Free ‘Soldier’s Tale’ Performance

at Antioch College on April 23

Concert unveils famous Stravinsky story through lens of Kurt Vonnegut

The Johnstone Fund for New Music will present a concert performance of Igor Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale score and Kurt Vonnegut libretto in a contemporary music, theater and dance presentation at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, in South Gym at Antioch College, One Morgan Place, Yellow Springs, OH 45387.

Based on a Russian folk tale, The Soldier’s Tale, also known as L'histoire du soldat,follows a deserting soldier who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for a book that predicts the future. The virtuosic score that Igor Stravinsky composed for The Soldier’s Tale in 1918 has been re-conceptualized many times. In 1993, novelist Kurt Vonnegut revamped the story to explore the life of Eddie Slovik, the only American soldier executed for desertion in World War II, and the first since the Civil War.

This performance was coordinated by nonprofit recital seriesSunday at Central, features Columbus Symphony musicians, and is made possible by major funding from the Johnstone Fund for New Music. The ensemble features David Niwa, violin; Gary Wasserman, bass; Robert Jones, clarinet; Betsy Sturdevant, bassoon; Tom Battenberg, cornet; Rich Howenstein, trombone; Bill Lutz, percussion; and conductor Olev Viro. Collaborating with the musicians are area director and choreographer Rani Deighe Crowe, and Melissa Heston, and ensemble featuring Keiffer Erdmann, Brendan Sheehan,, Melissa Heston, and Skip Leeds.

Free parking is available behind the Olive Kettering Library, 260 E. South College Street.