"One man with courage makes a majority." —Andrew Jackson
Official White House portrait of Andrew Jackson. Official White
House portrait of Andrew Jackson. Wikimedia Commons Throughout
February, hear new works by contemporary composers based on
words of 16 American presidents, in recordings by conductor
Judith Clurman and Essential Voices USA. Today, words from
Andrew Jackson come alive in music by Nico Muhly. Composer Nico
Muhly isn't afraid of large forces or new media. He's at work on
an opera with playwright Craig Lucas that's destined for London
and the Metropolitan Opera. His Drones and Piano for pianist
Bruce Brubaker features sounds from an unusual instrument: the
iPod. But for this installment of the Mr. President series,
Muhly worked with voices alone. "I have a soft spot in my heart
for Nico Muhly," says conductor Judith Clurman, the instigator
of the project. "I directed choral activities at Juilliard for
18 years, and I got to know him as a student, and I'm really
fortunate that I brought him back