No Ordinary Light: Presented by Sarah Cahill, Music History and Literature
Sarah Cahill introduces a new project combining classical and new compositions on the theme of homage and loss, featuring music by Maurice Ravel, Robert Helps, Lou Harrison, Zenobia Powell Perry, Samuel Adams, Danny Clay, and Maggi Payne. The title comes from Jawaharalal Nehru’s eulogy after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi: “The light has gone out, I said, and yet I was wrong. For the light that shone in this country was no ordinary light.”
“As this year comes to a close, I’ve been thinking a lot about loss, with the deaths of a few close friends, and also the ongoing profound loss we feel collectively under the current regime in this country,” says Cahill. “Music, as always, brings us together, and these works resonate with celebration, grief, and homage.”
No Ordinary Light Program
Samuel Adams Prelude: Hammer the Sky Bright
Robert Helps: Hommage a Fauré
Zenobia Powell Perry: Homage to William Dawson
Lou Harrison: Fugue to David Tudor and Hommage à Milhaud
Maggi Payne: Holding Pattern
Danny Clay: Circle Songs
Maurice Ravel: Tombeau de Couperin
Featured Artists
Sarah Cahill, piano
Hailed as “a sterling pianist and an intrepid illuminator of the classical avant-garde” by The New York Times, Sarah Cahill has commissioned and premiered over seventy compositions for solo piano. In 2023 Cahill was featured in one of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts playing selections from her album trilogy The Future is Female.
Music History and Literature
Sarah Cahill
About SFCM's Piano Department
SFCM pianists study in a focused, energized, and supportive environment. Artist-teachers with a wealth of international performing experience provide close instruction and mentorship to an exclusive group of fewer than 50 students. Performance opportunities within the Conservatory and around San Francisco help prepare students for a career at the highest professional level. Students also have the chance to enter a yearly concerto competition, the winner of which performs with the Conservatory Orchestra. Interdepartmental collaboration, guest artist residencies, and master classes round out a transformative piano education. Recent guest artists include Emanuel Ax, Sergei Babayan, Richard Goode, Stephen Hough, Menahem Pressler, and Shai Wosner.