My Dearest Friend

Shall We Hope is a dramatized listening experience from one of the most influential banjo players in the roots music world. Tony Trischka has achieved legendary status in his 50+ years as a consummate artist. . It invites its audience into the lives of characters from America's past as they grapple with the hard realities of war and death, and the meaning of freedom. Over twelve years in the making, this work of historical fiction tells tales of love, loss, and hope, drawn from our nation's fraught history. The narrative is told through brilliant songwriting and stellar musicianship, with a gathering of artists that includes Michael Daves, Guy Davis, Phoebe Hunt, John Lithgow, Maura O'Connell, and Catherine Russell. Best experienced when heard in its entirety, this unique project showcases Tony's ever-evolving musical vision. Shall We Hope portrays powerful moments in time that still reverberate today.

John Beard was a young tenor who came to George Frideric Handel’s attention when still a teenager. He inspired the great composer to give new focus to the tenor voice within his English oratorios. Beard was Handel’s ideal in his demands for ‘articulate utterance of the words and a just expression of the melody’- a collaboration that climaxed in Handel’s creation of the first truly great tenor part as the hero in Samson. Grammy Award-winning tenor Aaron Sheehan steps into John Beard’s shoes equipped with a voice of ‘shining quality and deep sensitivity’ (The New York Times).