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In 1940, Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola channeled his concern about rising fascism into a choral work, "Canti di Prigionia" (“Songs of Imprisonment”). He wrote the work for a choir to reflect the importance of the voice in resisting totalitarian regimes, using the composition to reflect historically oppressed and imprisoned voices. In 2024, conductor Juliano Aniceto and In the Stacks curator Sam Bessen commissioned a new work by acclaimed composer Elijah Smith, based on texts by incarcerated author Brian Fuller, whose writings first appeared in the American Prison Writing Archive in 2019, joined by thousands of other writings from prisons and jails. This performance, supported by the American Prison Writing Archive and the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, will feature the premiere of Smith’s new work alongside Dallapiccola’s masterpiece to bring a new perspective to voices from within the present-day prison system in the United States.
This musical pairing, performed by the icarus Quartet and the Peabody Choir, will be furthered through a post-performance conversation and a temporary exhibition of rare incarceration-related materials from the Sheridan Libraries Special Collections.
In describing his motivation for composing Canti di Prigionia, Dallapiccola claimed, “Only by means of music would I be able to express my indignation.” This project amplifies what connects us as humans, no matter our past or systems that fail us—humanity.
The performance will be repeated on February 14, 2025 12:30pm at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center (555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC).
Conductor and Music Director: Juliano Aniceto
NEXT Ensemble (Beth Willer, Choir Director)
icarus Quartet: Jeff Stern, Percussion; Matt Keown, Percussion; Larry Weng, Piano; Yevgeny Yontov, Piano
Students at the Peabody Institute
Registration
• Registrations open at 10am, 3 weeks prior to the performance. Capacity is limited.
• Registration is confirmed by email. Please cancel your registration if your plans change so that others may register.
• If the program is sold out, walk-ins will be able to join a standby list on a first-come-first-served basis.
• Unclaimed tickets (regardless of registration) will be released to standby 10 minutes prior to the start of the program. Preregistered guests should arrive early to secure their seats.
• Most standby patrons are able to be accommodated.
• If you require a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this event, please email [email protected] with as much advance notice as possible.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
17 E Mt Vernon Place, Baltimore, MD, United States, Maryland 21202
Tickets
