|| Venue Information ||
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
Date:January 17, 2006
Venue: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Venue Web Site: www.ordway.org
Seating Capacity: 1900
|| Highlights ||
The fourth city on the Library of Congress’s “Song of America” concert tour itinerary was St. Paul, Minnesota. On Tuesday, January 17, 2006, the Educational Outreach team presented “Making a Statement through Song and Poetry,” a one-day institute designed to guide K-12 teachers on using the song and poetry resources digitized on the Library’s website in their classroom activities. In addition to the Institute, which was held at the Minnesota Humanities Commission, the teachers were invited to attend a luncheon with special guests Librarian of Congress Dr. James H. Billington and Congresswoman Betty McCollum, who delivered the keynote address.
The “Song of America” concert, featuring baritone Thomas Hampson, was part of The Schubert Club’s International Artist Series and took place at St. Paul’s Ordway Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, January 17, 2006. A pre-concert symposium launched the evening’s performance, with composers Libby Larsen and Steven Paulus as panelists and Brian Newhouse, Minnesota Public Radio, as the moderator. The programming for the concert was unique in that Thomas Hampson and pianist Wolfram Rieger gave the world premiere of Stephen Paulus’s A Heartland Portrait, a cycle of four songs set to texts by current Poet Laureate Ted Kooser.
Concert attendees were also able to view the Library of Congress’s “Treasures on Tour,” a display of original manuscripts from the collections of the Music Division. Among the treasures on display at the Ordway Center included the holograph, or original, manuscript of Minnesota-native Arthur Farwell’s 2 Blake Songs, as well as the copyright deposit of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.”