American Wild Ensemble performing “Owl in Five Stories” with composer/actor John Liberatore, based on stories by Arnold Lobel, in September at The Rabbit hOle (photo by Jim Barcus)
The immersive children’s literature museum teams up with the American Wild Ensemble on a new exhibit
The American Wild Ensemble has performed in a fair number of unconventional places, and what could be more unconventional than inside a picture book?
The group is presenting a new work by Stefan Freund as part of The Rabbit hOle’s new immersive exhibit based on “The Three Robbers,” by Tomi Ungerer, first published in 1961.
The Rabbit hOle, which opened in March 2024, is dedicated to the art of the picture book. It’s the first museum of its kind in the United States, created by transforming a warehouse in North Kansas City into a wonderland of characters, landscapes and escapades from classic American children’s literature.
This upcoming “The Three Robbers” exhibit follows the story of a trio of highwaymen who terrorize travelers until one day they meet a curious orphan girl who changes their lives. Ungerer’s simple language and dramatic images allow for a lot of imagining, beyond the pages.
“It is a cover-to-cover representation of the book,” said Pete Cowdin, who co-founded The Rabbit hOle with his wife Debbie Pettid, “so you get to go through all the visual elements of the book and the narrative. It’s going to be a very sumptuous, theatrical exhibit.”
Not only will there be a version of the music for live performance, but elements of the music will be incorporated into the exhibit, creating the “audible landscape,” said Cowdin. “What the music can do, like it does in film, is pick up on the mood of that particular part of the story … get people into the vibe.”
“To me, it’s a very sonorous environment visually because it is so velvety and dark,” he said.
Working with The Rabbit hOle fits perfectly with American Wild Ensemble’s (AWE) mission of introducing virtuosic, contemporary music to new audiences, making it more welcoming, more accessible, and sharing it more widely, explained Emlyn Johnson, co-founder and flutist with the group. “Another piece of this is really working closely with collaborators to create highly contextualized performances,” she said.
For this project, Freund wrote the piece for narrator (which he will perform), flute, cello, clarinet and violin, featuring core members of American Wild’s roster of musicians. He’ll use this original music to create the sound installation for each section of the exhibit, stretching out moments, teasing out sonorities and creating loops of instrumental interludes.
Freund is a professor of composition at the University of Missouri (since 2001) and co-founder of contemporary classical ensemble Alarm Will Sound, which was formed by former students from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. AWE was also founded by Eastman School of Music alumni: Johnson and cellist Daniel Ketter. But they didn’t connect with Freund until they moved to Springfield, Missouri, having joined the faculty of Missouri State University in 2018.
This is AWE’s second collaboration with Freund, following his “Wild Revival,” written for AWE’s “Missouri Music at 200” program, honoring the state’s bicentennial in 2021. (See KC Studio, July/August 2021.)
“The hallmarks of Stefan’s music are virtuosity and variety,” said Johnson. “He can write in many different styles, whether it has some inspiration from folk or film music or electronic dance music or pop music. He really is a bit of a chameleon as a composer, bringing in different elements, as well as his own voice.”
Back in 2020, AWE started developing their “Wild Imagination” program, collaborating with different composers to create contemporary chamber music based on children’s literature.
“Part of the background of this project is my — like many people’s — deep love of children’s literature and connection to many different children’s authors and books over time,” said Johnson.
There is a common thread between creating music for storybooks and storybooks about music, with many giants of the genre exploring that connection, like Lemony Snicket’s “The Composer is Dead,” Dan Brown’s “Wild Symphony” or Mo Willem’s “Because.”
“We’ve been really lucky that whether it’s our connection to a specific book or a specific author or the composer’s connection, there really is a lot of love and a lot of individuality in the choice (of story) — what we’re enjoying, what we enjoyed as kids, what we’re enjoying reading with our own kids,” Johnson said. Along with her own fond memories of children’s books, she and Ketter have a toddler, with whom they enjoy sharing their favorites and discovering new ones.
“We really wanted to think about taking this introduction of contemporary music and introducing that to young audiences. Young audiences are the perfect vessel for contemporary music, young listeners who are open to new sounds and experiences,” said Johnson.
American Wild has performed at The Rabbit hOle twice before, including “My Father’s Dragon,” based on the book by Ruth Stiles Gannett with music by Kimberly Osberg in April, and “Owl in Five Stories,” with composer/actor John Liberatore, based on stories by Arnold Lobel, in September.
It was Johnson’s love for the book “My Father’s Dragon” that sparked AWE’s original program concept and instigated their connection with The Rabbit hOle about a possible collaboration. When Johnson saw The Rabbit hOle’s central staircase, based on the vibrant tropical colors of the illustrations, with a giant yellow dragon suspended from the ceiling, “it was destiny,” she said.
Both organizations aim to take a different approach to their genres, whether it’s children’s literature or contemporary classical music.
For “The Three Robbers,” there will be live performances by American Wild Ensemble at The Rabbit hOle over the coming months (exact dates and times TDB), as well as the sound installation element in the exhibit itself.
The exhibit is set to open this winter and be on display through July 2025.
“It’s great that The Rabbit hOle is doing these collaborations,” said Freund. “I’m really thrilled to be a part of this one because it’s been a lot of fun to work on.”
In preparing the piece, he thought back to the musical stories he had listened to growing up, like Igor Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale,” as well as the recordings enjoyed by his daughter, such as “Paddington Bear,” “Tubby the Tuba,” Beatrix Potter stories and “Winnie
the Pooh.”
For Freund, it’s a little bittersweet, as his daughter, now 17, has moved beyond her childhood. “It’s really great
to get back in that space and revisit those memories,” he said. Recently, his family raised caterpillars, reminiscent of Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
“It is funny how those children’s books come back into your life.”
“The Three Robbers” opens this winter and continues through July 2025 at The Rabbit hOle, 919 E. 14th Ave., North Kansas City, www.rabbitholekc.org. For more information about performance dates, visit www.MusicInTheAmericanWild.com.
