A Lincoln Portrait

David Conrad read the spoken portion of Aaron Copland’s  A Lincoln Portrait at Andrew Carnegie Free Library Music Hall in Carnegie as well as a poem by Samuel Hazo, Jr. accompanied by Their Blossom’s Down.

David also composed his own detailed and moving tribute to libraries, including comments on the good and bad of Andrew Carnegie and the strength and character of the immigrants who gave Carnegie his wealth and therefore built his libraries. David is actually from Pittsburgh and knows the stories of the region like those of us who grew up here. I was particularly moved because my mother’s parents, particularly her father, learned to read at that very library, taught by his daughter, my mother’s older sister, who graduated salutatorian in her class at Carnegie High School…in a ceremony held on that very Music Hall Stage. Oh, the connections.

A Lincoln Portrait has long been one of my favorite pieces of music, brief though it is, but hearing it live, spoken by Conrad’s rich, sincere voice, music performed by the Duquesne University Wind Ensemble conducted by H. Robert Reynolds was almost more than I could take. I always tear up during the piece whenever I hear it, but hearing it live was a totally new experience. I photograph events for my local public library, this among them, and almost forgot to take photos during this. Interesting considering that is what I typically do when I am moved by something—photograph it!

You can see more photos of this performance in the photo gallery on the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall’s website under A Lincoln Portrait with David Conrad and H. Robert Reynolds. Also please browse the entire Photo Album on this facility’s website—I maintain this gallery and all the photos are those I’ve taken at events and just on daily visits. This is “my” library which I’ve been visiting since I was a child, and while they are one of my customers for commercial art I also visit for the sake of books and attend performances in the music hall.