Bellringer: The Poetry of Rita Dove

Early Music Access Project collaborates with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove for a program that celebrates the intersection of poetry and music. Composer and bass-baritone Jonathan Woody will perform the world premiere of his own new work, a setting of Dove’s poem “Bellringer”. This poem honors the life of Henry Martin, an enslaved bell ringer at the University of Virginia’s Rotunda who was born at Monticello the day Thomas Jefferson died. Dove has also curated a selection of poems that will be heard throughout the remainder of the program, with musicians from Early Music Access Project providing a wide range of musical responses, including music from Shakespeare plays.
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In addition to Jonathan Woody, baroque violinist David McCormick, viola da gamba player Loren Ludwig, and double bassist Sam Suggs will perform.