Westminster College music faculty members took to the Jewett Center for Performing Arts Sunday to perform their annual concert series, “No Voice is Too Soft,” a program focused on the works of historically underrepresented musicians and poets.
Some of the featured artists included Lori Laitman, a composer and poet whose works focused on the Holocaust; Joseph Bologne, an 18th century composer and son of an enslaved African; William Finn, a Tony award-winning queer composer; and Florence Price, an African American composer.
Dr. Christopher Puckett, head of vocal studies at Westminster, said that as the faculty chose the pieces they would be performing, they noticed a common theme among the artists they chose.
“The program came about really organically,” Puckett said. “We started all separately putting together what we wanted to do, and by and large, we noticed that we had been picking music that was by composers from underrepresented groups.”
The program featured performances from Westminster faculty along with some special guests — including an appearance from Katlyn Addison, a Ballet West first soloist, and Jenifer Olson, the mother of adjunct professor Hilary Koolhoven, who also performed in the show.
“We wanted to show that everyone deserves to have a voice no matter who they are,” Koolhoven said.
Koolhoven said the diversity of subjects highlighted in the concert made the program special.
“I hope this concert can inspire those who belong to these minority communities to excel in their chosen fields, whether it’s music, literature, science or anything that they are passionate about,” Koolhoven said.
If you missed the performance and would like to watch it, click here to stream a recorded version. The program was streamed live to accommodate for the current COVID-19 pandemic.
