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The Accidental Music Lesson

January 25, 2010

In a way, this is a tale of two cities

This past November I went to my hometown, Miami Beach, for a performance by the New World Symphony of my orchestral work, Gotham, a three-movement symphony that takes the city of New York as its subject. It is part of an ongoing project of ‘film symphonies’ that I am creating with filmmaker Bill Morrison to capture the aura of cities.

My family moved to Miami Beach from Nicaragua when I was eight years old…

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news

‘the public domain’ at Mostly Mozart Festival

On August 13, The Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center gives the world premiere of David Lang’s the public domain — a performance that not only welcomes the public as a free and open event, but will also be performed by the public. A piece inspired by the theme of the collective knowledge shared amongst us all, the new work is performed by 1,000 volunteer vocalists from throughout New York City, conducted by Simon Halsey, Choral Director of the London Symphony Orchestra…

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The Guardian UK

June 5, 2014
More than 20 years ago I was performing in London and staying at a friend’s flat near the Arsenal stadium. One day, between rehearsals, I decided to go and watch a match. I’m not a big football fan, and I was there alone, feeling lonesome and a bit miserable. But as the match began, an amazing thing happened. Everyone in the stadium started to sing, and I found myself in the middle of a giant 38,000-strong choir…continue reading