Letters and Specters: Music of Memory and Longing

An evening exploring love, loss, and the supernatural through two song cycles. Kevin Puts’ The Brightness of Light brings O’Keeffe and Stieglitz’s love letters to life, while Michael McAndrew’s world premiere Ghostly Sentiments traces our relationship with ghosts and sentimentality.

The Brightness of Light by Kevin Puts
This compelling song cycle brings to life the intimate love letters exchanged between painter Georgia O’Keeffe and photographer Alfred Stieglitz. The multimedia performance weaves together music and visual art, with Stieglitz’s evocative photographs projected during the baritone solos and O’Keeffe’s iconic paintings illuminating the soprano’s vocal moments. The 45-minute cycle captures the passionate correspondence between these two artistic giants, bringing their words to life through Puts’ sophisticated musical language while surrounding the audience with the very artworks that defined their creative partnership.

Ghostly Sentiments by Michael McAndrew (World Premiere)
This haunting six-movement song cycle weaves together poetry by Jean Blewett, Duncan Campbell Scott, Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, Sara Teasdale, Walter de la Mare, and Elizabeth Jennings. These words become the main emotional thread – in fear, anticipation, reminiscence, uncertainty, and even in prayer, as a reflection on those we leave or have left behind in our own lives. The visual art by Brett Myszkowski and Erin Medley, as well as the eerie lighting create a more familiar atmosphere; stories told by candlelight or by the campfire. On the surface, these can seem like any other ghost stories, but take a much more sentimental journey.

Date: Friday, September 12 @ 7:00 PM & Saturday, September 13 @ 7:00 PM

Location: Northern Liberties Community Center

700 N 3rd St
Philadelphia
19123

Admission: $20