109 - Chicago Centennial Concert (2007)

On August 3 the majestic Harold Washington Library was the site of a marvelous tribute to the music and words of Alec Wilder. The brainchild of Chicago native Richard Wyszynski, conductor and friend of Wilder, the free concert featured orchestral pieces, selections from the Lullabies and Night Songs (see wilderworld 96) and a few Octets. Here are some highlights of that afternoon All music by Alec WilderAir for English Horn (1945) was transcribed for and performed on clarinet by Gail Schechter, with the Cardinal Chamber OrchestraStar Wish (words traditional), The Answers (words by Robert Clairmont), The Journey (words by William Engvick), and The Cottager to Her Infant (words by Dorothy Wordsworth) feature Alyssa Bennett vocal and Lisa Pustina piano; excerpts from Wilder’s Clues to a Life: Letters I Never Sent read by WyszynskiThe Children Met the Train written in 1940While in Chicago be sure to visit the Alec Wilder display on the 8th floor of the Harold Washington Library through October 31 (pictured above)