Lyle to present Composers Forum at Converse

On Monday, April 6th at 7:30 p.m., Dr. Susan Lyle of Converse’s Petrie School of Music will present the third concert in a series entitled “Composers I Know” in Daniel Recital Hall on the Converse College campus. She will be assisted by faculty, colleagues, and friends who will join her to portray new and exciting compositions by wonderful composers who have a personal connection to her. The concert is free and open to the public.

The “Composers I Know” series is increasingly popular for its unique and explorative nature.

The first set of songs on the program is by Converse faculty member David Berry. Both the songs and texts were written specifically for Lyle’s mezzo-soprano.

The second sets of songs entitled Burrows Hill – Three Songs for Mezzo-Soprano, Clarinet, Violin and Piano, are by Lawrence Rackley, a former theory professor of Lyle’s who has remained a dear friend and is making a special trip to attend the concert.

The third set is a song cycle by Paul Ayres with whom Lyle came into contact while touring with the Converse Chamber Singers in London, England. The choir performed a piece for Women’s Chorus entitled “Cantate Domino.” Ayres then arranged for the Singers to perform a concert at St. George’s Church, the church Handel attended while living in England. The cycle is called Artemisia for Mezzo-Soprano and String Trio. It is a very poignant cycle that depicts the tragic and emotional story of a woman painter who was raped by her teacher, the subsequent trial and the change of style in her art after the rape. The texts by Sue Powell will be alternately sung or read aloud.

The concert will end on an upbeat and humorous note with songs by Jon Jeffrey Grier, Grier was a classmate of Dr. Lyle and a composition student of Lawrence Rackley. The set is called Voices from the Village for Female Voice and Piano. The texts are taken from real personal ads that were placed in the popular New York Newspaper The Village Voice.