Talk by composer Damon Ferrante and concert of his music to be given at Longwood April 8/9

A talk by composer Damon Ferrante and a concert featuring his music will be presented at Longwood University in April.

The lecture, about the role of contemporary art music in the modern era, will be Tuesday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Hull 132. A performance of Beyond the Line of Blue, a song cycle composed by Ferrante that is drawn from the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe, will be presented Wednesday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts. Both events are free and open to the public.

The concert will be performed by Dr. Christopher Swanson, a tenor who is an associate professor of music at Longwood, and guitarists William Anderson and Oren Fader. The performance will feature film work by Allesandro Bonini.

Ferrante’s works have been performed in concert halls and performance venues throughout North America, including Carnegie Hall. His music has been called "focused and colorful…with an unexpected, decidedly poetic touch." He lives in Milan, Italy, and is the founder/director of Steeplechase Arts & Productions, which integrates innovation and tradition in music and collaboration among the arts.

Ferrante’s appearance is part of the Simkins Lecture Series, established in 1979 to honor Dr. Francis Butler Simkins, a historian who was one of Longwood’s most eminent faculty members. Except for brief periods elsewhere, Simkins, a specialist in Southern history, taught at Longwood from 1928 until his death in 1966.