| Emory Report | September 2, 1997 |
Volume 50, No. 2 |
Emory pianist-in-residence William Ransom and acclaimed poet and medical professor John Stone will grace the Performing Arts Studio on Sept. 12 for a performance of "The Poet and the Pianist," a first-ever partnership marrying the two artists' talents.
The recital will alternate between classical music played by Ransom and original poetry read by Stone. Among the titles Stone has chosen from his works are "Singing from the West Coast," "My Daughter," and "The Goodbye, Good Morning, Hello Poem." Ransom will play selections from Schumann, Bach, Chopin, Joplin and Debussy.
Originally Ransom's idea, the collaboration met with great enthusiasm from Stone. "I think he recognized that quite a bit of my work has a musical background-it's meant to be heard," Stone said. "He had ideas of the kinds of music he wanted to play, and I had ideas of what I wanted to read. I sat back and let him play with his thoughts about accompaniment; I could tell he was making brilliant choices."
Ransom said this performance may not be the last. "We've enjoyed it so much, we've batted around the idea of playing other places," he said.
Ransom is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music in New York and has performed for concerts, Broadway shows and recordings worldwide. He is founder and artistic director of the Emory Chamber Music Society.
Published in numerous literary reviews, Stone's poems are collected in three books. He has taught courses in medicine and creative writing at Oxford University in England, and his work has been anthologized in the Norton Introduction to Literature and Contemporary Southern Poetry.
Tickets for the 8:15 p.m. performance are $5. Call the Emory box office at 727-5050 for more information.
-Michael Terrazas