Speaking of Pride

An LGBT concert of writers and composers by the Playground Ensemble. Hear three works by LGBT authors and the composers who have set their works to music:

Miss Furr and Miss Skeene is Gertrude Stein’s whimsical portrait of a lesbian couple she knew in Paris in the early 20th century. Linda Dusman’s percussion music comments playfully and subtly on the hypnotic, repetitive text.

Howl is Allen Ginsberg’s epic masterpiece, a poem that defined the Beat Generation. Written in 1955, its frank depiction of sexuality and drug use shocked the world. Lee Hyla’s violent and angular string quartet music amplifies the intensity of the poem.

Fragments is a new work by local author Miriam Suzanne. Like journal entries, its short, epigrammatic statements are deeply personal explorations of gender and identity: poignant, humorous, challenging, startling. Nathan Hall’s score for string quartet, percussion, and electric bass grooves with elements of pop and minimalist music.