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Circumference

April 17, 2025 | 6:00pm

Boston Athenæum

Tickets Available Soon

Emily Dickinson: legendary poet, Massachusetts icon, and the muse of so many composers. On display at the Boston Athenæum is Billie Mandle’s Circumference, a series of contemporary photographs of an empty wall in Emily Dickinson's bedroom. The collection is a study on light and atmosphere that imbued Dickinson's room where she wrote her poems. While Dickinson’s poetry wasn’t acknowledged until many years after her death, this concert aims to change this narrative by featuring a phenomenal lineup of living female composers whose contributions to music can be appreciated presently. Join us for an evening of songs set to a beautiful selection of Dickinson poems, as well as a selection of poetry readings from a young guest poet following in Dickinson’s footsteps. This seamless display of poetry and music intertwined, with an endearing nod towards Dickinson’s work and a fascinating instrumentation, is an event you won’t want to miss!

 

Join BFO Artistic Director Alyssa Wang, BFO musicians, and guest artists in an intimate dialogue about what it means to experience art, and how it can help us to relate to the world around us. Enjoy a brief reception following the concert.

 

This concert is free, but registration is required!

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PROGRAM

Libby Larson, Fanfare for the Women

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Lori Laitman, Four Dickinson Songs 

  1. Will there really be a morning?

  2. I’m Nobody

  3. She died

  4. If I…

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​Sofia Gubaidulina, Song without words

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Alisson Kruusmaa, Three Songs on Emily Dickinson's Poems

  1. An Everywhere of Silver

  2. Not Knowing When the Dawn Will Come

  3. So Set Its Sun in Thee

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Barbara Harbach, Emily! 

  1. Taste a Liquor Never Brewed

  2. If You Were Coming in the Fall

  3. Wild Nights! Wild Nights!

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Boston Athenæum (Henry Long Room)

10 1/2 Beacon St. 

Boston, MA 02108

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