Alecia Lawyer talks about the World Premiere of Paul English’s Lumiere Lunaire

I am very excited about our premiere by Paul English.  Many Houstonians know him as a fabulous jazz pianist. He is a brilliant musician, no matter the genre. 

When I asked him to write ROCO a piece, I gave him carte blanche.  I did, however, give him a book of poetry by Jo Ann Falletta, a great conductor who has collaborated with ROCO numerous times.  She wrote beautiful poems about her conducting experiences with people and pieces and places.  One piece called to Paul. This year 2012, is the 100th anniversary of Pierrot Lunaire, an iconic work by Schoenberg that changed the coarse of chamber music composition in the early 1900’s.  Joanne wrote a great poem about the piece and Paul has now set this poem to music.  One of the many surprises in the work, entitled Lumière Lunaire in deference to the homage, is that the orchestra members get to sing during the piece.  In fact, five of us get to wear lavaliere mics and speak in German (actually Sprechstimme, a singing way of saying German). 

I really look forward to the piece, and especially to our audiences reaction to something this interesting and dramatic. See you February 18th or 19th!

Best,
Alecia