ALBANY SYMPHONY

Three Works 

“FLOW”: Suite for Piano & Orchestra

Premiered: June 8, 2024

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, NY

The first work to emerge from Assad’s Erie Canal project was “FLOW,” a three-movement concerto suite that opened the 2024 American Music Festival. With Assad herself at the piano alongside the Albany Symphony under conductor David Alan Miller, “FLOW” captured the movement and vitality of waterways through a distinctive blend of classical concerto form, jazz influences, and Brazilian rhythms—hallmarks of Assad’s compositional voice.

Each movement evokes different aspects of the canal’s character: the natural rhythms of flowing water, the human communities that grew along its banks, and the waterway’s evolution from historical lifeline to contemporary cultural touchstone. Critics praised the work’s imaginative orchestration and the virtuosic dialogue between piano and orchestra, noting how Assad’s improvisational sensibility brought fresh energy to the traditional concerto format.

“EARTH AND WATER”

Premiered: 2024

Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site

Assad’s second Erie Canal work took a more narrative approach, structuring the piece as a dialogue between two elemental forces. “Earth and Water” reflects on nature’s resilience and vulnerability, exploring themes of environmental change, progress, and the intricate relationship between communities and the canal that shaped their destiny.

The composition’s conceptual framework emerged from conversations with Mohawk storyteller Kay Olan, who described Earth as our mother and Water as its lifeblood. This indigenous wisdom became woven into the piece’s narrative and sonic language, creating a work that honored both the natural world and the diverse cultural voices connected to the Erie Canal.

Performed by the Albany Symphony with mezzo-soprano Devony Smith and soprano Britt Hewitt, along with local musicians, “Earth and Water” incorporated narration, community sound files, and storytelling elements. The result was a multi-layered work that connected listeners not just to the music, but to the environment and heritage of the canal itself.

“MEDINA: PORTRAITS IN SOUND“

Premiered: July 2, 2025

Medina Canal Basin, Medina, NY

The culminating work of Assad’s Erie Canal trilogy proved to be perhaps the most collaborative. “Medina: Portraits in Sound” was built from the ground up with community participation, incorporating found sounds crowdsourced from local residents. Assad spent extensive time in Medina, walking the canal towpath with community members, collecting environmental recordings, and gathering stories that would inspire and be directly integrated into the composition.

Residents were invited to contribute their own sound recordings, creating a digital sound archive that enhanced the work’s authenticity and gave voice to the community’s lived experience of the canal. The premiere, conducted by David Alan Miller, took place as part of a free outdoor concert at the Medina Canal Basin—a fitting setting that brought the music back to its source.

The July 2 concert program reflected the festival’s celebratory spirit, combining Assad’s world premiere with classical works like Handel’s “Water Music,” American classics, pop arrangements, and concluding with fireworks over the historic waterway.