Soprano Laura Strickling Announces THE 40@40 PROJECT

Laura Strickling has commissioned 40 new art songs from 40 composers to focus on continuing the legacy of art song.

In November 2019, Ms. Strickling made the realization that, while she'd been asked to premiere countless works over the course of her career, she'd never actively commissioned any. Since the collaborative relationship between singer and composer is one of her favorite aspects of the work, Laura decided to aim high - to commission 40 new songs as a 40th birthday present to herself. The project aim quickly developed into, "40 songs by 40 composers," and has since grown beyond its original scope to include performances, recordings, and a published anthology of all of the commissioned works. The resulting songs have been beyond exciting in their quality and variety.

The commissioned composers include: H. Leslie Adams, Clarice Assad, Eugenia Cheng, Tom Cipullo, Andrea Clearfield, Nell Shaw Cohen, Emily Doolittle, Melissa Dunphy, Emerson Eads, Marti Epstein, Kurt Erickson, Evan Fein, Daniel Felsenfeld, Julian Gargiulo, Jodi Goble, Stanley Grill, Daron Hagen, Juliana Hall, Ted Hearne, Felix Jarrar, Jennifer Jolly, Joseph Jones, James Kallembach, Lori Laitman, Libby Larsen, Cecilia Livingston, Gilda Lyons, James Matheson, Bess McCrary, Reinaldo Moya, Eric Pazdziora, Kala Pierson, James Primosch, Matthew Recio, Jessica Rudman, Kamala Sankaram, Myron Silberstein, Lauren Spavelko, Gylchris Sprauve, Dennis Tobenski, Jennifer Wang, Scott Wheeler, Philip Wharton, Ed Windels, and Lorna Young Wright.

The parameters of each commission are: One 2-5 minute song scored for soprano and piano. The choice of text is up to the composer, in any language. Queries about live premiere performance bookings of the 40@40 Project songs should be directed to Schwalbe & Partners. Laura will also be available to be booked for talks on demystifying the commissioning process, as well as what she learned from releasing her successful 2020 album of American art song, Confessions.

"The 40@40 Project is the beginning of a personal mission to commission with intentionality and to encourage and help other performing musicians (or music lovers!) to do the same. If we want the future of song to be bright, we need to be a part of making it happen. I want to help people understand what goes into commissioning, demystify complicated processes around recording and publishing, and personally contribute to the creation of new song literature for the future. So often we think of singing as a solo journey, but it's really about community and collaboration. As I step into my fifth decade of life I am reaffirming my commitment to the art song community." - Laura Strickling

For more information, please visit www.laurastrickling.com

https://youtu.be/g-CcLvhugqg

https://youtu.be/g-CcLvhugqg

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