Lift Her Voice

Thursday, March 10 | 7:30 pm
St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church
285 Church St.
Hartford, CT 06103
Free admission

WCF_Benefit2015-17The 2016 Women Composers Festival of Hartford presents “Lift Her Voice,” an evening of music, dance, poetry, and community dedicated to the safety and empowerment of women and children in our city and beyond.

“Lift Her Voice” will feature composers Tatev Amiryan, Margaret Bonds, Sadie Harrison, and Tawnie Olson, vocalists Schauntice Marshall and Anna Hayrapetyan, dancer/choreographer Stephanie Simpson, and chamber music group Cuatro Puntos, along with members of the music team from St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church, WCFH board members, and Hartford residents. Subjects of the performances include the poetry of Langston Hughes, the Armenian genocide, and the censorship of music in Afghanistan. Although some of the material is tragic, the overall message is one of hope for the future through activism and advocacy for the safety and empowerment of women and children.

This concert is our gift to the Hartford community, and is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted and shared with adocacy groups that share our mission, including Catherine’s Place (a women’s shelter connected to St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church) and Cuatro Puntos’ Chamber Music for Peace initiative.

Program

  • “Something to Say” by Tawnie Olson (performed by Shawn Mativetsky) and danced by Stephanie Simpson
  • “Three Dream Portraits” by Margaret Bonds (text by Langston Hughes), performed by Schauntice Marshall and Miguel Campinho
  • “The Girl I Mean to Be” by Lucy Simon, performed by Alice McClure and Miguel Campinho
  • “Lullaby” by Tatev Amiryan, performed by Anna Hayrapetyan and Penny Brandt
  • “Murmuring Bones” for string quartet by Bekah Ann Simms, performed by Cuatro Puntos
  • “Gulistan-e Nur” (The Rosegarden of Light) by Sadie Harrison for string sextet and youth ensemble (Afghan Girls Ensemble, multimedia presentation), performed by Cuatro Puntos
  • choral music performed by the St. Patrick-St. Anthony Choir directed by Gabriel Löfvall
  • “The March of the Women” by Ethel Smyth, group performance