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Julie Pretzat will collaborate
on choral work with composer Richard Einhorn. |
The Artswego Performing Arts Series at SUNY Oswego has
received a $95,000 grant from the New York State Music
Fund to support collaboration between composer Richard
Einhorn and the college to create a multimedia production
based on the life and work of Charles Darwin.
Julie Pretzat, professor and chair of music, is working
with Einhorn on early stages of the choral work, tentatively
titled “The Origin of the Origin,” to debut
at Oswego in March 2008.
Einhorn first collaborated with Pretzat when he brought
his multimedia masterwork “Voices of Light”
to SUNY Oswego in 2004. “Voices of Light”
mixed live music as the “voices” to accompany
Carl Dreyer's 1928 silent film “The Passion of
Joan of Arc.”
“Of all the masterworks of science, none is more
readable than Charles Darwin’s The
Origin of Species,” Einhorn said. “It
is remarkable that no influential composer in the nearly
150 years since its publication has produced a major
work based upon it, as it is filled with literary beauties
and profound insights.”
Just as school boards have debated the teaching of evolution,
Darwin encountered internal conflict as he formulated
his groundbreaking theory, Einhorn said. “During
his own journey of scientific discovery, Darwin raised
the same objections to his theory that are heard today,”
he explained. “Darwin himself is the most qualified
person to confront the weaknesses of Darwin’s
theory; his own opposition to where his science was
heading will form the musical/dramatic core of the work.”
Pretzat said Einhorn will visit classrooms to share
creativity insights, research strategies and other thoughts
with students.
“He does so much background work before he puts
pen to paper,” Pretzat said. “He becomes
an expert on whatever he works on. He also creates very
accessible music.”
Einhorn plans to work with a wide variety of musicians
and scholars to develop the multimedia piece. Between
members of Oswego’s College Choir, Festival Chorus
and College-Community Orchestra, technicians and others
working behind the scenes, organizers estimate nearly
200 people will provide input.
Visiting artists Kitka, a Bulgarian women’s vocal
ensemble, will be key players, helping vocalize Darwin’s
thoughts in the production as part of a cultural residency,
said Mary Avrakotos, Artswego coordinator.
The production is an opportunity for students to be
part of a creative work and to perform a deeper exploration
of the origin of scientific principles, she said.
The Oswego premiere will precede an expected increase
in interest in Darwin’s life and work with the
200th anniversary of the scientist’s birth coming
in 2009.
“I hope to produce a work of musical excellence
and thematic substance,” Einhorn said. “This
one-time opportunity presented by the New York State
Music Fund is truly extraordinary.”
The New York State Attorney General established the
New York State Music Fund at Rockefeller Philanthropy
Advisors. Oswego’s funding is part of $19 million
in a second round of grants resulting from record-company
settlements against “payola” or pay-for-play
charges in past years.
—Tim Nekritz M ’05 |
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