Pace Presents DAVID T. LITTLE'S SOLDIER SONGS, Beginning 1/11

Soldier Songs is an evening-length multimedia event from composer David T. Little that combines elements of theater, opera, rock-infused concert music, and animation to portray a chilling and realistic view of our media-crazed, war machine culture, and of the nature of power in war. It delivers tough questions and tells tough stories through its poignant libretto, driving music, and surprising visual counterpoint. Created by the composer, the libretto was adapted from recorded interviews with veterans of five wars. Soldier Songs traces the shift in perception of war from the age of 6 to the age of 66. We follow the abstract character through the three phases of life: Child (playing war games) Warrior (time served in the military) and Elder (aged, wise,reflective).

A Beth Morrison Projects production, Soldier Songs is presented in partnership with the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University, featuring Newspeak Ensemble and baritone Christopher Burchett as the Soldier. The work was first performed in a concert version with Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble in 2006 and was work-shopped by Beth Morrison Projects at (le) Poisson Rouge in 2008 before the world premiere of its current production by Yuval Sharon at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in 2011. With PROTOTYPE, Soldier Songs receives its fully produced New York City premiere. A post-performance discussion will follow the show on Thursday, January 17.

David T. Little's potently dramatic music draws upon his experience as a rock drummer, and fuses classical and popular idioms to powerful effect. Often undertaking political and existential themes, his music has been described by The New York Times as "dramatically wild...rustling, raunchy and eclectic," showing "real imagination." New Yorker critic Alex Ross declared himself "completely gripped," noting that "every bad-*** new-music ensemble in the city will want to play him."

YUVAL SHARON, named a "Face to Watch in 2012" by the Los Angeles Times, has been creating an unconventional body of work that explores the boundaries of music, visual art, and concert theater. His productions have been described as "dizzyingly spectacular" (New York Magazine) and "ingenious" (San Francisco Chronicle). Yuval directed a landmark production of John Cage Song Books with San Francisco Symphony and Carnegie Hall with Joan La Barbara, Meredith Monk, and Jessye Norman. He also founded and serves as Artistic Director of The Industry in Los Angeles, where his inaugural production of Anne LeBaron's hyperopera, Crescent City, was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "reshaping LA opera."

Pace Presents: David T. Little's Soldier Songs

Ticket prices for David T. Little's Soldier Songs at The Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University range from $30 to $55. $5 Student rush tickets available day of performance with valid student ID. The performance will take place on January 11-13 & 16-18, 7:30PM. Running Time: 60 minutes

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit http://schimmel.pace.edu or call toll-free (866) 811-4111.

Pace Presents performances take place at The Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts located at 3 Spruce Street between Park Row and Gold Street in downtown Manhattan.