PROGRAM NOTE

Olmsted Gardens takes inspiration from the Olmsted Linear Park in Druid Hills Georgia. The area known as Druid Hills was developed by Atlantan Joel Hurt of the Kirkwood Land Company. In 1890 Hurt persuaded Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. to prepare a plan for a residential suburb.

The work is in four movements, a kind of park tour of four of the seven park segments.

Beginning with Springdale, pastoral music, featuring the flute, paints a scenic gateway to the Linear Park, where visitors encounters a green knoll and a mature stand of oaks.

Shadyside is named for the heavily wooded section on the southern side of the western end, the music bristles with woodland creatures, with gestures of  shadowy and lively activity. 

Virgilee, is named after Joel Hurt’s daughter; this park is her memorial. The landscape of this segment continues the pastoral scheme and the music reflects the memorial tones with a solemn horn in remembrance.

Deepdene, the largest segment, forms the eastern end of the Linear Park. It is a wooded tract with a stream winding through its 22 acres. The final movement, a lively dance, celebrates the park in a winding stream of melodies and rhythm.

PERFORMANCE HISTORY

March 26, 2022: Juventas New Music Ensemble, East Cambridge, MA

May 27, 2022: Music in the American Wild, Fort Tryon Park, New York, NY

May 28, 2022: Music in the American Wild,Prospect Park Audubon Center, Brooklyn, NY

June 4, 2022: Juventas New Music Ensemble, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Brookline, MA

​