Michael Dunbar, member of the class of 2015, has recently garnered attention from multiple media outlets, including The Union Leader, New Hampshire’s state wide newspaper, as well as Foster’s Daily Democrat, regarding his summer research. Dunbar, who is an English and Music major with a minor in Catholic studies, has been awarded a Mellon Summer Research grant to create an extended play (EP), which is a recording containing more music than a single, but less than a full studio album. This album will be the second album for Dunbar and the band, Black Agnes, which Dunbar has been performing with for three years in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire, where Dunbar is from.
The EP will be based on T.S. Eliot’s “Four Quartets” in which Eliot “ponder[s] life and spirituality, and themes of the four elements of earth, water, wind and fire,” aspects that Dunbar plans to weave into his own project, according to the Union Leader. Dunbar says that his goal is to “make something that, like Eliot, meditates on issues of heritage, time and spirituality,” hoping that it will be accessible to both a pop audience and an academic one. Foster’s Daily Democrat, which calls Dunbar’s music “enjoyable and lively,” also asserts that his lyrics are “multi-layered and invite the listener in to explore their deeper meaning.” The EP is expected to be available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify.
Read the articles:
Media Coverage:
- Seacoast Online, June 27: 'Singer's grant plants seed for new music'
This is a “Holy Cross in the News” item by Evangelia Stefanakos.
