DEAR MRS. KENNEDY From Ryan Townsend Strand Out This Week
The new album is out on Friday, November 8th.
Dear Mrs. Kennedy, the new solo album from brilliant tenor Ryan Townsend Strand, out on Friday, November 8th.
Ryan Townsend Strand is the 2021 winner of the American Prize in voice as well as the executive director and tenor of Constellation Men's Ensemble. In collaboration with pianist Karina Kontorovitch, Strand's debut solo release features specially commissioned works by composers Augusta Read Thomas, Jen Shyu, Will Liverman, Tom Cipullo, Libby Larsen, Nicholas Cline, Adore Alexander, Skyler Butenshon, Matthew Recio, Timothy C. Takach, and Erik Pearson set to letters to Jacqueline Kennedy after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Originating from Strand's Letters to Jackie song cycle commissioning and performing project based on the letters in the national archives representing the collective grief of people over the tragedy of the assassination of JFK, Dear Mrs. Kennedy features music by eleven of the fourteen project composers.
Strand conceived this project as a way for communities, including nations, to safely explore grief and spark conversation on the importance of human connection, stating “This project gives voice to these important letters. When words are important enough to sing, they gain the power of humanity.” Rather than President Kennedy or First Lady Jackie explicitly, the central character in this cycle will be Grief itself: the grief of a
nation. Under the guidance and principles of equal representation, the cycle includes voices of differing sex, gender, race, creed, and citizenship to offer hope, community, and access.
The recording producer is GRAMMY winning music producer Elaine Martone. The recording engineer, editor, mixing and mastering is Daniel Shores; album artwork is by Desiree Kelly, from a commissioned painting of Jacqueline Kennedy; and the executive producer is Collin J. Rae of Sono Luminus.
Letters to Jackie will be performed at Ravinia Festival on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 3pm. Tickets and more details are below. Letters to Jackie is fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas. Donations are welcome to support future performances and are fully tax-deductible:
https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/letters-to-jackie
Dear Mrs. Kennedy will be available for downloading and streaming starting on November 8th from Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, HD Tracks, NativeDSD, Arkiv Music, Bandcamp & Sono Luminus. Available on CD from Sono Luminus. Pre-orders available at the purchase link below.
Purchase Link for Dear Mrs. Kennedy:
https://www.sonoluminus.com/store/dear-mrs-kennedy
Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 3pm
Letters to Jackie at Ravinia Festival
200 Ravinia Park Rd
Highland Park, IL 60035
Tickets: $25
Ravinia.org/Online/Article/111624-StrandLettersToJackie
TRACK LIST
Dear Mrs. Kennedy
Performers: Ryan Townsend Strand, tenor; Karina Kontorovitch, piano
1. Oh Jacqueline — Augusta Read Thomas [4:56]
2. A Litany of Sympathy — Tom Cipullo [5:31]
3. My Name is Minerva Chapa — Jen Shyu [6:32]
4. may I, may you — Nicholas Cline [5:19]
5. Dear Mrs. Kennedy — Adore Alexander [4:29]
6. A Tribute to Mr. J.F.K. — Will Liverman [3:55]
7. Letter to the Cornell Daily Sun, 12-2-1963 — Skyler Butenshon [2:54]
8. Might Be Equal — Matthew Recio [3:25]
9. Thanksgiving Day, 1963 — Timothy C. Takach [4:39]
10. Keys and Pennies — Libby Larsen [7:06]
11. Trondheim, Norway - Nov. 22. 1963 — Erik Pearson [8:22]
12. Oh Jacqueline — Thomas [3:33]
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