Shenandoah Conservatory’s Assistant Professor of Voice (Soprano) Fotina Naumenko partners with music faculty and guests to present a free faculty recital featuring music based on texts written by women. Part of Shenandoah University’s Women’s History Month celebration, the program features Jennifer Jolley’s Hope is the Thing with Feathers, with text by poet Emily Dickinson; Benedict Sheehan’s Let Evening Come, with text by Jane Kenyon; and Libby Larsen’s The Birth Project, a song cycle that explores the experience of pregnancy, birth and motherhood through the words of various female authors. The program includes artistic collaborators Colin Davin (guitar), Julietta Currenton (flute), Nadia Pessoa (harp), Julian Schwarz (cello), Chelsea Melamed Cushman (soprano) and Alexander Bernstein (piano).

“Libby Larsen’s The Birth Project is a piece that was uniquely created by and for women. It is the only song cycle in the repertoire that explores the experience of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. It was commissioned by sopranos Gwen Coleman Detwiler and Audrey Luna when they realized these common human experiences and themes were completely missing from the canon. I love that it features music and text written by women and explores issues that deeply impact many women’s lives.”

– Fotina Naumenko

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Shenandoah Conservatory uses digital programs for all performances. In addition to their engaging and accessible design, digital programs are cost effective, environmentally friendly and enable us to create and update our programs more efficiently, which means we can focus our resources on the performances you love! View our digital programs by clicking the button above, scanning the QR code in our venue or texting PROGRAM to (540) 307-2336 at the performance. [Note: Digital programs are best viewed on your mobile or tablet device.]