Pianist Laura Leon

NYC Surprisal of the Blackbirds

NYC Surprisal of the Blackbirds is a blend of Alfred Hitchcock and a National Geographic wildlife documentary, combining the natural beauty of a blackbird migration with contemporary classical music.

Captured on film, edited and set to music Karen Leon, the birdcalls and other natural elements were paired with chamber and solo piano works by American composer Leo Kraft. The soundtrack features excerpts from his acclaimed Cape Cod Sketches and Venetian Reflections, among several compositions.

Performing Artists: Jayn Rosenfeld, flute; Curtis Macomber, violin; Lois Martin, viola; Christopher Finckel, cello; Morey Ritt, piano. Laura Leon, piano.

Leo Kraft, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday and was a 2012 inductee to the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, is an distinguished American composer, author and educator. His chamber, solo, orchestral and choral compositions are performed and recorded in the US and abroad. Kraft is an ASCAP composer. His academic career includes having served on the faculty of the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, CUNY from 1947-1989 and at NYU as Distinguished Composer-In-Residence from 1989-92. Kraft is an Advisory Committee member of the League of Composer/International Society for Contemporary Music.