Text from fragments by Daniel McGrew
When meeting Daniel McGrew, I was struck by the similarity of experiences we shared. Even though we came from different cultural backgrounds and grew up listening to different music, we both found words to be an expressive tool, whether we wrote our own or read the words of others. And the power of these words became stronger when we sang them – songs taught us how to communicate and oriented our childhood selves towards the people we are today.
Daniel sent me poetry fragments that he wrote over the years. They were beautiful and raw, at times playful and at times heartbreaking, and I was honored that he shared them with me.While setting several passages, I noticed how connected I felt to his words even though we did not necessarily share the same personal experiences. Our memories may be sometimes parallel and sometimes contrasting, but we both relate to the same images in our own unique ways.
Both Daniel’s poetry fragments and my musical setting can only represent a snapshot of who we each are as people, but between our respective snapshots, there is an infinite number of connective threads that sew our existences together. I am so grateful to Daniel for sharing these pieces of himself with me and for allowing me to share these pieces of myself with him.
December 6th, 2022
Young Concert Artists Debut Recital: Daniel McGrew, tenor
Performed by Daniel McGrew (presented by Young Concert Artists)
Kennedy Center (Terrrace Theater), Washington, DC
December 8th, 2022
Young Concert Artists Debut Recital: Daniel McGrew, tenor
Performed by Daniel McGrew (presented by Young Concert Artists)
Merkin Hall (Kaufman Music Center), New York, NY
