FORGOTTEN VOICES, FEAT. KELLY HALL-TOMPKINS

In 2005, trailblazing violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins founded Music Kitchen, the pioneer organization to bring chamber music to people experiencing homelessness. In its 19 years, the organization has grown from an informal performance in Kelly’s church basement to over 100 chamber concerts in shelters across the U.S. In honor of Music Kitchen’s 15th anniversary in 2020, Kelly commissioned Forgotten Voices, a song cycle for chamber voices and strings featuring 15 compositions from award-winning composers of today, including Kevin Puts, Gabriel Kahane, Angelica Negron, and Carlos Simon. The song cycle sets to music comments from homeless shelter clients, giving members of this typically marginalized community a voice.

Each individual song in the Forgotten Voices song cycle received its premiere in a shelter. Carnegie Hall presented the World Premiere of the full song cycle to a sold-out Zankel Hall in March 2022. The Forgotten Voices album was released on AVIE Records in March 2023.