Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Abels, best known for his scores for films by director Jordan Peele, will visit campus March 6-7 for two days of public events and concerts as part of the 麻豆视频 & 麻豆视频鈥 Arts Unplugged series, in partnership with the Department of Music and the Barbara & Richard T. Silver Wind Symphony.
Abels won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for the opera "Omar," co-composed with Grammy-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens, and he earned Emmy and Grammy nominations for his scores for the Peele films 鈥淕et Out,鈥 鈥淯s鈥 and 鈥淣ope.鈥 His many concert works include the choral song cycle 鈥淎t War With Ourselves鈥 for the Kronos Quartet, and the Grammy-nominated 鈥淚solation Variation鈥 for violinist Hilary Hahn.
鈥淢ichael Abels is one of today鈥檚 most prolific and versatile composers,鈥 said , the Barbara & Richard T. Silver 鈥50, MD 鈥53 Associate Professor and director of winds in the Department of Music (A&S). 鈥淗e seamlessly blends a wide spectrum of musics 鈥 from Western art music to jazz, hip-hop and bluegrass 鈥 into something unmistakably his own. I鈥檓 thrilled to premiere my new arrangements of his music and to introduce both him and his unique compositional voice to our students and the Cornell community.鈥
The events in 鈥淢usic Unbound: From stage to screen with composer Michael Abels鈥 include:
Friday, March 6
7:15 p.m. Panel discussion exploring how music shapes storytelling on screen, between:
- Ambre Dromgoole, assistant professor, Africana studies and music (A&S)
- Igor Santos, assistant professor, music (A&S)
- Samantha Sheppard, associate professor, performing and media arts (A&S)
- Ashley Smith, assistant professor, media arts, sciences & studies, Ithaca College
- Michael Abels
8 p.m.: Screening of 鈥淯s鈥 at Cornell Cinema, featuring music by Abels.
The panel and screening are free and open to the public, and free popcorn will be available.
Saturday, March 7
6:30 p.m.: Pre-concert panel discussion about Abels's concert works and his approach to composing the music for "Omar," featuring:
- Seema Golestaneh, associate professor, Near Eastern studies (A&S)
- Jorge Grossman, professor, music, Ithaca College
- James Spinazzola
- Michael Abels
7:30 p.m. Cornell Barbara and Richard T. Silver Wind Symphony concert featuring: Michael Abels, guest composer; Lisa Williamson, soprano; Juliana Pepinsky, flute; and Louis Arques, clarinet.
The program includes world-premiere arrangements of works by Abels: 鈥淯nbound,鈥 鈥淲inged Creatures鈥 and selections from 鈥漁mar,鈥 as well as Duke Ellington鈥檚 鈥淎 Tone Parallel to Harlem.鈥
鈥淥mar鈥 tells the story of Omar ibn Said, a Muslim African who was kidnapped and brought to the U.S. in 1807. His literacy in Arabic became a source of fascination for his captors, who ordered him to write his autobiography. The resulting manuscripts are among the few surviving narratives by an enslaved person in the U.S. and are now preserved in the Library of Congress.
The Saturday concert is also free, but tickets
In 2022, Abels鈥 music was honored by the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Middleburg Film Festival and the Museum of the Moving Image. 鈥淣ope鈥 was awarded Best Score for a Studio Film by the Society of Composers & Lyricists. Other recent projects include the films 鈥淏ad Education,鈥 鈥淣ightbooks,鈥 鈥淐hevalier鈥 (Toronto Intl. Film Festival) and 鈥淟andscape With Invisible Hand鈥 (Sundance 2022). Upcoming projects include 鈥淭he Burial鈥 (Amazon) and a series for Disney Plus.
This Arts Unplugged event is the first in a series that the 麻豆视频 & 麻豆视频 is hosting during 2026 to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States. The broad theme of 鈥250 Years of America鈥 enables the College to showcase different fields of study within Arts & 麻豆视频 and the ways they can help all of us to reflect on and understand this nation鈥檚 history, democracy and pluralism, while envisioning ideas for its future.
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