One of America’s finest song composers, Ned Rorem died in 2022 just short of his 100th birthday. Lyric Fest honors his legacy by presenting Evidence of Things Not Seen on what would have been the composer’s 100th birthday. This concert-length cycle of songs includes all-English texts drawn from a rich and diverse collection of 24 authors, from Penn, Whitman and Hughes to contemporary poets Mark Doty and Paul Monette. Performed without intermission, the performance features five accomplished song recitalists for a moving experience of an important work. With soprano Miriam Gordon-Stewart, mezzo soprano Brenda Paterson, tenor William Ferguson, baritone Randall Scarlata, and Laura Ward, piano
“After just one hearing, I will rashly proclaim it one of the musically richest, most exquisitely fashioned, most voice-friendly collections of songs I have ever heard by any American composer.” Peter G. Davis, New York Magazine