In the Stacks: Songs from Inside
In the Stacks: Songs from Inside
The Sheridan Libraries in collaboration with the American Prison Writing Archive and the Peabody Institute will present two In the Stacks concerts on consecutive days—in Baltimore and in Washington, D.C.—featuring choral music that honors the individual minds, hearts, and voices of incarcerated writers from today and centuries past. A moderated panel disccusion will follow.
At the center of the program is the premiere of The Thought to Which I Lay, a commissioned work by composer and Peabody alumnus Elijah Daniel Smith set to texts by Brian D. Fuller, a writer incarcerated in Texas. It will be paired with Luigi Dallapiccola’s Canti di Prigionia (Songs of Imprisonment, 1938–41), a musical protest against rising fascism set to texts by imprisoned writers from different ages.
The works will be performed by the Peabody-based icarus Quartet and NEXT Ensemble, and conducted by Peabody artist-in-residence Juliano Aniceto.
A moderated panel discussion will follow the performance and guests will have the opportunity to view related special collections material from the Sheridan Libraries. Panelists will be announced soon.
Registration will open Friday, January 24, 2025 at 10 a.m.
The American Prison Writing Archive (APWA) is the largest body of prison witness ever amassed, including nearly 4,000 nonfiction essays and poetry by incarcerated people from across the United States. Its mission is to replace misrepresentation of prisons and imprisoned people with first-person witness by those living in legalized confinement. Housed at the Sheridan Libraries, the archive is directed by Vesla Weaver, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences; and Doran Larson, Program Executive. Thanks to the APWA staff, including Hannah Young and Maura Cheney, for helping bring this project to life.
In the Stacks offers an informal, dynamic way for audiences to engage with music and performance art. Throughout the year, this concert series activates Baltimore’s iconic George Peabody Library—a glorious space with five tiers of cast-iron balconies that soar up to a latticed spotlight—with art, music, dance, film, drama, and more.