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New World Voices


Details

Kyle P. Walker full profile / Solo Piano / 1 musician


Full program notes

New World Voices celebrates the breadth of musical expression tied to America and its cultural intersections. From Blind Tom Wiggins’ Civil War-era virtuosity to Coleridge-Taylor’s spiritual arrangements, Ignatz Waghalter’s rediscovered gems, and Joel Bentley-Thompson’s contemporary voice, this program honors tradition while embracing the future.

Repertoire:
- Franz Liszt – Valse Oubliees
- Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins – The Battle of Manassas
- Antonín Dvořák (arr. Szczepanik) – Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World” (Second Movement: Largo)
- Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – selections from 24 Negro Melodies, Op. 59
- Joel Bentley-Thompson – Three American Preludes


Historical context

New World Voices is a program that explores how composers across time have responded to the idea of “newness” in music. I’m drawn to how each of these voices—whether Liszt’s innovation, Blind Tom Wiggins’s incredible story, Dvořák’s vision of an American sound, or Coleridge-Taylor’s blending of African and European traditions—represents a kind of cultural conversation. These pieces speak to how music travels, transforms, and connects people across generations. I love that this program ends in the present, with Joel Bentley-Thompson’s work, reminding us that this dialogue is still alive today.


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