SMITH
Piedmont University will premier an original musical work titled “How Am I to Be Heard?” about the life and pioneering work of civil rights activist Lillian E. Smith.
Smith was a writer who penned the best-selling novel “Strange Fruit,” about an interracial relationship that takes place in Georgia in the 1920s. She was also active in the Civil Rights Movement and a friend of Martin Luther King Jr.
Smith studied at Piedmont University, which is home to the Lillian E. Smith Center, an educational facility and artists’ retreat in Clayton.
“How Am I to Be Heard?” is the brainchild of Piedmont University President James F. Mellichamp, an accomplished music scholar and organist.
“Social justice issues are as important today as they were when Lillian E. Smith was writing about them almost 80 years ago. Piedmont’s core values speak about the need for embracing a diverse society, for the development of empathy, and responsibility toward ourselves and others,” Mellichamp said.
To bring “How Am I to Be Heard?” to life, Piedmont has recruited an all-star creative team.
Composer Mary Carol Warwick has written several pieces for the Houston Grand Opera. Her works have been performed throughout the U.S and abroad, and in 1989, NASA commissioned her to write a wake-up call for astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Discovery.
Librettist Kate Emery Pogue has completed commissions for the Houston Grand Opera, among other organizations.
Stage Designer and Director Rebecca Herman made her directing debut in 2012 with Trouble in Tahiti at the Tulsa Opera. Narrator Anthony Turner has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Piedmont Music Professor Andrea Price will be the soloist. She will be joined on stage by the Piedmont Singers and chamber orchestra. Dr. C. Wallace Hinson, director of Piedmont’s Conservatory of Music and associate dean of the School of Fine Arts, will conduct the performance.
“How Am I to Be Heard?” is being written as an oratorio, a style of performance similar to opera, but without costumes and elaborate staging. Instead, projection and interpretive dance will provide the visual elements of the show. “In other words, it will be a multimedia performance that will be very captivating,” Mellichamp said.
Performances of “How Am I to Be Heard?” will take place April 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Swanson Center on Piedmont’s Demorest campus, 1021 Central Ave.