Our theme: the Distant Beloved

Lone Star Songs’ whole 2024-25 season is inspired by the power of song to connect us over time and space. Singing is so often how we call out to a distant beloved, whether that beloved is no longer with us, lost in our past - or sitting right next to us.

If you’re a song freak like us, you’ve already noticed a connection with the OG song cycle, Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte. That’s German for - you guessed it - “To the distant beloved.”

See what we did there?

The poems of that cycle touch on separation, longing, and the ability of song to join our hearts. We’re building our Distant Beloved season around these ideas. And they’ve got us thinking about new ways to connect with the musicians around us - musicians we don’t know yet, although they might not be far away.

Are you a song duo operating in Central Texas that we haven’t met? Tell us about your work, following the guidelines below.

And then - drumroll - we will invite a Central Texas singer/pianist duo to join us in Waco, performing a full length recital inspired by our Distant Beloved theme, in Spring 2025!

We hope you’ll respond to our call. Here’s how to do it.

The call for submissions

You’ll need to plan a recital that includes An die ferne Geliebte.

Apart from that song cycle, the repertoire is up to you. Language, style, era, vibe - it’s all your choice. The only requirement is that you have between 45 and 60 minutes of music, including the Beethoven.

Tell us your story

We need one document from you with the following information:

• Your names and contact info. If you have links to any sites that have your resume or other professional info, you can include those, but that’s not required. Please don’t send us resumes or headshots at this time.

• One paragraph telling the story of how you became a duo. Did you meet during your studies? find each other on line? survive an apprentice program? We want to know how you came to be!

• One paragraph telling the story of your program. How did you respond to the theme? How did you decide on music? Were you driven by the theme, by specific poetry, by music that matched or contrasted with LvB’s energy? We want to know all about it.

• Your proposed program! This must be 45-60 minutes of music; please provide timings.

• Finally, include links to your two videos…

Make us hear you

We need two videos from you. One must be an excerpt from An die ferne Geliebte, and one can be any other song from your submitted program.

We can’t accept audio only, or music that isn’t in your proposed program.

Links only, please!