Giving Circles are a standard practice among nonprofit organizations. WWCMF employs a whimsical device for classifying donations, composer lifespan. Haydn is known both for the tremendous volume of his compositional output — 60+ string quartets, 100+ symphonies, 17 operas, a host of masses, oratorios, etc., not to mention essentially inventing chamber music — and for his long life of 77 years. Fittingly, Haydn is right up near the top of WWCMF’s Giving Circles.

But there is one tier higher, and it carries the name Living Composer. “Music is alive…” begins the description of the category. And nowhere is the beauty and impact of that statement more keenly felt than in tonight’s program. The whole program is by living composers, many under the age of 40. Composer Philip Glass, whose 2018 work Perpetulum is on the program, doubles down on the WWCMF Giving Circle scheme, eclipsing Haydn’s lifespan by eight years while continuing to produce beautiful music in the present day. The oldest music you will hear on this program was composed in 2016.

Devonté Hynes (b.1985)

PERFECTLY VOICELESS (2018)

PRESS (2019)

FIELDS (2019)

Jlin (b. 1987)

DUALITY (2020)

Peter Martin (b. 1980)

BEND (2016)

Gemma Peacocke (b. 1984)

DEATH WISH (2017)

Philip Glass (B. 1937)

PERPETULUM (2018)

Clarice Assad (b. 1978)

HERO (2019/2020)

Artists: Third Coast Percussion— Sean Conners, percussion; Robert Dillon, percussion; Peter Martin, percussion; David Skidmore, percussion