The MIT Chamber Chorus, directed by William Cutter, will present the premiere of Libby Larsen's "The Nothing That Is" (2004) at its spring concert on Saturday, May 8 at 8 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium. The work for baritone, small chorus and chamber ensemble, commissioned by Brad Endicott (S.B. 1949) and Dorothea Endicott for MIT's music and theater arts section, will feature soloist Thomas Jones.
The Minnesota-based Larsen, who received the 2003 Eugene McDermott Award from the Council for the Arts at MIT (see MIT Tech Talk, Oct. 22, 2003), is a popular visitor to MIT's music section. During Larsen's most recent residency at MIT from April 5 to 9, she met composition students, coached her works at rehearsals and visited music classes.
"Libby is one of those composers who makes the effort to know the people who choose to perform her work," said Dorothea Endicott. "Not only does she compose music that optimizes their technical and musical abilities, she also seeks to produce a work of art that will bring the greatest meaning to those who engage in it.
"We wanted students to have the excitement of performing a new work for the very first time," Endicott continued. She and her husband also wanted to "officiate Libby's long and loving relationship with MIT," she added.
The program will also include Aaron Copland's "In the Beginning" with mezzosoprano Aliana de la Guardi, and Barber's "Mary Hynes" and "To Be Sung Upon the Water."
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 5, 2004.
