On Monday, I had the pleasure of hearing yMusic and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) present a performance of Sarah Kirkland Snider‘s Penelope at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC.  The piece is a 60 minute song cycle loosely based on Homer’s Odyssey with text by Ellen McLaughlin.  Mrs. Worden’s performance was stunning, presenting colors and emotion that not only gave convincing life to the text, but became a vital component of the ensemble texture.

I became compelled to travel to New York for this concert after I listened to a few of the tracks from Penelope recording that were pre-released online.  I was instantly taken by the beauty and expressiveness of the music.  Ms. Snider’s skill and imagination as a composer and  orchestrator in combination with her obvious understanding of popular music have yielded a piece of art that has struck me in a way that I imagine people of an earlier generation must have reacted to West Side Story.  As a 33 year old classically trained musician and music consumer, Penelope is the most compelling version of music during my life that couldn’t have happened until exactly right now.

Because of my role with New Music Raleigh,  I spend a lot of time trying to convince people to consider listening to music beyond the stuff that they already enjoy.  Sometimes that means giving contemporary classical music to people who mostly spend time with rock, or other popular music.  Other times it involves convincing classical music snobs that there are some very talented and creative people making indy rock albums, or that there are people composing jazz that is just as thoughtful and complicated as any piece of classical music.  Penelope is music that requires no conversation.  It is equally for everyone.  I haven’t spent one minute wondering if this person or that person would enjoy it because of their tastes.  I’ve blindly recommended it to everyone without reservations, and I can’t remember ever being able to do that before.

I plan on continuing to support this music, and I intend on making sure that there will be a performance in Raleigh soon.  In the mean time buy the record.