>> Kazem Abdullah: Hello. It's so great to be back. This is the first cut to the while. It's good to see so many familiar faces. Wonderful. It's really great. Like, we're so excited to be back. We're kind of flexing our muscles again and getting used to presenting live concerts. This project has been actually two years in the making. We had hoped to bring the Ritz Chamber Players at the beginning of 2021, but now we're here. So I am pleased to have with me here today the violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins [ Applause ] and the composer James Lee. [ Applause ] And we ask -- so James Lee, he's a really rising composer; has had wonderful commissions with great orchestras such as the Detroit Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Boston Symphony. We just recently had a commission with the National Symphony and the Kennedy Center, Baltimore Symphony. You name it, he's writing a piece for them, basically. And he took the time out to write a wonderful violin piece for us. That is quite exciting. And they're going to tell you all about it. And James Lee is actually on the composition faculty at Morgan State in Baltimore, so he's somewhat local, which is great. And then Kelly Hall-Tompkins is a wonderful soloist, violin soloist, has recently just played the Wynton Marsalis Violin Concerto. And I'll have her tell you a little bit more about her upcoming projects that she has later. But I first want to just dig right in into Sing.Lament.Arise, the piece that James Lee wrote, which is a Leonora Jackson McKim commission. And so all of those commissions are for violin and piano. And we're -- I'd love for both of you to say a few words about it maybe. Yes, and it would be great for you to talk about the process about how you communicated about it. >> Kelly Hall-Tompkins: Yeah. I'd love to talk a little bit about that. I'm -- first of all, it's an honor to be here. Thanks very much for coming out to this concert. And it's also an honor to be chosen for the feature violinist of the McKim Commission. I remember the process. Kazem spoke to me and invited me to choose or submit five composers, and I did. And any one of them would have been a dream, but I'm just so thrilled that the Library chose James with whom I was already working on another project. So it was really great to continue our work together. And, at the time, I remember him asking me what kind of piece I wanted. And it was a pretty rare moment in a lifetime and in the world and in our country. And it was during 2020, in the summer of 2020. And in addition to the pandemic, I remember that the tremendous sadness and grief that so many of us experienced over the murder of George Floyd was in some way quickly followed by some measure of joy and release from all over the world. And it was a unique moment, seeing just this worldwide response in -- you know, in response to this thing. And I -- when James asked me, I said, I want that. Like, I want somehow the moment that we're in, the sadness that gives way to this -- to something, something better that makes this all not make sense but that shows us something we've never ever been able to see before. And I said, I don't know if we're -- if it's going to last. I suspect it won't. And I don't know how I'm going to feel by the time we get to even premiere this piece, what the world is going to be like. But if there's any way to put this moment in a piece, that's what I want. And James really brought that through. I think the lament and the arise are the bookends of that statement, and there's a lot that happens in the middle as well. >> James Lee III: Sure. You know, it's also an honor for me to be here. You know, I just learned yesterday that I was one of five composers. So when I received the email, for me, I guess it was already -- the decision had been made that I would be the one to compose it. So I'm very honored from among five composers to be able to be chosen to write this work for this wonderful violinist Kelly and then also Terrence Wilson, the pianist, who will be playing in a few moments. But thinking about the time back in 2020, especially in May, and then if a pandemic wasn't enough, then the unrest with the George Floyd murder and then all the protests and then really seeing the response from the other countries, this is internationally -- this international sense of protest and anger and wanting something to really change in a positive way. So when I was thinking about writing this, I thought about having the violinist just pretty much sing the kind of lament by herself. And whoever else might play this in the future, they would have that moment of personal reflection, and they would just sing. And then, as they are pouring out their hearts and their emotions to the world and how they really would see, like to see a converted heart in everyone in terms of really a true love and respect for humanity, then the piano just kind of imperceptibly enters. And then the piano kind of has these moments of dialogue with these kind of flat notes that are -- I'm not a blues musician, but I'm kind of imitating or actually alluding to some of those moments of blues and the piano with some of the figures that are happening. And the violin is playing in much of the lower register, and then it continues to hint at rising and then finally does ascend. And then, once we continue in those moments of lament, then finally the -- both the piano and the violin start to become a little more animated until you get this kind of brighter sound. And then you kind of have this dance and dialogue that goes back and forth to the end when we get this nice kind of explosion. I kind of -- usually when I write orchestral music, I love the end with these explosive sounds. But this was like an explosive moment of joy and an embrace at the very end of the piece that I tried to achieve. >> Kazem Abdullah: Thank you. And I'm curious. From the time that we made the request until the piece was finished, how long did it take about? >> James Lee III: Oh, I'm embarrassed. Sometimes I don't even know. Sometimes I've been accused of being a fast composer. Like, I'm never -- I'm never late in the commission. And so if I started -- >> Kelly Hall-Tompkins: You were never -- you are not at all late. >> James Lee III: No. >> Kelly Hall-Tompkins: You did it -- you said, What month would you like it to be ready? And I said, I don't know. Maybe September. September, I think even -- >> James Lee III: Even before. I think it was before that. I always have plans, and I never know what project will occur, what kind of offer for a commission. So I'm always early so that, if I need to make any little adjustments, I can be ready for the next project. So if we were -- if I received the commission in May, I probably was -- had it completed in July or maybe August. >> Kelly Hall-Tompkins: Something early. Yeah. >> Kazem Abdullah: And speaking of commissions, what other upcoming things do you have coming up that we should know about, this season or next? >> James Lee III: Okay. This season, it's quite a host of things. I have a new commission with the Orlando Philharmonic, the Colorado Symphony, and the Arkansas Symphony. Orlando is opening a new concert hall, so they commissioned me to write a nice new concert opener for that. And then something that I haven't done before that I'm so excited, and I've been playing excerpts for my wife to hear, is a new work for the Cincinnati Symphony and the May Festival Chorus and the Youth Chorus. They're celebrating 150 years. So I'm writing this huge like 25-to 30-minute piece for chorus and orchestra. And I'm so happy it's -- it was about joy, you know. And I have to talk about anything of sadness or just laments, lamentations. But this is basically the human experience of the joy of singing. So that's what that piece is about, celebrating the anniversary. And then I have a St. Louis Symphony Orchestra piece that I need to start. It's called Visions of Cahokia. And that's part of my interest with American Indians, especially those who are Black American Indians who have been reclassified as African-American and those -- that history in Southern -- or in St. Louis and near Illinois, that's a work that I'm going to be starting pretty soon as part of my American Indian research in history and interest in terms of music and then a string quartet for the Ravinia Steans Institute for next summer. So that's the season. >> Kazem Abdullah: Who's the quartet playing, the quartet? >> James Lee III: I don't know actually. I don't know yet. >> Kazem Abdullah: Yeah. Way -- because I saw -- yeah. Like, you know, like when we were doing research on all the composers and things, you also have another violin sonata that's actually quite virtuosic as well. >> James Lee III: Oh, yes. Yes. I'm very proud of that piece. >> Kazem Abdullah: It's a lot like a slightly condensed version. I think it's about a 20-minute piece or something like 25 minutes. So this is about how long? Eight minutes? >> James Lee III: Yeah. About eight to nine minutes. >> Kazem Abdullah: Yeah. Eight to nine minutes. Great. No, this is wonderful. And, Kelly, you just did a very amazing project at Carnegie Hall just this past spring, and I'd love for you to tell us all about it. It's really an amazing project that you've conceived and developed with Carnegie. >> Kelly Hall-Tompkins: Well, actually, I conceived and developed it on my own, and Carnegie Hall came on as a partner. But, briefly, I just want to say that our paths converge in yet another way because I'm going to be a soloist with Orlando Philharmonic this year. >> James Lee III: Oh, really. Wow. >> Kelly Hall-Tompkins: Yeah. It's funny. So, yeah. I'm the founder of Music Kitchen -- Food For the Soul, the pioneer organization to bring classical music to those experiencing homelessness. And that -- I created that organization in 2005. And to celebrate our 15th anniversary, I had the idea to take the feedback -- I had always solicited the listeners to just share their feedback just informally on colored note cards if they felt like it, and I've been collecting these just, you know, because they're meaningful to me, also to share them with donors and potential donors. But I didn't have any other designs on what to do with them. They're just prose, voluntary vernacular feedback. But as we were approaching the 15th anniversary, I thought suddenly, oh, I know I want -- what I want to do with this. I want to create a song cycle, the most unprecedented song cycle that I know of because typically we marry the high art of music composition with the high art of poetry by celebrated, noted authors. The idea of taking the vernacular prose of an unseen, you know, nearly invisible community and setting that to music is a -- kind of unheard of. And I want it to be a composite song cycle. So I invited, while this was just an idea in my head and, right, until people said yes. So I invited 15 award-winning composers such as James to choose among those feedback comments. And, literally, we're talking about comments, not overt poetry, and set that to music. And so we -- I also wanted to do something unprecedented, which is to premiere those works in homeless shelters. So, fortunately -- one by one. So, fortunately, before the pandemic, we started January of 2019 premiering one song per month in homeless shelters around New York City. And we ran, of course, right into the pandemic. We were able to do 14 of 15 live in person, and then we premiered the 15th song virtually. But I'm really so, so honored and proud and forever grateful that, when I approached Carnegie Hall -- because I had always had a design of a grand setting for the world premiere of the full song cycle. And when I approached Carnegie Hall about this, they said, Absolutely, we want to be part of it. And we will present the song cycle. It was supposed to be in 2020. But, of course, like everything else, it was postponed. So we just had a sold out concert in Zankel Hall on March 31 of Forgotten Voices. Forgotten Voices is the name of it. [ Applause ] >> Kazem Abdullah: Yeah. It's a fascinating project, and I can't wait to hopefully hear some of these works. Yeah. >> Kelly Hall-Tompkins: It is not done. We will -- we have a CD to release, and we will continue performing. >> Kazem Abdullah: Does anybody have any questions for Kelly or James Lee before we get to one of our special soloists for tonight? Does anyone have any questions? Oh, wait one second. He's going to give you a mic. >> Audience Participant: Okay. Thank you. Dr. Lee. How many instruments do you play? Just out of curiosity. >> James Lee III: I have a Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance. So that's the only instrument I play. And then I can enjoy the orchestra and a wonderful violinist like Kelly. But, yeah. I'm a pianist. >> Kazem Abdullah: Great. Are there any other questions? Any other questions? Well, thank you so much, Kelly and James, for joining us for this preconcert talk. I can't wait to hear the piece. Toi, toi, toi. [ Applause ] So hello. Thank you. So my next guest here is Ann Hobson Pilot. And I have a short story that's kind of relevant to -- not only to the Library of Congress but to all libraries. I'm a musician; yeah, you know, trained musician, clarinetist and conductor and things of this nature. And when I was a teenager, I used to go to my local public library in Dayton, Ohio. And I used to always check out classical DV -- not DVDs at that time. It was still VHS time. I'm of that generation. But checking out, yeah, you know, various orchestras. And one of my favorite VHS recordings were to get the Harvard Norton lectures of Leonard Bernstein. He recorded these wonderful lectures with the Boston Symphony where he went through wonderful pieces of the classical repertoire, like Ives, music of Ives, music of Brahms. And he also covered a piece called The Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, which has beautiful French music and two harps in it. And I remember being a 14-year-old kid looking at this video from the early '70s or late '60s and being awed, of course, by Bernstein but being awed by seeing this lady right here. At that time, in 1969, she was the second harpist in the Boston Symphony. And for a young Black kid that was playing classical music, it was -- it stayed in my head for years. And that, I just wanted to share that because that's what libraries can do. That's what representation can do. And I'm so honored to have Ann Hobson Pilot here. [ Applause ] >> Ann Hobson Pilot: Thank you. So, Ann, I know that you -- you have a long history. Actually, like, you used to play in the National Symphony. That was one of your first positions, actually. When were you in the National Symphony? >> Ann Hobson Pilot: That's right. I was with the National Symphony from 1966 to 1969. I came to the orchestra as a result of a very unfortunate injury to the harpist that was here at that time. Her name was Sylvia Meyer, and she had been with the orchestra forever. But she had a horrible accident to her finger, a gardening accident where she totally severed the tip of her finger. >> Kazem Abdullah: Oh, no. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: And that was in August. So they were frantic to find a replacement for the season. And they called my teacher, Alice Chalifoux. And they called -- my teacher, Alice Chalifoux, said that I had just come back from Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, which was Rudolf Serkin's Festival at the time. And I had been there for a couple of years and with Pablo Casals and all these wonderful players. So they called. The orchestra called Rudolf Serkin and all these people, and they -- everybody recommended me. So I just had to come down and sign the contract. Initially, it was for one year. But, after I played the season, they decided they liked me enough that they wanted me to stay. So I stayed until 1969 when Arthur Fiedler came to guest conduct the National Symphony. And he called me into his dressing room and said, our harpist with the Boston Pops is leaving, which would mean that there'd be a second harp opening with the BSO, Boston Symphony. And I'd like you to come and audition for the job because I like your playing, and I'd like to be able to work with you. So I took that audition, the first one I ever took that by that time it was behind a screen and all. And I won the audition and stayed for 40 years. >> Kazem Abdullah: Yes, you did. [ Applause ] I mean, when I think about that, I mean, when I think about that, yeah. When I think about that, playing in such an esteemed orchestra like the Boston Symphony, you worked with basically probably all the greatest conductors of the 20th century. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: Correct. >> Kazem Abdullah: And all the best orchestral repertoire of the 20th century. And I'm so I'm not going to ask you any crazy questions like, well, what was your most favorite experience. But one thing I did want to ask you, though, is, yeah. You know, you've always have done everything so equally. Like, I know you've been a soloist since you started. You played in orchestras. You did chamber music. You did Marlboro. You made wonderful recordings with the Boston Chamber Players. And, in addition to that, you've also commissioned or you've had various composers. For instance, one really famous commission happened towards the end of your tenure, and that was when John Williams, the famous film composer, wrote a harp concerto for you. Yeah. What was that like to have such an icon -- yeah, you know, you've first worked with him, but what other composers have you commissioned? And what -- yes. And, like, what was your favorite part about working with John Williams? I'm curious. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: Well, actually, that came about because I announced my retirement from the BSO where James Levine was the music director at that time, the music director of the Met. He had come to be the music director of the Boston Symphony also. And I went to him and told him that I'm going to -- this was about 2007. I'd like to retire next year. And he asked me not to and said he wanted me to stay because they were doing a European tour in 2008. You know, we're doing a lot of Mahler, and he really wanted me to stay. And, if I stayed, he'd give me a retirement gift. I mean, he didn't say it like that, like he was trying to bribe me. "Stay. I'll give you -- " But, so when the time came that I did stay, and he said, Well, what would you like as a retirement gift? And I said, I think it'd be nice to have another concerto added to the harp repertoire. We can always use another one. And he said, Well, who would you like to compose it? And I thought for actually several days. And I thought, actually, I'd like John Williams to write it. And we -- >> Kazem Abdullah: You'd worked with him probably so extensively for decades. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: Total of 30 years. Yeah. And we had a wonderful rapport. But what -- after I asked him, Jimmy Levine asked him, the BSO management asked him. He said, I don't think I can do it. I don't think I can write for the harp. And I was like, John, if you don't know how to write for the harp, who does? So he finally agreed. And it was, to me, I mean, I think it was one of the most -- the biggest honor of my life to have him because he -- he has written -- in addition to Star Wars and ET, et cetera, et cetera, he's written a lot of wonderful concertos. He wrote a cello concerto for Yo-Yo Ma. He wrote a violin concerto for Anne Sophie Mutter and for Gidon Kremer. So he's written -- he knows how to write concerti also, but he had never written one for the harp. But he -- he would -- like, because he was nervous about writing for the harp and the harp is a strange instrument to write for with all the pedals and all, he said he was going to send me some pages periodically for me to look at and make sure it was okay. But he doesn't do email, so he would send me via snail mail. So I would go to the mailbox during this period of time and get some more pages of the new harp concerto. And we'd talk on the phone and say, Yeah. That's fine. That's fine and when it was not fine. But very little was not fine. But then what really got to me was on one of the pages that he sent, he wrote at the bottom, You know I'm your biggest fan. >> Kazem Abdullah: Oh, that's wonderful. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: But it was just great to work with him. He's -- in addition to being a wonderful musician, he's a wonderful person too. Very giving. >> Kazem Abdullah: Wonderful. Yeah. And speaking of composing for the harp, it is an unusual instrument for write -- to write for because there's all these kinds of rules about how you're supposed to notate things, and you have to know how the pedals work and what's really physically possible. And you come from a particular school of harp playing, I guess. Yeah. And I guess you could call it the Salzedo school. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: That's right. Yeah. >> Kazem Abdullah: And for those of you that don't -- like, would you mind to tell us, there are two schools of harp playing, like Grandjany and Salzedo? Is that correct? >> Ann Hobson Pilot: There used to be two back in the old days. Now, Salzedo passed I believe in 1961 and Grandjany just a few years later. So a lot of their descendants have branched out, so now there's a lot more than just two schools of playing. But they all -- you know, for example, if anybody asked me, I'd call myself a Salzedo harpist because I never studied with him, but I studied with his -- one of his students, Alice Chalifoux, who was a wonderful harpist. >> Kazem Abdullah: Oh, yes. So -- so [inaudible] you studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Alice Chalifoux. And, yeah. She was for many, many years -- it seems like harpists, when -- once they get a good job, they stay there a long time. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: Why not? >> Kazem Abdullah: Alice Chalifoux was probably with the Cleveland Orchestra. And, like, she was there before George Szell and there after George Szell. So she saw like a -- the Cleveland Orchestra become this great, amazing orchestra. And she was there for many, many, many years. And, actually, she died only in 2008. And she -- >> Ann Hobson Pilot: She was 100 years old. >> Kazem Abdullah: Right. She was 100 years old. Yeah. I remember hearing about that. And it's just amazing. Yeah, like, you know, and it's just interesting, yeah. You know, one thing that I found very interesting when I was doing research about harp repertoire and finding what kinds of pieces we should try to program like, you know, one piece that we're doing is by William Grant Still. And we have letters between Still and a harpist in Los Angeles where he was also trying to figure out how do I write for the harp. And the other thing I saw is that, yeah, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge actually had a very close collaboration with Salzedo. Salzedo, he had a particular kind of technique for the harp, but he was also a composer himself in knew Ravel and all of these famous composers. And he created this harp retreat, I guess, in Maine if I'm not mistaken. And so he made this harp retreat, and Alice Chalifoux was Ann's primary teacher who was this famous harp teacher, she went to this estate. And, you know, it was just interesting to sort of know that there was this connection between Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge and Mr. Salzedo. But then it's funny. In my conversation with Ann, I -- like, it was, you know, I'm glad that so many people in your life, like, were encouraging, like Arthur Fiedler and other conductors I'm sure, too, that you worked with. But it was -- yeah. Like, you know, like, I'll let you tell this story just because it was kind of, yeah. Like -- yeah, like you wanted to go to Salzedo's school, but it wasn't possible or something like this. And I wonder if you would mind sharing the story that you told me because that was -- it actually -- it's enlightening because, despite certain things, you've managed to become this legendary harpist yourself. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: Well, I believe it was 1960, possibly '59 or '60 when my teacher at the time -- which was not Alice Chalifoux yet; I was still in Philadelphia going to school -- took me to Salzedo to play for him at Curtis Institute where he taught. And I met him, and he was very complimentary about my playing. So my teacher asked him, she would like to go to Camden this summer to the Salzedo school. And I could see a total change in his face. He looked absolutely horrified. And he said to her, I need to speak to you in person, and I'd like you to leave the room. And, you know, so I left the room. I was wondering what's going on. And when she came out, my teacher came out, she was visibly shaken. And she said, Well, let's go out and get a soda or something. So we went somewhere, and she was pretty upset. And I said, What's wrong? And she said, that he had said that he cannot have me as a student up there. They'd never had a Black student up there. And I guess when she took me to him, he didn't know I was Black. So he said, I'm sorry. I just can't do it. I -- all of the students live in people's homes, and he didn't want there to be any trouble. And so I never got a chance to study with him. And then he happened to pass away the following year, and that's when Alice Chalifoux took over the school. And she allowed me to be a student at the school, so I went to Camden for many, many summers with her. >> Kazem Abdullah: Yeah. I think that that's wonderful [ Applause ] And, yeah, you know, she was just this -- she was also this legendary harpist, as well. So I'm glad that she -- she had some integrity and things like this. And, you know, just to, you know, to read your bio and to see all of the various things you've done, I think any musician anywhere in the world would love to be able to have as full and as rich and as dynamic of a career that you've had in music. It's just like, yeah. You know, like, you represent what we all hope for is to have a long life doing what we love doing. And, to me, there's no -- there's no other greater inspiration. One other quick question. When you were here in the National Symphony, is this your first time playing in Coolidge Auditorium? >> Ann Hobson Pilot: Correct. >> Kazem Abdullah: This is. So it's never too late to make a debut. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: Right. >> Kazem Abdullah: Wonderful. Well, Ann, thank you so much for joining us. I know that we have to sort of get ready for the concert, so I don't want to keep you too long. Thank you for enlightening us with your stories. And toi, toi, toi. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: Well, thank you for inviting us. It's wonderful, wonderful for all of us but especially for me to come back to where I started my career. >> Kazem Abdullah: Where you started. Literally, it's where you started. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: It's been fun. >> Kazem Abdullah: Was there the Kennedy Center there, or was it really brand new, I guess? >> Ann Hobson Pilot: Oh, no. We played our concerts at that time at Constitution Hall. >> Kazem Abdullah: Oh, wow. Okay. So it was pre-Kennedy. Okay. Pre-Kennedy. Great. Okay. Well, thank you so much. >> Ann Hobson Pilot: Okay. Thank you. [ Applause ]