Still Here: Music of Sorrow, Resilience, and Joy

This program presents four musical works that explore the various shades and colors of Sorrow, Joy, and Resilience – and the ways in which they can intimately intertwined with one another. The centerpiece of the program is Jonathan Russell’s 2022 composition “Still Here” for clarinet and piano. Inspired by the courage and resolve of President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian people in the face of Russian aggression, the piece is dedicated to all oppressed peoples in all times and places, who assert through culture, art, music, and community that they are “still here.” Russell’s other composition, “Sonata #2 for Bass Clarinet and Piano” is lighter and groove-driven but with darker underpinnings lurking below the surface. Francis Poulenc’s colorful and character-rich “Sonata for Clarinet and Piano” and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s poignant “Sorrow Songs” round out the program.