April 25, 2011 (REVISED May 6, 2011) Concert to Feature River of Words Poems Set to Music

The River of Words environmental poetry and art contest has been a project of the Center for the Book since 1996. Students from around the world are asked to write a poem or create a piece of art inspired by their local environment.

Now, some of those poems have been set to music by young composers under the mentorship of renowned composer Libby Larsen as part of the Youth Inspiring Youth program. Larsen is a former fellow of the Library’s Kluge Center. The songs will be performed as part of a concert on Monday, May 9, at 7:30 p.m., with WomenSing from San Francisco and the Peabody Children’s Chorus at St. Patrick’s Church, located at 619 10th St. N.W., Washington, D.C. The concert is free and open to the public; no tickets are required. More information is available at St. Patrick’s website at www.saintpatrickdc.org/calendar.shtml External.

Youth Inspiring Youth is a four-year-old collaboration between River of Words and the award winning California-based treble chorus WomenSing. The concert will be conducted by WomenSing’s musical director, Martin Benvenuto."

Following is the complete program. The River of Words songs are listed under “Youth Inspiring Youth.”

Historical
¡Ay Santa María! by Cancionero de Palacio
Vere languores nostros by Antonio Lotti
Kyrie/Gloria by Josef Rheinberger

20th Century/Contemporary
Nigra Sum by Pablo Casals
Ave Maria by Ko Matsushita
Laudamus in Domine by Eve & Austrina
Laudate Dominum by Javier Busto
Jack’s Valentine by Libby Larsen

Youth Inspiring Youth
Wit and Fright, music by Ryan Harper, words by Eric Pierson
Unseen Secrets, music by Joshua Fishbein, words by Quinn Whitlow
A Precious Pearl, music by Lauren McLaren, poem by Mirabai Britton

Popular/Spiritual
The Water of Tyne, arr. by Michael Neaum
Amazing Grace, arr. by Ron Jeffers
No Time, arr. by Susan Brumfield

Since its creation by Congress in 1977 to “stimulate public interest in books and reading,” the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress (www.Read.gov/cfb/) has become a major national force for reading and literacy promotion. A public-private partnership, it sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages, nationally and internationally. The center provides leadership for 52 affiliated state centers for the book (including the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and nonprofit reading-promotion partners and plays a key role in the Library’s annual National Book Festival. It also oversees the Library’s Read.gov website and administers the Library’s Young Readers Center.