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In September the Library Associates, in conjunction with Georgetown's
Program in Performing Arts, hosted An Afternoon with George
Gershwin with vocalist Amy Kirsten and pianist
Patricia Puckett. The inaugural fall event for the Library Associates,
it offered the large audience
an opportunity not just to enjoy the vocal and piano performances,
but also details of Gershwin's life interspersed between the
musical numbers by Professor Patrick Warfield. A reception that
followed the performance in Lauinger Library featured the exhibit
George Gershwin's World in the Leon Robbin Gallery, showcasing
a selection of Gershwin-related materials from the library's
Special Collections.
Ms. Kirsten has had works premiered by the New Music Ensemble
at Roosevelt University in Chicago and the College of DuPage
Chamber Singers. Her theater music was featured at New York City's
2003 Fringe Festival and the Peabody Opera Workshop in Baltimore
premiered her chamber opera, Ophelia Forever, in 2005. Most recently
Ms. Kirsten won the Volti Choral Arts Lab Commissioning and residency
competition; Volti will premier her new composition in the Spring
of 2007 in San Francisco. Ms. Kirsten recently received the 2006
Theodore Presser Award to attend L'Ecole Normale de Musique in
Paris, and the Randolph S. Rothschild Award for excellence in
composition. Ms. Puckett has given performances in venues such
as Corcoran Hall, the Polish Embassy, the Batell-Thompkins Recital
Series and has been heard live on National Public Radio. She
is also an active accompanist and vocal coach and has been on
staff at both the American University and Towson University.
As a musicologist, her original research includes the first
catalogue of the Peabody Institute's Caruso Collections and an
accompanying thesis on Enrico Caruso. The Leon Robbin Gallery exhibit George Gershwin's World is
on display through December 2006.
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