At This Point:

a commemoration in honor of Portsmouth's 400th anniversary

by Gregory Brown with lyrics by Todd Hearon

The PSO’s opening concert will bring Portsmouth’s 400^th anniversary celebrations to a pinnacle with the world premiere of At This Point. This commemorative commissioned piece delves into the full range of Portsmouth’s history by exploring the streets and stories at this point in time, while also reaching back to what Portsmouth may have looked and felt like before it was Portsmouth, before it was the homelands of the Abenaki people, or before man walked on this earth, at these precise coordinates.  Composed by Gregory Brown with words by Todd Hearon, this extensive work will feature Portsmouth Pro Musica, soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine, and Dean of Students at Phillips Exeter Academy Russell Weatherspoon as narrator. 

The program will also feature the Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman by Joan Tower, a work that is dedicated to one of the most inspiring conductors of our age, Marin Alsop, who helped push boundaries for women in music. Also featured is William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony, a true piece of musical Americana deserving of a place among the great American symphonies.

View the full concert program here.

This co-commission with The Music Hall is supported in part by an Alfred Nash Patterson Grant from
Choral Arts New England and The Gateway Fund.