The American Rhapsody

Aaron Dworkin will perform his spoken word composition, "The American Rhapsody," with the Augustana Symphony Orchestra, Fernanda Lastra conducting.

Dworkin was a member of the Obama National Arts Policy Committee and is the founder and president of the Sphinx Organization, a group that focuses on bringing diversity into the arts.

"The American Rhapsody" tells the story of the U.S. through the life and words of George Washington. The work is set to Samuel Coleridge Taylor’s "Symphonic Variations on an African Air."

"The American Rhapsody" integrates and weaves together the literary content with the music through a process Dworkin calls “musetry.” (See his interview with WVIK's "Talking Art')

Named a 2005 MacArthur Fellow, Dworkin served as dean of the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance and is currently a professor there.

The Augustana Symphony Orchestra is a full-size symphonic orchestra of 70-80 members that has an active and diverse performing schedule throughout the year.