Digital Premiere: Matthew Evan Taylor’s “Life Returns” | MetLiveArts

Matthew Evan Taylor, composer and winds Metropolis Ensemble (Andrew Cyr, conductor and artistic director) RAJAS (Rajna Swaminathan, founder and mrudangam) Over the course of 2021, MetLiveArts commissioned composer Matthew Evan Taylor for twelve “Postcards to The Met,” small sparks of collaborative inspiration that he developed remotely with members of the orchestral Metropolis Ensemble and South Asian jazz collective RAJAS. These bite-sized pieces of music, which explored African-American, South Asian, and Western European musical practices, coalesced into “Life Returns,” a monumental evening-length work that melds free improvisation and through composition to celebrate resilience and triumph in the face of despair. “Life Returns” premiered in March 2022 on The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium’s stage, part of MetLiveArts’ first live season after the lockdown – and now, it makes its digital debut! For more information and a full list of artists, view the concert program at ---- “Life Returns” was commissioned by MetLiveArts and Metropolis Ensemble in collaboration with RAJAS This program is made possible by the Adrienne Arsht Fund for Resilience through Art and the New York State Council on the Arts Recorded at the World Premiere on Thursday, March 24, 2022 in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium Piano by Steinway & Sons Cover Image: Matthew Evan Taylor, Life Returns. Art by Juniper Creative LLC Subscribe for new content from The Met: #TheMet #Art #TheMetropolitanMuseumofArt #Museum © 2023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art