NEWS about Lewis Spratlan

A SUMMER'S DAY was premiered at Boston's Jordan Hall by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Gil Rose, conductor, on May 22, 2009, and recorded two days later for an all-Spratlan BMOP disc.

The Santa Fe Opera has announced that LIFE IS A DREAM, opera in three acts, will receive its world premiere in Santa Fe on July 24, 2010, with subsequent performances on July 28, and August 6, 12, and 19. Leading the cast will be tenor Roger Honeywell, bass John Cheek, and baritone James Maddalena, with soprano Ellie Dehn and tenor Keith Jameson in supporting roles. Leonard Slatkin will conduct. Production by Kevin Newbury; set design by David Korins; costume design by Jessica Jahn; and lighting design by Japhy Weideman.

IN MEMORIAM, for five soloists, double chorus, and orchestra, has been released on the Navona label. This work honors the victims of conquest, past and present, focusing on the Mayans and their lineage. Also on the disc is the piano quartet STREAMING, in a performance from the 2003 Ravinia Festival.

Spratlan has been commissioned by the Yale Glee Club to compose a work celebrating its 150th anniversary, scheduled for a February 2011 premiere. The text is by the celebrated poet Elizabeth Alexander, who wrote and read Barack Obama's inaugural poem, "Praise Song for the Day."