Composer-conductor Michael Conley: Strip mining is “a tragedy that diminishes us all.”
“APPALACHIAN REQUIEM,” a new work for chorus and orchestra responding to the environmental consequences of strip mining in Appalachia, will have its world premiere on Sunday, May 7, at 3 p.m. It will be performed by the Calvary Presbyterian Church choir and orchestra at the church at 2515 Fillmore.
Composer Michael Conley is also the music director at Calvary. He assumed the position in 2015, succeeding Alden Gilchrist, who served the church for more than 60 years until his death in 2014.
“I went to college on the outskirts of Appalachia and my parents still live there,” says Conley. “It was important for me to give voice to the farmers and miners whose homes, lives, hopes, traditions and physical environments have been permanently erased,” Conley says. “It is a tragedy that diminishes us all.”
He says of his new composition: “The piece follows the normal order of a Latin requiem mass, but I draw its texts from Appalachian poets and inspiration from traditional Southern hymns, folk music and Native American chants.”
The concert, entitled “From These Mountains,” will also include performances of Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” and “Southern Grace” by Pulitzer-Prize winning composer Jennifer Higdon.
A pre-concert talk, “Of Mountains, Mines and Music: Appalachia in Crisis” will be presented on Saturday, May 6, at 3 p.m. at Calvary by Conley and Earthjustice attorney Marie Logan. The talk is free. The suggested donation for the concert is $20.
Filed under: Music