Songs from the Hispanic Diaspora II

Sunday, August 24, 2025 | 7:30 PMTimucua Arts Foundation

Join us for an evening of rich language, expressive music, and vibrant cross-cultural collaboration, where poetry and composition meet in a shared celebration of the Hispanic diaspora.

The Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2) and Open Scene Orlando return to Timucua Arts Foundation for Songs of the Hispanic Diaspora II: a powerful continuation of last season’s collaborative celebration of Latin American poetry and contemporary music, in collaboration with musicians from the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra (OCCO) and VoxO, and presented by Timucua Arts Foundation and Performing Arts Matter.

This second installment features all newly penned works by local composers setting iconic poems by remarkable poets from Nicaragua, Cuba, Argentina, Peru, and Chile. Featuring texts by Rubén Darío, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, José Martí, Alfonsina Storni, César Vallejo, Gabriela Mistral, and Vicente Huidobro, the concert pairs expressive new music with readings and cultural commentary, creating a rich, bilingual artistic experience.

Composers:
Troy Gifford · James Hall · Eric Heumann · Gerald Law II · Keith Lay · Mark Piszczek · Paul Austin Sanders · Bob Walker, Jr.

Performers from OCCO, VoxO, and CF2:
Keri Lee Pierson (soprano)
Emily Heumann (mezzo-soprano)
Julia Gessinger (violin)
Kristine Griffin (piano)
Troy Gifford (guitar)

Poems will be recited in both Spanish and English by Charlie Griffin (OCCO/CF2) and Thamara Bejarano, with cultural context provided by Bejarano (Open Scene Orlando).

The evening’s program brings to life the words of celebrated Latin American poets, each reimagined in new musical settings by composers from Central Florida. These vivid, contemporary interpretations, featuring combinations of voice, piano, guitar, and violin, create an intimate and expressive tapestry of sound and verse.

NICARAGUA
Rubén Darío’s Sonatina, set by Gerald Law II for mezzo-soprano and guitar, opens the program with a dreamlike portrait of a young princess longing for a life beyond her royal surroundings.

CUBA
Al partir by Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda is a poignant farewell to Cuba, filled with longing and sorrow, and is set by James Hall for soprano and piano. Orlando maverick composer Keith Lay offers a bold setting for soprano and piano of José Martí’s iconic Yo soy un hombre sincero, a powerful declaration of honesty, openness, and personal resolve.

ARGENTINA
Alfonsina Storni’s Dulce tortura is a stirring depiction of conflicted desire and emotional complexity. Eric Heumann sets this poem for mezzo-soprano and piano, revealing both its sensuality and its quiet anguish.

PERÚ
In Los Heraldos Negros, César Vallejo gives voice to deep spiritual and existential pain. Paul Austin Sanders’s setting for mezzo-soprano and piano draws out the poem’s dark gravity and unanswered questions of suffering.

CHILE
Gabriela Mistral’s Hallazgo, a lyrical discovery of love, is set by Bob Walker Jr. for soprano, mezzo, and guitar, striving to capture the poem’s brief, luminous intimacy. Two works by Vicente Huidobro close the program: Días y noches te he buscado…, a symbolic search for truth and selfhood, set by Mark Piszczek for mezzo-soprano and piano; and Altazor, Canto I (fragment), an excerpt from Huidobro’s avant-garde masterpiece, set by Troy Gifford for soprano and guitar, evoking themes of flight, dislocation, and transcendence.

CF2 champions the creation and performance of new music by Central Florida composers, while Open Scene fosters artistic exchange across cultures and disciplines, amplifying the voices of Latin America. This shared vision makes Songs of the Hispanic Diaspora II a resonant and meaningful artistic gathering.

CF2 brings the Kansas City-based Lyric Arts Trio to Orlando for the 2024 Timucua International Chamber Music Festival

Saturday, January 20, 2024 | 7:30 p.m. EST

The Lyric Arts Trio of Kansas City (Elena Lence Talley, clarinet; Daniel Velicer, piano; and Sarah Tannehill Anderson, soprano) have delighted audiences throughout the Midwest with their technical and artistic abilities and wonderful musicianship. They project a warmth and pleasure in performing concerts crafted around a central theme, complemented by informal remarks about the music that enlighten and entertain audiences. In this concert, they will be performing:

Stella Sung — Three Songs on Poems by Robert Frost
Charlie Griffin — When Great Trees Fall
Alex Burtzos — The Explosion, and Other Tales, Mvt. III.Dublinesque 
Troy Gifford — Night Voices
Mark Piszczek— Star Fell
Alan Gerber — Mvts. 1 & 4 from Love’s Paradox
Seunghee Lee — Selected movements from Dancheong

Event Venue

Timucua Arts Foundation
2000 S Summerlin Ave
Orlando, FL 32806

Discounted tickets are available for members, students, teachers, frontline workers, veterans, and seniors. In-person and livestream tickets are available. Please bring a bottle of wine or non-alcoholic beverage to share.

STELLA SUNG

As a national and international award-winning composer, the music of Stella Sung has been performed throughout the United States and abroad. She served as the first Composer-in-Residence for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra (2008-2011), and was one of the five composers nationally selected for a “Music Alive” award, a three-year award that allowed Dr. Sung to serve as Composer-In-Residence for the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (2013-16), sponsored by New Music USA, the League of American Orchestras, ASCAP, the Aaron Copland Fund, and the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Dr. Sung is Composer-in-Residence for Dance Alive National Ballet (Gainesville, FL).

Stella Sung is the recipient of numerous awards, including a 2020-21 “Commissioning Grant for Female Composers” from Opera America and a 2021-22 NEA grant for her opera The Secret River (with Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Mark Campbell commissioned and produced by Opera Orlando). She is the recipient of a Phi Kappa Phi National Artists Award, Florida Individual Artists Fellowships, a fellowship at the prestigious MacDowell Colony, and awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).

Premieres, performances, and commissions of Dr. Sung’s work have included compositions for world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the German Ministry of Culture (Rhineland-Pfalz), the National Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Pops, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, the Monterey (CA) Symphony, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, the Akron Symphony Orchestra, the Sarasota Symphony Orchestra, the Jacksonville (FL) Symphony Orchestra, and other university and regional orchestras, chamber music ensembles, and soloists.

Several documentary films have been made about Sung’s work, including a film by award-winning documentary filmmaker Lisa Mills, which captures the world premiere performance of Sung’s large orchestral work, The Circle Closes (2010). This film has garnered a Silver Medal Award from the 2011 Park City Film Music Festival (Park City, Utah) and a 2011 Bronze Telly Award. Sung’s highly acclaimed composition for orchestra, Rockwell Reflections, was excerpted and made into a five-minute film by Lisa Mills and was selected for the Cultural Arts Award at the 2009 International MOFILM short film festival.

Another award-winning documentary film about Sung’s Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra by filmmaker Aaron Hosé was selected for two Telly Awards (2007).

The music of Stella Sung is published by the Theodore Presser Music Publishers (USA), Editions Henry Lemoine (France), Southern Music Company (Keiser, USA), and Sonic Star Music Productions (USA), and is currently available on Koch International Recordings, Naxos, Cambria Master Recordings, Sinfonica (Italy), Eroica Master Recordings, MSR, and Albany Records. Sung’s compositions have been broadcast on radio stations worldwide, including WGBH-Boston, WBUR-Boston, WNYC-New York, KING FM radio (Seattle, WA), the Bavarian Radio (Munich, Germany), the Swedish National Radio, and Radio Vaticana (Rome, Italy).

Sung holds a Bachelor of Music degree (piano performance) from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), a Master of Fine Arts degree (Composition) from the University of Florida, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree (piano performance) from the University of Texas at Austin. The University of Florida has recognized Dr. Sung as a Distinguished Alumna, an Alumna of Outstanding Achievement, and she has also received a Distinguished Achievement Award from UF.

Dr. Sung is the director of the Center for Research and Education in Arts, Technology, and Entertainment (CREATE) at the University of Central Florida, College of Arts and Humanities. Dr. Sung holds a “Pegasus” Professorship, the highest honor awarded to distinguished faculty members at the University of Central Florida, and is also an endowed “University Trustees Chair” professor.

Call for Participation: Fifth Annual Composers Salon

Central Florida composers are invited to submit works for the 5th Annual Composer’s Salon concert held at the Orlando White House on Sunday, September 10th at 7:30PM. All styles of art music, acoustic and electronic, are welcome for consideration. The composers must provide their own performers. The concert will be presented to an audience of new music fans in Orlando and live-streamed on the Web. Participants will receive a complimentary audio and video recording.

Purpose

The annual composer’s salon concerts celebrate new music written by local composers in the central Florida area. They are an opportunity for composers to share new music with the central Florida community. The concerts are free (donations welcome) and all ears are welcome.

Eligibility

Members of CFCF will receive priority for programming. Annual dues are $45 and can be paid on our site.

Application Deadline

The deadline for submissions is Sunday, August 13th. Please email the following information to ericjbrook@gmail.com.

  • Title
  • Duration
  • Instrumentation
  • Performer’s Names
  • Score/Audio Recording/Proposal

Selection Process

Approximately 60-75 minutes of music will be scheduled. In the event that more than 75 minutes of music is submitted, scheduling priority will be on a first come first served basis. CFCF would like to thank the Timucua Arts Foundation for administrative assistance and use of the concert space.

May 7: Marathon AMF at the White House

We’re very excited about this Accidental Music Festival event, which brings together eleven ensembles from throughout central Florida for an afternoon of performance and community.

Marathon AMF banner

CF2 members Chris Belt, Benoit Glazer, Charles Griffin, David MacDonald, and Daniel Saylor will have works on the program, which includes performances from the Natalie Grata & Chris Erickson, Belt & Ramirez, Helena, New Score Chamber Orchestra, Glass Quartet, Lush Agave, Hippocrene Saxophone Ensemble, Luis Guerrero, UCF Collide Ensemble, and Ensemble AMF.

There is a $10 suggested donation.

More details from Accidental Music Festival.

Sketch Art of CF2 White House Concert by Thomas Thorspecken

Thomas Thorspecken is an illustrator and journalist working in and around Orlando, and his blog has become an ongoing chronicle that really speaks to the character of the city amongst the non-tourists and natives. We were fortunate enough for him to sketch our concert at the White House, and here is the result. Do support this Orlando institution by visiting his website and considering buying a sketch. Many thanks, Thor!