Louisville Orchestra Creators Fest is Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11 at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. The festival will include two concerts featuring world premieres by the 2023–2024 Creators Corps composers Alex Berko, Nkeiru Okoye, and Tanner Porter.
Louisville Orchestra began its Creators Corps program in the 2022–2023 season, selecting three creators each year to move to Louisville and live in the Shelby Park neighborhood. During their residency of at least 30 weeks, creators serve as orchestra staff members and participate in community engagement while composing new music for performance by the orchestra. It is the only program of its kind in the world.
Under the baton of Teddy Abrams, Louisville Orchestra will present new works from their 2023–2024 Creators Corps by Berko, Porter, and Okoye. Berko’s “Heirlooms” explores the theme of grief. Written in three parts for eight singers and orchestra, each movement draws inspiration from someone with a connection to Kentucky or Appalachia. Okoye’s “Passing by the River” is a personal reflection on both nostalgia and triumph, inspired by her own lived experience as well as Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.” Porter’s “True Lover’s Knot” reimagines the themes of love, pride, and reconciliation in the traditional ballad “Barbara Allen,” which dates to the 17th century. Based on the version recorded by Kentuckian Jean Ritchie in 1960, Porter’s composition offers a new perspective on the tragic love story. There will be two opportunities to hear the new works: Friday at 11:00 a.m. and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
In addition to the main concert, the festival will feature free performances by local musicians, artists, and storytellers that expand on the narrative themes of the Creators Corps works. Music for a Purpose, Louisville Story Program, Kellie Brown, Choir Siren, Ellie Ruth, Maggie Halfman, and soloists from the Louisville Orchestra will perform in the lobby of the Kentucky Center from 3:00–5:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.
Tickets are not required for the community performances and are free for all ages to attend. Tickets for performances are available through Louisville Orchestra.
This article appears in Apr 24 – May 7, 2024.