Participating in Vivaldi Reimagined

I had the great honor of participating in Charlotte Symphony Orchestra's Vivaldi Reimagined: The Four Seasons in Music & Verse on February 13th at my workplace, Central Piedmont Community College. This program combined Antonio Vivaldi's most well-known piece, The Four Seasons, with original poetry.

A little-known fact is that Vivaldi wrote sonnets for each of the four concertos. For the CPCC performance, fellow faculty member Kimberly Scott read Vivaldi's original sonnets while I wrote and performed original poems inspired by Vivaldi's.

My aim was not to improve or diminish the original poems but to converse with them. Vivaldi wrote poetry the same he wrote music: with an impressionistic flair. His poems depicted pictorial scenes akin to visual art during the Baroque period. His poems also explored themes common to his time such as Greek/Roman mythology and man vs. nature. I wanted to modernize his poems by adding storytelling, metaphors, and symbolism to his already-established themes.

I am happy to say that the concert was a success and many seemed to have enjoyed my reimaginings. If you missed it, no worries. Throw on a recording of The Four Seasons and read the poems below yourself!