Arts & Culture

Composer & poet-in-residence Charles Anthony Silvestri on campus for concert, book signing

The Oglethorpe University Singers and Chorale, in collaboration with the English and Comparative Literature department, welcome guest Poet-in-Residence Charles Anthony Silvestri to campus on April 25 for a concert, poetry reading and book signing.

Charles Anthony Silvestri

Directed by Dr. Timothy Michael Powell, the Singers and Chorale will be joined by soprano and OU affiliate artist Dr. Wanda Yang-Temko and baritone Washington Isaac Holmes for the Georgia premiere performance of the ethereal “Tuvayhun: Beatitudes for a Wounded World,” by celebrated Norwegian composer Kim André Arnesen.

The text for the Tuvayhun is partially in Aramaic, quoting the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, and in English, and featuring poetry by Silvestri. These poems form a response to each Beatitude.

The concert will also feature other poetry and music by Silvestri, including “I Want to Fly”, co-written by Silvestri and Dr. Powell, and available on SoundCloud.

The lyrics in this work are featured in Silvestri’s new book, “A Silver Thread: The Lyric Poetry of Charles Anthony Silvestri,” a retrospective of nearly 20 years of his lyric poetry. Silvestri will give a poetry reading and book signing on April 25, 2-4 p.m. in the Skylight Gallery of Oglethorpe University Museum of Art.

A lyricist, author, and composer, Silvestri has worked with other artists from all over the world to create texts tailor-made for their commissions and specific artistic needs. He enjoys the challenge of solving these creative problems and has provided custom choral texts, opera libretti, program notes and other writing for composers including Oglethorpe’s Dr. Powell, as well as for groups ranging from high schools to the Houston Grand Opera, from the King’s Singers to the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, from Westminster Choir College to Westminster Abbey.

As a clinician, Silvestri speaks to choirs, classes, and concert audiences about his works, the creative process, the marriage of words and music, and about his collaborative relationships with composers.

The poetry reading/book signing event on April 25 at 2 p.m. in the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art, is free and open to the public. Copies of the book will be available for purchase. Tickets for the concert at 8 p.m. in the Conant Performing Arts Center may be purchased online at Thundertix.

This performance is made possible by the generous support of The Colonel Nathan Cooper and Mrs. Ernestine Pitman Cooper Family Foundation. This gift, in support of the Oglethorpe Music Department, was made by David Nathan Cooper ’71 in honor of his parents.

Charles Anthony Silvestri Lecture – Composer and Poet

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