Presidential Suite: A Conversation with Ted Nash

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Presidential Suite: A Conversation with Ted Nash*

Monday, February 15, 11:30 a.m. CST

*Online event

In honor of Presidents’ Day, join us for a conversation with jazz composer Ted Nash, speaking about his GRAMMY Award-winning album, “Presidential Suite.” For the album, Nash transcribed the speeches of eight world leaders -- including Lyndon Johnson’s “American Promise” speech -- for their actual musical pitches and created themes, placing them into contexts that embrace the speakers and the location and era of the speeches. Each track is introduced by an excerpt from the speech that inspired it, read by significant figures from the world of entertainment, politics and sports.

The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Mark Lawrence, Director of the LBJ Presidential Library.

The program will premiere at 11:30 am CST on Monday, February 15. A link to view will be emailed to registrants that morning. We welcome your comments on our Facebook and YouTube channels.

About the speaker:

Ted Nash is a co-founder of the New York-based Jazz Composers Collective, a musician-run, non-profit innovative entity dedicated to presenting the original works of composers pushing the boundaries of their self-expression. Nash is also a long-standing member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, with Wynton Marsalis.

Nash has become one of the most significant jazz composers of the 21st century. His recordings have received wide critical acclaim, appearing on the “best-of” lists in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Village Voice, and The Boston Globe.

About the album:

In “Presidential Suite,” Ted Nash transforms key moments from 20th century speeches on freedom into a lushly orchestrated suite of modern jazz. Speeches from Winston Churchill, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ronald Reagan, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Aung San Suu Kyi are included. For the recording, each track is introduced by an excerpt from the speech that inspired it, read by significant figures from the world of entertainment, politics and sports, including actors Glenn Close and Sam Waterston; civil rights pioneer Andrew Young; former Senator Joe Lieberman; authors Deepak Chopra and Douglas Brinkley; and diplomats William vanden Heuvel and David Miliband.