At The Soraya, we’re helping to make history. Students of music, dance, and American culture know that few individuals contributed more to the advancement of art in the 20th century than Martha Graham. Over the course of many decades, Graham commissioned musical compositions for all of her dances, by some of the great composers such as Copland, Menotti, Barber, Hindemith, and others. In that vein, The Soraya has co-commissioned Jason Moran, a familiar pianist and composer to our audiences, to create a new score for Canticle, which will have its world premiere at The Soraya on March 19, prior to opening in New York and then touring the world.
In my role as Artistic Director, one of my favorite jobs is introducing artists to each other, sometimes from different disciplines or even different parts of the world. Jason Moran and the Martha Graham Company seemed like a natural fit. Just as, many years previous, introducing conductor Christopher Rountree and his ensemble Wild Up, promised to be fruitful. On March 19, they will all be together in one evening. I might feel like a proud matchmaker on that occasion.
I recently had lively conversations with Martha Graham Dance Company’s Artistic Director Janet Eilber and separately with Jason Moran to learn a little bit more about their collaboration on Canticle.
Gratefully,
