21V, a professional ensemble of soprano and alto voices singing the stories of the 21st century Americas, presents Promise and Peril. We'll explore the complex dynamics between the Global North and the Global South, the transformative impact of technology, and often-overlooked promises of our Americas with a powerful combination of music and texts that will shed light on how progress can bridge divides yet deepen inequities.
The concert will include two world premieres: a newly commissioned work by Eric Tuan reflecting on the voices of those whose labor makes Silicon Valley and technological prosperity possible, and Karen Siegel’s The Future of Intelligence, which asks the question “what does AI itself have to say about the dangers it may pose to humanity.” Composer Siegel collaborated with Chat GPT to create the text of this piece.
Other repertoire will include two pieces by Argentinian composer Juan Stafforini: Anna Tawaqu reflecting on the decimation of Aztecs in 1520 by a smallpox epidemic, and Amor, ciudado futuro, setting Aymara, Guaraní, and Mapuche languages and offering a multi-cultural array of promises made by the American continent to its children. The program will also include works by Mexican-born Diana Syrse and Afro-Venezuelan Víctor Daniel Lozada.