American Ethos

Carolyn Enger

Carolyn will perform on the Classical Cape May 2025-2026 season on January 11 at 4:00pm at the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Cape May. The one-hour concert is free with a reception following to meet the artist. 

American Ethos

By Carolyn Enger

My program American Ethos grew out from my friendship with the American composer Ned Rorem. In his later years, I grew very close to him and would perform his works for him in his apartment. This eventually led me to recording Ned Rorem: Piano Album I & Six Friends, which The New York Times selected as one of their Best Classical Recordings.

After releasing that recording I began to expand my repertoire with other staples of American music, and began performing the works of Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein. While these composers wrote wonderful music, I also wanted to explore additional American composers who may not have had wide exposure. This led me to explore the works of African American composers William Grant Still, Florence Price and Margaret Bonds. They were composers who did not share the same level of success as Bernstein and Copland, but certainly deserve high recognition.

Along with these composers, I also perform the works of my close friend JJ Hollingsworth, who herself is of Native American descent, and my dear freind Robert Sirota, former President of Manhattan School of Music. I round out the program with composers who were mentored by Bernstein; Craig Urquhart and John Corigliano.

My aim is to bring to light that an "American Sound" consists of a rich tapestry of unique voices woven together. I am excited to have recorded the music from this program, and very much looking forward to the album's upcoming release in May of 2026, to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I look forward to sharing this music with you!