Tell Me What Democracy Looks Like

Pierrot Plus Ensemble

Alexis Lamb

About

Peaceful protests have long been a legacy of America’s democracy. Protests serve as a way for voices to be heard and for communities to come together to acknowledge, support, and work towards a more just society. This piece is a tribute to the progress that has come from peaceful protests over the years, but it also is a call to action: we still have a lot of work to do before our democracy can truly meet the needs of every American.

I wrote a song the night I found out about Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s passing, and that song is the foundation of this piece. May her memory be a blessing, and may her life’s work continue to influence progress in our democracy.

Other text is derived from American public protests as well as the following Supreme Court cases: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1968-69); Bazaar v. Fortune (1973).

Performance

Alexis Lamb Tell Me What Democracy Looks Like
  Duration
13:00
  Commissioning Year
2021
  Premiere
March 26, 2022
Gould Rehearsal Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, PA
  Recording
March 26, 2022
Gould Rehearsal Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, PA

Artists

  • Alexis Lamb Composition

    Alexis C. Lamb (b. 1993) is a composer, percussionist, and educator whose work seeks to cultivate a connectedness to natural, historical, and societal relationships. Her music incorporates a variety of mediums, such as oral histories, field recordings, improvisation, and community input. Lamb’s music has been regarded as “a pleasure in its own right” with “sparkling optimism throughout” (I Care If You Listen).

    As a composer, Lamb has collaborated with numerous ensembles and individuals, including Third Coast Percussion, Aizuri Quartet, Opera Omaha, Albany (NY) Symphony, Vera Quartet, Camilla Tassi, Contemporaneous, Indiana University Percussion Ensemble, Emily Roller, Yale Philharmonia, Evan Chapman, University of Nebraska Percussion Ensemble, Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra, and Northern Illinois University World Steelband. Her music has been performed in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Currently, Lamb is working on recording an album of her “percussion plus” solos to be released in May 2024, as well as a concert-length outdoor performance that will ask individuals to listen, respond, and interact with their natural surroundings.

    ​As a percussionist, Lamb has recently found joy in improvising in a variety of natural soundscapes, listening to how the natural world responds to her human-made music. Her performance is highly influenced by the philosophies and Deep Listening practices of the late Pauline Oliveros. Lamb was also a performer from 2013-2020 with Projeto Arcomusical, the berimbau ensemble associated with Arcomusical. Her performance has been hailed as “riveting visually as well as sonically” (Centerline).

    As an educator, Lamb’s work runs the gamut from private lessons and curriculum development to clinics and large classes. She is a passionate advocate for students with disabilities and encourages creativity at every age and ability level. Her work in New Haven included developing the Creative Music-Making program for the Yale Music in Schools Initiative as well as serving as a Teaching Fellow for the Department of Music at Yale University and Teaching Assistant in the Yale School of Music. Prior to returning to graduate school, Lamb was the 6-12th grade band director for Meridian CUSD 223 in Stillman Valley, Illinois. Lamb is currently serving as a Graduate Student Instructor at the University of Michigan, and she runs her own private studio that meets both in-person and online.

    Lamb is a recipient of a 2022 Presser Foundation Graduate Music Award, a 2021 Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a 2018 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award. She is a doctoral candidate in composition at the University of Michigan. Lamb earned a Master of Music in Composition at the Yale School of Music and two Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Education and Percussion Performance from Northern Illinois University. Her compositions can be found on Innova Recordings, National Sawdust Tracks, Evan Chapman’s Caustics, and Third Coast Percussion’s Currents, Volume 1. When not working on music, she can be found playing board games with her wife at an overly competitive level, teaching new tricks to her dog and two cats, and fishing in every possible body of water. She is originally from Denver, Colorado, and is currently based in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

  • Ensemble 20/21

    Ensemble 20/21’s repertoire features works from the 20th and 21st centuries. With bold collaborations and striking productions, Ensemble 20/21 embraces the cutting edge of contemporary classical music through the highest level of artistry.

  • Anastasiia Sidorova Mezzo-Soprano
  • Julin Cheung Flute

    Julin Cheung, from Seattle, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020 and studies flute with Jeffrey Khaner. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. Cheung is the Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest Fellow.

    Mr. Cheung joined the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra at age nine and has since participated in several music festivals, including the Galway Flute Festival, Curtis Summerfest flute program, and Domaine Forget de Charlevoix. Most recently, he was a guest artist for the 2022 Slovenian Flute Festival and was featured on an episode of NPR’s From The Top. In the summer of 2023, Mr. Cheung toured North America as a part of the tenth anniversary season of Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America.

    As a soloist, Mr. Cheung has received numerous awards in local and international competitions, notably first prizes in the Severino Gazzelloni International Flute Competition, the National Flute Association’s High School Soloist Competition, and the Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia’s Collegiate Artist Competition. He has also received Young Artist awards from the Seattle Symphony and Seattle’s KING-FM and a gold medal from the Young Artist Competition of Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Washington state. Mr. Cheung has appeared as a soloist with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

    Mr. Cheung began playing the flute at age six and previously studied with Demarre McGill, Jeffrey Barker, Zart Dombourian-Eby, and Mary MacRae. He has performed in masterclasses for Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, Jasmine Choi, Emmanuel Pahud, Julien Beaudiment, Marina Piccinini, Patrick Williams, Francesco Loi, Donna Shin, Davide Formisano, Kersten McCall, Chelsea Knox, and Judy Dines.

    Complementary to his flute studies, Mr. Cheung plays violin, and enjoys skiing, hiking, and photography in his spare time.

  • Yejin Ahn Clarinet
  • I-Hao Cheng Violin
  • Eunae Jin Cello
  • Elias Ackerley Piano
  • Griffin Harrison Percussion
  • Jacob Niemann Conductor

    Jacob Niemann, from Plainsboro, N.J., is a student of Yannick Nézet-Séguin and entered Curtis in 2020.

  • Camilla Tassi Projections

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