This Friday, alumni and current students will join in song to honor the memory of Christina Porter ’06, who tragically passed away in 2005. Louis Burkot will direct this unique Glee Club performance built around Porter’s poetry set to music.
Soloists Emma Alexander ’10, Amber Dewey ’12, and Emma Orme ’15 will perform a four-song cycle at the center of this event. The performance will also include a selection of pieces performed by the Glee Club that were sung while Porter was a member, as well as other pieces chosen by Burkot.
Burkot describe the songs as “playful and fun,” noting that Porter’s focus in these poems was the depiction of everyday life in a whimsical light; she describes, for instance, the dance of a fork and knife, and an opera singer taking a break from practice to nap.
The selection of alumnae soloists was a priority for this performance. Both Alexander and Dewey are past recipients of The Christina Porter Award in the Arts for Achievement in Vocal Music, which will be presented for the 10th year running this spring. Burkot, who is involved in the selection process, explains that the award, established by the Porter family, is given to a student who embodies Porter’s ideals of making a creative impact on campus and adding to Dartmouth’s artistic life. The Porter family worked closely with Burkot in the creation of Friday’s program as well, and he notes that they are “very pleased that we are using these alumni singers.”
Though the award focuses on vocal performance, Porter’s passion for the arts was broad, spanning music, creative writing, and visual art, and the events being held in her honor reflect her wide range of talents. In addition to the Glee Club performance, Friday marks the opening of an exhibition of her artwork in the Black Family Visual Arts Center, which will run through April 25.
Friday’s performance will take place in the atrium of the Black Family Visual Arts Center at 5 p.m. It is free and open to the public.