Grammy winner Angelin Chang joins composer/soprano Patrice Michaels in concert

United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become a modern folk hero, celebrated for her pioneering legal career and principled judicial stands as well as for her kindness, humor and quiet strength. The amazing life and spirit of Justice Ginsburg is the subject of THE LONG VIEW: A Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Nine Songs, a moving song cycle created by Ginsburg’s daughter-in-law, noted composer and soprano Patrice Michaels. The cycle is the centerpiece of Notorious RBG in Song, a one-act, 75-minute dramatic concert, which also includes works by Vivian Fung, Stacy Garrop, Lee Hoiby, Lori Laitman and John Musto.

The concert will receive its Cleveland premiere in a special performance featuring Michaels and Grammy-winning pianist Angelin Chang, at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 18 in CSU’s Drinko Hall. Narration by Ms. Michaels and live projections by LA designer Yee Eun Nam highlight stories and images from the Justice’s life. Lee Fisher, dean of the Cleveland Marshall College of Law will make a cameo appearance in a speaking role, and James Ginsburg, Justice Ginsburg’s son, will participate in the Q & A with Dr. Chang, Ms. Michaels and Dean Fisher following the performance. James Ginsburg will also reflect on how it was to grow up in the household where his mother was making her groundbreaking legal arguments at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 16 in C|M|LAW’s Moot Court Room. Both events are free and open to the public.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg is inspiring in every meaning of the word, and this concert masterfully celebrates her life and accomplishments” notes Chang, professor of music and law, and coordinator of keyboard studies at CSU. “I am honored to help bring Notorious RBG in Song to Cleveland and hope it inspires others to follow in her footsteps."

"Jim and I are really looking forward to sharing our individual and collective experiences of creating and recording music," says Patrice Michaels. "The opportunity to do that for Cleveland State with Justice Ginsburg as the focus is so exciting for us.

Patrice Michaels is a leading classical soprano who is featured on over two dozen recordings, including 15 on Chicago's Cedille label. She has performed with some of the most prestigious orchestras and opera companies in the world, including the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Czech National Orchestra and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Director of Vocal Studies at the University of Chicago, she is currently preparing a newly-commissioned choral work for debut at the Kennedy Center in July 2019.

Angelin Chang won the 2007 Grammy award for Best Instrumental Solo Performance with Orchestra for her recording of Olivier Messiaen's Oiseaux Exotiques with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. She was the first female American classical pianist and the first pianist of Asian descent to win a Grammy.