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Fall 2009

November 12, 2009
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Nashville Opera
TPAC’s Polk Theater

Based on the famous story by Edgar Allan Poe, composer Philip Glass has crafted a chamber opera of great power and emotion. As the opera begins, William, our narrator, is summoned to the House of Usher by his long-time and long-lost friend, Roderick Usher. Once there, as the dark secrets slowly unfold, William begins to fear for his friend’s life and for his own sanity. Danger, eroticism and potential murder hang in the air, or is it all an illusion? 
Spend your lunchtime with artistic director John Hoomes of the Nashville Opera as he gives us a glimpse into The Fall of the House of Usher. Hoomes will be joined by production designer Barry Steele, and Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English, Michael Kreyling.

 

Thursday, October 15, 2009
Soundscaping with Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR)
TPAC’s Polk Theater

Known for fusing his classical music roots with a myriad of soundscapes, Haitian-American composer/musician and Vanderbilt alumnus Daniel Bernard Roumain(DBR) has carved an international reputation as a leading innovative composer and violinist of our time.

DBR will talk about his life’s journey through music and demonstrate his hybrid musical style in a demonstration /performance designed to introduce Nashville audiences to his work  Darwin’s Meditation for the People of Lincoln , a quartet concerto he conceived and composed, and will perform for the Vanderbilt Great Performances Series in Ingram Hall at the Blair School of Music on Saturday, October 17. VU Orchestra Conductor Robin Fountain joins DBR for this unique presentation, and Bridgette Kohnhorst, director of the Vanderbilt Great Performances series, moderates the discussion.

Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln – two extraordinary men – were born within hours of one another on the same auspicious day, February 12, 1809. If one traced the origin of the human species, the other sets its destination in motion. DBR brings them face-to-face for an orchestral event of historic proportions, incorporating original texts from Darwin and Lincoln. The October 17 concert performance- a unique collaboration with the Blair School of Music - is directed by D.J. Mendel and DBR, will feature the acclaimed Haitian pop singer Emeline Michel, original video by Yuki Nakajima, and will be accompanied by the Vanderbilt Orchestra, conducted by Robin Fountain.