The Film Music of Virgil Thomson on Friday night, May 28 at 7:30 PM. Hosted by Curator Geoff Welch, The presentation will include restored versions of Thomson's The Plow that Broke the Plains and The River with beautifully performed new recordings of the scores and narration. Both films were directed and written by Pare Lorentz with cinematography by Paul Strand.



Virgil Thomson’s (1896-1989) scores for the Plow The Plow that Broke the Plains (1936) and The River (1937) are gems that influenced the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. The River was voted the best documentary film at the 1938 Venice Film festival (beating Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympiad)



Sponsored by the United States Resettlement Administration, the environment subjects of both films are a chilling parallel to current issues and an object lesson in the difficulty of establishing effective governmental policies for sustainability. The films will be projected on a large screen with stereo sound from a superb PA system. Refreshments will be served following the presentation. A free event, reservations are requested. Reservations at geoffwelch@gmail.com, (845) 712-5220