FEATURING Kelariz Keshavarz, flute Suzanne Polak, piano Luke Ellard, clarinet Jessica Kunttu, bassoon Jeanne Fischer, voice Heidi Radtke, saxophone Brian Seaton, English horn ABOUT THE PROGRAM In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, this chamber music concert brings together UNC faculty and guest artists to celebrate the creativity and contributions of American women composers. Featuring works for flute in a variety of chamber settings, the program highlights the breadth and diversity of American chamber music across generations. Program Jennifer Higdon Song (1995) for solo flute Amy Beach Three Compositions, Op. 40 (1898) for flute and piano Valerie Coleman Rubispheres (2012) for flute, clarinet, and bassoon Intermission Katherine Hoover Seven Haiku (1973) for flute and voice Catherine Rollin Suite Detroit (2018) for flute, saxophone, and piano Amanda Harberg Crossroads (2022) for flute, English horn, and piano PARKING Please plan to arrive early as parking on campus can be tricky. Learn more about parking and directions to UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus.

FEATURING TALsounds Natalie Chami (TALsounds) is a Canadian-born Lebanese American musician and educator based in Alexandria, VA. Known for her work in drone, ambient, and improvisational music, she blends vintage analog synthesizers, operatic vocals, and immersive atmospheres into distinctive sound worlds. Chami has released music on Ba Da Bing, NNA Tapes, and Hausu Mountain, toured across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and received coverage from Pitchfork, The Fader, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune. Her latest album, Shift (2023), departs from her warm analog palette and explores FM and digital synthesis, featuring contributions from SWANA women in production, art, and photography. Chami was founding Vocal Chair at The Chicago High School for the Arts (2009–2021), developing the voice department and trauma-informed, anti-racist curriculum. She also leads workshops at universities, scores films, creates sound installations, and is the Category Content Specialist for Synthesizers at KORG USA. In 2025, she was invited to serve on Experimental Sound Studio’s first-ever Artist Advisory Council, supporting the development of new online programming for artists in electronic and sound art. PROGRAM TBA PARKING Please plan to arrive early as parking on campus can be tricky. Learn more about parking and directions to UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus. This performance is part of the 2026-2027 Conversations in Modern Music series and is funded by the Jaroslav F. and Barbara S. Hulka Fund for Music in the Chapel Hill community.

When was the last time a performance changed the way you looked at the world around you? Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene is an exploration of one of the defining issues of our time—environmental change—through music and imagery. It invites us to consider the beauty and fragility of the natural world and our relationship to it. Performed by acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming, the program pairs classical songs and contemporary works with an original film created in partnership with the National Geographic Society. The experience is both intimate and expansive, sharing landscapes of breathtaking beauty alongside acute reminders of their vulnerability. At a moment when environmental change increasingly shapes everyday life, Voice of Nature reminds us that these challenges are not just scientific or political; they are deeply personal. It is an invitation to consider how rapidly the natural world is changing while reflecting on how much we rely on its constancy for solace, inspiration, and a sense of connection to something larger than ourselves. Student tickets always $11. Eligible for CLE. Find out more and buy tickets at:

FEATURING Diya Kayaleh, soprano Beth Allen-Gardner, mezzo-soprano Henry Reacher, tenor Liam O’Laughlin, baritone C. Leonard Raybon, baritone Danny Spiegel, piano PROGRAM Sacred Nine Project: Mending Sampler Sacred Nine Project is excited to celebrate John Wood Sweet’s, The Sewing Girl’s Tale, with a curated vocal concert at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he is Professor of History. Content warning: descriptions of rape and suicide “Cost of courage,” is Sweet’s turn of phrase. He writes: As a young woman, Lanah Sawyer had a rare kind of courage. Only seventeen, a stepchild in a working family, she was easy to dismiss as a mere “sewing girl.” Yet, when an affluent gentleman showed an interest in her, she dared to image that he might really be interested in her. Violently, he dashed that dream—leaving her disoriented, distressed, and unmoored. Then, she gathered her courage and did what no one else in the nation’s biggest city had done in half a century: she charged a gentleman with rape. Then, as now, most survivors of sexual assaults by acquaintances don’t make any official complaint—and for good reason. But Lanah Sawyer refused to be shamed. She refused to be silenced. What followed was a harrowing ordeal—and a remarkable vindication. THE SEWING GIRL’S TALE is the story of this remarkable young woman’s search for justice, her determination to move beyond what had been done to her, to rebuild her life—to live with the courage of her conviction that she, too, was someone who mattered. Raybon is drawing on historical sources, early American music, and newly written poetry for the presentation. One historical source is Report of the Trial of Henry Bedlow for Committing a Rape on Lanah Sawyer, New York, 1793, by William Wyche; this is a first-hand account of the trial. Charlotte Temple: A Tale of Truth (1791) by Susanna Rowson, containing a narrative not unlike the present account, is a further historical writing. Still another early text, The American Spelling Book (originally published in 1783) by Noah Webster, offers poetry and prose that might shed light on the kind of shame-and-gender-based education that a girl like Lanah would have received. A 1794 tune book, The Harmony of Maine (1794), compiled by Supply Belcher, offers inspiration from the Song of Songs, in which “the voice of my beloved” is seductive, and in our case, dangerous. Finally, Lanah’s story will incite brand new verse to honor her and her legacy. PARKING Please plan to arrive early as parking on campus can be tricky. Learn more about parking and directions to UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus.

FEATURING Diya Kayaleh, soprano Beth Allen-Gardner, mezzo-soprano Henry Reacher, tenor Liam O’Laughlin, baritone C. Leonard Raybon, baritone Danny Spiegel, piano PROGRAM Sacred Nine Project: Mending Sampler Sacred Nine Project is excited to celebrate John Wood Sweet’s, The Sewing Girl’s Tale, with a curated vocal concert at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he is Professor of History. Content warning: descriptions of rape and suicide “Cost of courage,” is Sweet’s turn of phrase. He writes: As a young woman, Lanah Sawyer had a rare kind of courage. Only seventeen, a stepchild in a working family, she was easy to dismiss as a mere “sewing girl.” Yet, when an affluent gentleman showed an interest in her, she dared to image that he might really be interested in her. Violently, he dashed that dream—leaving her disoriented, distressed, and unmoored. Then, she gathered her courage and did what no one else in the nation’s biggest city had done in half a century: she charged a gentleman with rape. Then, as now, most survivors of sexual assaults by acquaintances don’t make any official complaint—and for good reason. But Lanah Sawyer refused to be shamed. She refused to be silenced. What followed was a harrowing ordeal—and a remarkable vindication. THE SEWING GIRL’S TALE is the story of this remarkable young woman’s search for justice, her determination to move beyond what had been done to her, to rebuild her life—to live with the courage of her conviction that she, too, was someone who mattered. Raybon is drawing on historical sources, early American music, and newly written poetry for the presentation. One historical source is Report of the Trial of Henry Bedlow for Committing a Rape on Lanah Sawyer, New York, 1793, by William Wyche; this is a first-hand account of the trial. Charlotte Temple: A Tale of Truth (1791) by Susanna Rowson, containing a narrative not unlike the present account, is a further historical writing. Still another early text, The American Spelling Book (originally published in 1783) by Noah Webster, offers poetry and prose that might shed light on the kind of shame-and-gender-based education that a girl like Lanah would have received. A 1794 tune book, The Harmony of Maine (1794), compiled by Supply Belcher, offers inspiration from the Song of Songs, in which “the voice of my beloved” is seductive, and in our case, dangerous. Finally, Lanah’s story will incite brand new verse to honor her and her legacy. PARKING Please plan to arrive early as parking on campus can be tricky. Learn more about parking and directions to UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus. This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Music and the Department of History.

Violinist Alexi Kenney and pianist Janice Carissa invite audiences to hear familiar works with fresh ears. At the center of the program is The Wild Yes by composer and violinist Michi Wiancko, surrounded by music that spans geography, time, and tradition. The musical voices of composers Sibelius, Piazzolla, and inti figgis-vizueta enter the conversation, creating surprising relationships between sounds that might otherwise seem worlds apart. Kenney and Carissa guide audiences through this remarkable musical landscape and remind us that great music is never fixed in time. Rather, it is continually revitalized by new listeners and fresh perspectives. Student tickets always $11. Eligible for CLE. Find out more and buy tickets at:

Some performances entertain. Others leave audiences seeing the world differently. In EcoTones, music, storytelling, research, personal history, and lived experience come together in an experience that feels less like a performance and more like a gathering. Warm, joyful, and challenging, the work invites audiences to consider what happens when different worlds meet and what becomes possible in the spaces between them. Inspired by the ecological concept of an ecotone—the place where distinct ecosystems overlap and create the conditions for new life—EcoTones explores the intersections that shape our lives, communities, and futures. The result is a shared act of discovery that reveals unexpected connections and invites audiences to see familiar questions from new perspectives. Created by Toshi Reagon in collaboration with UNC-Chapel Hill scholars Danielle Spurlock and Danielle Purifoy and Durham-based writer, scholar, and activist Alexis Pauline Gumbs, the performance places artists and researchers side by side on stage. Their stories, questions, ideas, and experiences become part of the work itself, reflecting Toshi’s belief that important voices and perspectives in our communities belong in shared public conversation. Student tickets always $11. Eligible for CLE. Find out more and buy tickets at:

Celebrate Callaloo’s Southern Voices issue (44.4), commemorating the journal’s 50th anniversary. Guest edited by UNC Creative Writing faculty member Tyree Daye. Refreshments provided. Presented by the Creative Writing Program and Southern Cultures quarterly