New York, NY (November 6, 2019)— The Academy of American Poets is pleased to announce that it has partnered with the New York Philharmonic on Project 19, the Philharmonic’s initiative to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The organizations will co-commission 19 new works by award-winning women poets. Seven of the commissioned poems will be featured in Poem-a-Day in March 2020 as part of the Academy’s week of special programming for the Poetry Coalition, and on Poets.org.
Poets confirmed include:
Elizabeth Alexander
Ellen Bass
Kimberly Blaeser
Mahogany Browne
Claudia Castro Luna
Tina Chang
Marilyn Chin
Natalie Diaz
Rita Dove
Linda Gregerson
Brenda Hillman
Joy Ladin
Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Alicia Ostriker
Paisley Rekdal
Evie Shockley
Maggie Smith
Mai Der Vang
Other participating organizations include Catalyst, The Juilliard School, Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School High School (M. 859), League of Women Voters of the City of New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s MetLiveArts performance series, and the New York Historical Society, all of which will help extend the reach of Project 19 and further conversations about representation in classical music and beyond.
For more information about Project 19, visit: nyphil.org/project19
About the Academy of American Poets
The Academy of American Poets is the nation’s leading champion of poets and poetry with members in all fifty states. Founded in 1934, the organization produces Poets.org, the world’s largest publicly funded website for poets and poetry; National Poetry Month; the popular Poem-a-Day series; American Poets magazine; Teach This Poem and other award-winning resources for K-12 educators; and an annual series of poetry readings and special events. In addition, the Academy of American Poets coordinates a national Poetry Coalition working together to promote the value poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds. This year the organization has awarded more funds to poets than any other organization, giving a total of $1,250,000 to poets at various stages of their careers.
About the New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic connects with up to 50 million people around the world annually through concerts, broadcasts, recordings, and education programs. In the 2019–20 season, Music Director Jaap van Zweden and the Philharmonic reaffirm their vital commitments to serving as New York’s orchestra and to championing new music. Maestro van Zweden conducts seven World Premieres and symphonic cornerstones and presides over Project 19, marking the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment with commissions by 19 women composers; hotspots festival, spotlighting new-music centers Berlin, Reykjavík, and New York; and Mahler’s New York, examining the composer/conductor who spent time in New York as the Philharmonic’s tenth Music Director. The Philharmonic has commissioned and/or premiered works by leading composers from every era since its founding in 1842. Highlights include Dvořák’s New World Symphony; John Adams’s Pulitzer Prize–winning On the Transmigration of Souls, dedicated to the victims of 9/11; and Julia Wolfe’s Fire in my mouth. The two new-music series introduced in Jaap van Zweden’s inaugural season — Nightcap and Sound ON —return in 2019–20. A resource for its community and the world, the Orchestra complements annual free concerts across the city — including the Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer — with Philharmonic Free Fridays, the low-cost Phil the Hall, and education projects, including the famed Young People’s Concerts. The Orchestra has appeared in 435 cities in 63 countries, including Pyongyang, DPRK, in 2008, the first visit there by an American orchestra. The oldest American symphony orchestra and one of the oldest in the world, the Philharmonic has made more than 2,000 recordings since 1917 and produced its first-ever Facebook Live concert broadcast in 2016. Jaap van Zweden became Music Director in September 2018, succeeding titans including Bernstein, Toscanini, and Mahler.