The Capstone Song Initiative is an annual concert promoting the collaboration between composer and performer. Students and Faculty perform exciting new works by living composers, set to modern texts. The Capstone Song Initiative seeks to explore the soundscape, language, and diverse writing styles of our modern-day composers. Each event features opportunities for the performers to have direct contact with the composer and learn more about that artist’s compositional process.
Check back in the Summer of 2021 for information about the 2021-2022 installment of the Capstone Song Initiative.
Year Three
We were pleased to welcome renowned composer Libby Larsen to UA. Ms. Larsen was in residence at Alabama on April 9 and 10, 2019. Student and faculty artists performed an evening of Larsen songs, narrated by the composer. Ms. Larsen also offered private coachings on her song repertoire and a master class on two of her opera scenes (from Barnum’s Bird and Picnic) which had been performed a few days before by students singers and directors in the UA Opera Theatre program.
Year Two
The second performance in this series was on January 26, 2018, and featured a variety of song selections performed by students and faculty. We hope you were able to be with us for the wonderful celebration of SONG!
Year One
The inaugural event was held on Saturday evening, April 9th, 2016 at 7:30 pm in Bryant-Jordan Hall. The performers included students, UA faculty, and guest artists including:
- Kevin Chance, piano
- Susan Williams, soprano
- Paul Houghtaling, bass-baritone
- David Tayloe, tenor
- Linda Lister, guest artist, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
With UA student artists Cheyna Alexander, Lydia Beasley, Zyda Culpepper-Baldwin, Andrew Nalley, Amy Prickett, Shayna Tayloe, and Paul Wolf, and pianists Jeremey McMillan and Matthew Wilson.
The program featured songs by Zach Redler, Zachary Wadsworth, Libby Larsen, Rick Bassett, Rachel Peters, Evan Mack, Ethan Greene, and Linda Lister. Dr. Lister was with us to perform her own music and Dr. Houghtaling performed the world premiere of two selections from Lister’s song cycle Flags: Summer of 2015.
Thanks for visiting this page. Join us as we continue to celebrate song!