Music as Protest for Peace and Equity - Steve Heitzeg

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On CS this week, Amy is reunited with an old friend and collaborator, Emmy Award-winning composer, Steve Heitzeg. A lifelong peace and environmental activist, Steve’s music often features found instruments that reflect the theme of his work such as stones, driftwood, Joshua Tree branches, manatee and beluga whale bones, found bullets, and prosthetic limbs. A composer who believes in the power of children’s voices, Steve explains some of the unique challenges and considerations he takes into account when writing for these delicate performers. After he tells Anna whose score he is currently keeping under his pillow, we hear excerpts of Heitzeg’s 75-minute Nobel Symphony, commissioned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prizes Finally, we hear his recent trumpet concerto American Nomad, a sonic journey across America, written for trumpet virtuoso Charles Lazarus. How did an armature from the Statue of Liberty happen to become a percussion instrument in this piece? You’ll have to listen to find out.