| On Monday evening, October 27, 2003, Jonathan Hall--a master accompanist as well as solo performer--played at Merkin Concert Hall on West 67th Street in an 80th birthday gala tribute to the great American composer, Ned Rorem. Rorem, whose extraordinary sensitivity to literary texts excels that of most English professors, has composed a body of vocal music that stands at the pinnacle of American creativity. His recent song cycle, Evidence of Things Not Seen, consists of thirty-six songs written over the last five decades, and must be considered a major canonical milestone not only in American music but in Western classical music as well. With four singers from the Magic Circle Opera Repertory Company, headed by the legendary Ray Harrell, Hall accompanied five selections from this collection in the presence of the composer. |
| Jonathan Hall Makes Merkin Concert Hall Debut |