Saxophonist Drew Whiting and Percussionist Alison Shaw Perform Of Wells and Springs

Saxophonist Drew Whiting, a member of the consortium that commissioned Of Wells and Springs will give his premiere of the piece with his colleague Alison Shaw on percussion on his faculty recital. The wide-ranging repertoire also includes music by Laura Schwendinger, Kyong Mee Choi, Alyssa Aska and Robin Heifetz.

I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Drew on his beautiful recording of For the Fallen on his album In Lights Starkly Different, and look forward to his and Alison’s interpretation of this new duet. The inspiration comes from Wendell Berry’s poem Water, a deeply personal poem that welcomes rain in the face of drouth (in the early spelling of the word). As climate change continues to intensify, the cycles of drouth and flood intensify, and the joy of rain that nourishes all of us is ever more welcome.