By Roger Lakins
March 2, 2003 - A tremendous turnout on Saturday night welcomed composer Joseph Summer back to the island he has sometimes called home. The "Shakespeare in Song" program was presented in an awkward but gracious room at the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas Resort, a long and narrow space which was filled to capacity.

Composers, as in the case of other artists, have not had an easy time of it in the last hundred years or so. Some say the turning point in music was the destruction of tonality on the part of Wagner. Others point to the two attempts on the part of civilization to commit suicide, generally known as the two World Wars, which filled the first half of the 20th century.

Whatever the cause, there has been an aesthetic upheaval and a revolt on the part of the artist. Many serious artists of the last hundred years refused to be the "poodles" of society. Finding it more important to help society dream its dreams, articulate its myths, and hold the mirror before the human condition in such a way as to cause a moment of introspection, they have looked upon themselves as specialized cells in the organism of humanity.

Contemporary composers have not found it easy to get their works performed. Often performances are given a patronizing place on concert programs, sandwiched between well-tried war horses of the repertoire in the hope that the audience will not leave. Too often, performances of new works are ill prepared by performing artists who may feel a sense of duty to the composer, but not a sense of ascent to the work at hand.

Joseph Summer is a composer who knows what he wants to say and has the vocabulary to do so. The audience gathered Saturday was attentive, respectful and open. St. Thomas audiences are like that. We may not know when to clap, but we sure do know how. The program presented at the Ritz-Carlton was only enough to catch our interest in his work.

According to the program notes, Summer has relied quite heavily for inspiration on classical texts. He has set a great many Shakespeare scenes and sonnets. What the audience heard on this program were three scenes from "Hamlet." It would be unfair to make a judgment on these works after only one hearing, but it is possible to make some observations.

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