Sarah Kirkland Snyder’s Penelope will be presented in both Manchester and Concord, New Hampshire. Ink Link News, Arts and Culture is the show sponsor.
Ink Link News, Arts and Culture, or what many of you know of today as Manchester Ink Link, is proud to be the show sponsor. Like Carol Robidoux’s Ink Link, Symphony NH has positioned itself as an important vehicle for connection and community. The Ink Link and Symphony NH are both dedicated to making their work accessible while providing learning opportunities to enrich diverse audiences. Ink Link readers know there is no paywall between you and the community-focused news and information we report.
The Ink Link and Symphony NH also share a commitment to encourage and enable* the youth in our communities. For Ink Link News it is, in part, through The Inkubator. For Symphony NH it is through their education programs including Link Up in the Nashua Public Schools.
Penelope Performances
Symphony New Hampshire continues it’s centennial celebration with a powerful work by Sarah Kirkland Snider. Penelope will be performed at two New Hampshire locations. The first is on Saturday, March 2 at the Rex Theater (23 Amherst St., Manchester); and the second will be on Sunday, March 3 at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage (16 S Main St, Concord).
What is this performance of Penelope all about?
Penelope touches on the topic of war, trauma, and homecoming. But it is also about healing. Sarah Kirkland Snider’s work was inspired by Homer’s The Odyssey but it is told from a distinctly female point of view. Snider speaks about it elevating compassion, resilience and courage in a song cycle that has the musical texture of pop, classical and jazz moments. Like a Fiddler’s Tale, there is a not-so-subtle narrative taking place under the musical score. Symphony New Hampshire in both cases shows its willingness to take risks and present pieces that speak to younger folks in newer ways.
Librettist Ellen McLaughlin remained sensitive to The Odyssey as a story of veterans returning from the battlefield but wrote it as intensely female, for one woman’s voice.
Conducted by Music Director Roger Kalia, the concert will feature the return of celebrated vocalist Corrine Byrne to Symphony NH to reprise her role in Penelope. Corrine Byrne coached Danny Rivera who previously appeared with Symphony NH in A Fiddler’s Tale.
Penelope serves as a moving song cycle inspired by Homer’s The Odyssey. Described as “a meditation on memory, identity, and what it means to come home,” Penelope tells the poignant story of a wife reconnecting with her changed husband, who has returned from an unnamed war.
Know before you go!
Join hosts Deanna Hoying, Executive Director and Music Director Roger Kalia for Preludes, a pre-concert talk one hour before each performance that provides a fascinating look into the music that is to come with illuminating stories, histories, and insights into the repertoire and composers.
Symphony New Hampshire is dedicated to performing great music with an exceptional orchestra to enrich and delight our diverse audiences, expand the musical and humanitarian contributions of our entire arts community, and provide learning opportunities with performances that spread beauty, empowerment, and goodwill.
Penelope performance players:
- Roger Kalia, conductor
- Corrine Byrne, soprano
- Sarah Kirkland Snider, composer
- Ellen McLaughlin Librettist
- Members of Symphony NH
Saturday, March 2, 2024, 7:30 pm Rex Theater (23 Amherst St., Manchester)
Sunday, March 3, 2024, 3 pm Bank of New Hampshire Stage (16 S Main St, Concord)
For tickets or more information visit SymphonyNH.org or call (603) 595-9156
Symphony New Hampshire’s remaining events of the 2023/24 season:
- Penelope | Sat. Mar. 2, 2024 | 7:30 pm | The Rex Theatre |Sun. Mar. 3, 2024 | 3 pm | The Bank of NH Stage (Concord)
- Game Over(ture) | Sat. Mar. 23, 2024 | 7:30 pm | Capitol Center for the Arts (Concord)
- Game Over(ture) | Sun. Mar 24, 2024 | 3 pm | Keefe Center for the Arts Nashua
- New World | Sat. Apr. 20, 2024 | 7:30 pm | Keefe Center for the Arts Nashua
- The Music of John Williams | Sat. Jun 8, 2024 | 7:30 pm | Capitol Center for the Arts (Concord)
- The Music of John Williams | Sat. Jun 8, 2024 | 3 pm | Keefe Center for the Arts Nashua
* You can financially support opportunities in the Arts for young people:
- Symphony New Hampshire has a mission to enrich communities with exceptional live orchestral work and an education mission of engagement from the classroom to the concert hall.
- The Ink Link News created an Inkubator program aimed at nurturing and growing New Hampshire’s local journalism ecosystem