UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Contemporary chamber music collective Decoda will explore the boundaries of classical and folk genres with special guest vocal duo Ringdown. The program, “Reverberations,” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, in Recital Hall at Penn State University Park.
Decoda will perform Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” in a collaboration with students from the Penn State School of Music, a unit of the College of Arts and Architecture. As part of that public performance, “We’re going to be working with four students … and doing a side-by-side, collaborative rehearsal process,” State College native and Decoda Co-Artistic Director Clara Lyon said.
After the performance, the artists will speak with interested audience members.
Call 814-863-0255 or visit Decoda online for more information about free engagement events.
Decoda artist Clara Lyon: ‘Think bigger’
Decoda features alumni from Ensemble Connect (artists from Carnegie Hall and The Juilliard School) and is the only affiliate of Carnegie Hall. Portland, Oregon-based Ringdown blends classical roots with contemporary storytelling in its cinematic, electro-pop vocal stylings.
The Center for the Performing Arts spoke with State College native and Decoda Co-Artistic Director Clara Lyon in a recent virtual visit. With a return to the community where her journey began, Lyon said she is eager to bridge her professional performance with her desire to collaborate and mentor new artists. She said she invites everyone to think bigger about their art, their impact and the lives they want to shape through creativity.
“I hope that the audience leaves with a greater sense of interconnectedness,” Lyon said. “Every single piece in the program really speaks to each other, musically and aesthetically. … The true purse of being an artist is the way is changes how you live.”
“Reverberations” explores the links between inspiration and imagination and the interconnected web of musical influence and features two works by Aaron Copland that aim to reinvent folk material. The program will include:
- Aaron Copland, “Midday Thoughts” for Solo Piano (1944, rev. 1982)
- Hanns Eisler, Septet No. 1, Op. 92a (1940)
- Woody Guthrie/Billy Bragg, “Eisler on the Go “(arr. Claire Bryant) (1949/1998)
- Ringdown (with Decoda), Set of Four Short Works: “Reckoning,” “Run,” “Thirst,” and “I Won’t Go” (2024–25)
- Ringdown, “Every Stone in Cambridge Reminds Me of You” (2024)
- Copland, “Appalachian Spring” suite for 13 instruments (1945/1970), featuring students from Penn State School of Music
Watch Decoda perform Valerie Coleman’s “Revelry.” Watch Ringdown perform “Reckoning.”