Composer Waddy Thompson‘s song cycle, Monongahela Rising, will be performed twice a mere thirteen blocks apart and within 10 days:

Monday, Feb. 22, at the Composers Now mini-marathon, Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway @ 95th Street, approximate time is 3:15 p.m. Diana Solomon-Glover, mezzo, and Christopher Johnson, piano. (The marathon goes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), $15

Thursday, March 4, “What a Neighborhood,” Ascension Church, 107th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, 8:00 p.m. Cathy Venable, mezzo, and Ishmael Wallace, piano. $10

Waddy Thompson’s compositions are grounded in lyrical lines. In part this comes from his great fondness for vocal music and the sound of the human voice. Over the years he has increasingly incorporated more and more aspects of traditional tonality, without being tied to the restrictions of 19th century tonality.