Wait For Me: To Hell and Back

Cynthia Anderson, EJ Wogaman*, Ashley Knox*, Katie Martin*, Cat Gatian*, Geoffrey Madge*, Bohdan Schevchenko, Scott Bartlett, Lynn Hileman, Joshua Swiger, Jason Zeh, Dallan Halkias*, and Juwan Johnson*

Loulie, Valeria and William Canady Creative Arts Center, School of Music, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Presentation Category: Visual & Performing Arts (Performing Arts Presentation #51)

Student’s Major: Music Composition

We went to hell and back before the world went to hell and hasn't come back. In March 2020, the WVU oboe studio took a trip to New York City where we saw Broadway's "Hadestown", a modern retelling of the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Its message of hope is best demonstrated through these lyrics from the show: "I'm working on a song / it isn't finished yet / But when it's done and when I sing it / Spring will come again." The world changed upon return from NYC, with school moving online just days following, but "Hadestown's" message stuck with us. In January 2021, Professor Anderson approached the oboe trio about creating something Hadestown-related. Ashley, a composition major, got to work arranging. We chose the track "Wait for Me" because it is representative of our current situation, waiting for the world to return to normal. Additionally, this is Katie and Ashley's last semester in the oboe studio, and they graduate into a world of unknowns, just as Orpheus descended into the unknown. We were fortunate enough to find vocalists, Juwan and Dallan, willing to take the roles of Hermes and Orpheus. Other double reeds were happy to lend their skills and Professor Joshua Swiger and Jason Zeh recorded. In this scene, Orpheus seeks out Eurydice, who has gone to Hadestown searching for warmth. Hermes tells Orpheus it was his fault, and the only way to get her back is to take the long road to Hadestown.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: My efforts were mainly voluntary.