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mOthertongue: Lived Experience in Asian America

  • College-Conservatory of Music, Werner Recital Hall 290 CCM Boulevard Cincinnati, OH, 45219 United States (map)
  • Images of Asia have long sparked the European musical imagination. As described by European poets and composers, these images include exotic landscapes and fetishized female figures, stereotypes that remain even as the Asian diaspora has taken root and claimed citizenship all over the world. 

    With three newly-commissioned song cycles by Asian American composers Justine F. Chen, Melissa Dunphy, and Kamala Sankaram, this recital asserts Asian American lived experience from the perspective of those of us who live it. As contrasted with Maurice Ravel’s “Asie,” a prime example of European musical Orientalism, these new songs describe the joys, pains, contradictions, and pride we experience as Asians living in this land we call home.

    -Jennifer Lien

  • Maurice Ravel Asie (from Shéhérezade)
    Justine F. Chen Alight* (Ohio premiere)
    Kamala Sankaram The Goddess Gets Dressed* (Ohio premiere)
    Melissa Dunphy To be announced* (Ohio premiere)

    *Co-commissioned by soprano Jennifer Lien & Cincinnati Song Initiative with generous support from the Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Individuals grant

  • Available to Fellowship Pass holders for in-person attendance, live-streaming, and unlimited replays until June 30. Purchase your Pass or single tickets starting February 1.

Meet the Artists


Special Thanks

The Fellowship of the Song would simply not be possible without the support of bold individuals and organizations with a shared vision to promote and innovate the song genre in America alongside CSI. We are indelibly grateful for their generosity.

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May 12

Composers’ Roundtable

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May 13

Song Workshop 2