SMU Libraries co-sponsors with the Meadows School of the Arts, in collaboration with the Corsicana Artist & Writer Residency, the world premiere of A Rural Requiem, or The Great Silence, an evening-length, eleven-movement work by composer and SMU alumnus Cody Criswell-Badillo. The piece will be performed by the contemporary performance ensemble earspace, conducted by Richard Drehoff.

Scored for chamber ensemble, the work explores themes of memory, silence, and transformation within the rural Texas landscape. The performance is primarily underwritten by SMU Meadows, with support from Algur H. Meadows Dean Samuel S. Holland, and is presented in partnership with the Corsicana Artist & Writer Residency, where the composer began work on the piece in fall 2024.

For more information: https://www.corsicanaresidency.org/events/a-rural-requiem-premier-performance