor, Andrew Nemeth, is a member of the South Bend Chamber Singers. We look forward to this collaboration with other members of our greater South Bend musical community.