Carnegie Hall’s “In Response” Concert Will Premiere Online on April 28
Newport News, VA — A song composed by students at Soundscapes will be featured in Carnegie Hall’s “In Response” Concert on Wednesday, April 28. The song, “See My Friends Again,” reflects the students’ complex emotions about the layered crises our country has faced over the past year. The piece is one of just 20 original compositions selected for inclusion in the concert out of more than 80 submissions from musicians nationwide.
“See My Friends Again” was created by Soundscapes student musicians in grades 4-12 through a process of group composition, led by their instructors and Joe Hamm, Soundscapes’ program and media manager. “It began in the fall as a way of processing opinions,” Hamm explains, especially in the time leading up to the November presidential election. “We decided instead of just having a conversation about it, we would channel that energy and those ideas that the students were initiating into a piece of music we could share with the world.” The completed song includes lyrics that address difficult topics, like isolation and depression, police brutality, and the fear of COVID-19, but ultimately ends with a hopeful message: “Let the love shine in; I will see my friends again, see my friends again.”
Soundscapes is a nonprofit organization in Newport News that provides music instruction and performance opportunities to students in first grade up to age 24 through daily after-school programs, weekend and summer programs, and the Peninsula Youth Orchestra. The organization’s purpose is to empower students to be today’s successful students and tomorrow’s engaged citizens. Through Soundscapes students develop critical life skills including self-confidence, teamwork, concentration, and perseverance.
Presented as part of Carnegie Hall’s Voices of Hope festival, “In Response” features songwriters and composers of all ages as they reflect on the life-affirming power of music during times of crisis. The concert will premiere on April 28 at 7 p.m. at www.carnegiehall.org/inresponse.