Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1536125
78 maconmagazine.com | June/July 2025 LEFT The flyer advertising Mercer's engagement outside Carnegie Hall. BELOW Paul Watkins conducts the string ensemble, where distinguished faculty members played in the back of the orchestra as students took first chair. Fickling's honor. Carolyn Townsend McAfee wanted to commission a new work for Mercerians to bring to Carnegie Hall, and they wanted Wilberg to create something uniquely American for this landmark performance. "I'm one of those composers who writes for the audience," Wilberg said. "Hopefully the audience is edified and uplifted by what they're hearing. And because these pieces draw from our American heritage, I think they'll find them to be very listenable – and hopefully inspiring." The piece, a three-movement set, reimagines familiar American folk tunes like "Skip to My Lou" and "Red River Valley" with fresh orchestration and choral harmonies. Although these songs might once have been common knowledge, Wilberg discovered that even among talented student musicians, they're no longer widely recognized. "I was just talking with Dr. Roberts, and he said that many of the choir students didn't know either of those songs," Wilberg said. "That really surprised me – but maybe it's part of why this kind of piece matters." Wilberg hadn't originally planned to write the work under such a tight deadline. The idea for the commission was floated before the pandemic, then paused for several years. When the project was revived in late summer 2024, Wilberg had just weeks to write the score – and had to sacrifice most of his Christmas vacation to complete it. "That's okay," he