Alarm Will Sound | Spotlight on "What Belongs to You" by David T. Little @alarmwillsound | Uploaded June 2023 | Updated October 2024, 20 hours ago.
David T. Little, composer
Adapted from the novel by Garth Greenwell
Recorded in 2022 at Washington University in St. Louis
David T. Little (composer / librettist) is “one of the most imaginative young composers” on the scene (The New Yorker), with “a knack for overturning musical conventions” (The New York Times). His operas JFK, Dog Days, and Vinkensport (librettos by Royce Vavrek), and Soldier Songs have been widely acclaimed and performed around the globe, “prov[ing] beyond any doubt that opera has both a relevant present and a bright future” (New York Times).
A 2022 GRAMMY®-nominee, Little has been commissioned by the world’s most prestigious institutions and performers, including recent projects for The Metropolitan Opera / Lincoln Center Theater new works program, The Kennedy Center, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, London Sinfonietta, Alarm Will Sound, ICE, The Crossing, Eighth Blackbird, Kronos Quartet, and Beth Morrison Projects. His music has been presented by the Park Avenue Armory, Holland Festival, Carnegie Hall, BAM Next Wave, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, LA Opera, Opéra de Montréal, and LA Philharmonic.
Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman (soloist) has garnered international attention as a sophisticated and versatile artist, consistently praised for his sensitive and intelligent musicianship, riveting stage presence, and beautiful voice. A 2019 GRAMMY® Award winner, he regularly performs on the world’s stages in orchestral concerts and opera, as well as in recital and chamber music. His growing discography includes his debut solo album, Songs of Orpheus, which was released to international acclaim on the AVIE label. Named “Critic’s Choice” by Opera News, and praised for his “lucid, velvety tenor and pop-star charisma” by BBC Music Magazine, Karim was honored with the 2019 GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. He also appears on the ARTE documentary Leonard Bernstein - A Genius Divided, and his performance of Bernstein’s Mass with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is slated for national televised broadcast in 2020.
Garth Greenwell is the author of "What Belongs to You," which won the British Book Award for Debut of the Year, was longlisted for the National Book Award, and was a finalist for six other awards, including the PEN/Faulkner Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His second book of fiction, "Cleanness," was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and was longlisted for several other awards, including the Prix Sade. A New York Times Notable Book, it was named a Best Book of 2020 by more than thirty publications. Greenwell’s fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and A Public Space, and he has written criticism for The New Yorker, Harper’s, and the London Review of Books, among others. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. A 2020 Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of the 2021 Vursell Award for prose style from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he lives in Iowa City.
Acknowledgements
Commissioning funds for "What Belongs to You" generously provided by the Claytor Family Charitable Foundation and Andrew Martin-Weber.
Alarm Will Sound gratefully acknowledges our individual donors and the following foundations for their support: Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Amphion Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, BMI Foundation, Cheswatyr Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.
Additional Support provided by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Special thanks to Andrew Nogal (oboe), Katherine Jordan (horn), Hajnal Pivnick (violin), Jessica Meyer (viola), Eli Lara (cello), and Greg Chudzik (bass) for their contributions to this performance.
Video shot and edited by Mooshido Films.
David T. Little, composer
Adapted from the novel by Garth Greenwell
Recorded in 2022 at Washington University in St. Louis
David T. Little (composer / librettist) is “one of the most imaginative young composers” on the scene (The New Yorker), with “a knack for overturning musical conventions” (The New York Times). His operas JFK, Dog Days, and Vinkensport (librettos by Royce Vavrek), and Soldier Songs have been widely acclaimed and performed around the globe, “prov[ing] beyond any doubt that opera has both a relevant present and a bright future” (New York Times).
A 2022 GRAMMY®-nominee, Little has been commissioned by the world’s most prestigious institutions and performers, including recent projects for The Metropolitan Opera / Lincoln Center Theater new works program, The Kennedy Center, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, London Sinfonietta, Alarm Will Sound, ICE, The Crossing, Eighth Blackbird, Kronos Quartet, and Beth Morrison Projects. His music has been presented by the Park Avenue Armory, Holland Festival, Carnegie Hall, BAM Next Wave, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, LA Opera, Opéra de Montréal, and LA Philharmonic.
Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman (soloist) has garnered international attention as a sophisticated and versatile artist, consistently praised for his sensitive and intelligent musicianship, riveting stage presence, and beautiful voice. A 2019 GRAMMY® Award winner, he regularly performs on the world’s stages in orchestral concerts and opera, as well as in recital and chamber music. His growing discography includes his debut solo album, Songs of Orpheus, which was released to international acclaim on the AVIE label. Named “Critic’s Choice” by Opera News, and praised for his “lucid, velvety tenor and pop-star charisma” by BBC Music Magazine, Karim was honored with the 2019 GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. He also appears on the ARTE documentary Leonard Bernstein - A Genius Divided, and his performance of Bernstein’s Mass with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is slated for national televised broadcast in 2020.
Garth Greenwell is the author of "What Belongs to You," which won the British Book Award for Debut of the Year, was longlisted for the National Book Award, and was a finalist for six other awards, including the PEN/Faulkner Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His second book of fiction, "Cleanness," was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and was longlisted for several other awards, including the Prix Sade. A New York Times Notable Book, it was named a Best Book of 2020 by more than thirty publications. Greenwell’s fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and A Public Space, and he has written criticism for The New Yorker, Harper’s, and the London Review of Books, among others. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. A 2020 Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of the 2021 Vursell Award for prose style from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he lives in Iowa City.
Acknowledgements
Commissioning funds for "What Belongs to You" generously provided by the Claytor Family Charitable Foundation and Andrew Martin-Weber.
Alarm Will Sound gratefully acknowledges our individual donors and the following foundations for their support: Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Amphion Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, BMI Foundation, Cheswatyr Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.
Additional Support provided by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Special thanks to Andrew Nogal (oboe), Katherine Jordan (horn), Hajnal Pivnick (violin), Jessica Meyer (viola), Eli Lara (cello), and Greg Chudzik (bass) for their contributions to this performance.
Video shot and edited by Mooshido Films.
