World Premiere: “Promises Kept” by Sean Schulich

Sean Schulich is a flutist, vocalist, and composer whose magnetic performances are driven by musical storytelling. For his Recomposing America project, Sean’s commissioned work draws inspiration from the name of this ACF initiative, imagining what it means to “recompose” our nation as we think about the welfare of future generations.

About the Commission

Promises Kept was written through the lens of a father yearning for a brighter future for his daughter. Its focus is forward — on REcomposing, rather than DEcomposing. This is the essence of improvisation: constant, imaginative, spontaneous recomposition. In this new work for flute, piano, guitar, bass, and drums, Sean asks, what is America? And, for whom? What is this idea, this ideal? These concepts are realized through group interplay as harmonies and rhythm create a shifting structure for ever-undulating improvised melodic lines. Together, the ensemble seeks a more perfect union within the music and within a renewed America.

Tickets and more information →

Recomposing America is a multi-year initiative led by American Composers Forum that highlights artistic perspectives unique to the United States and the broader Americas through direct commissions, institutional collaborations, and public dialogue. Timed with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Recomposing America aims to refresh and reimagine the “who,” “what,” and “why” of the United States, and the stories therein.