Only The Message Mattered
Originally commissioned and funded by The New York State Council on the Arts, The Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council, and the Greenwich Free Library, Only the Message Mattered is a song cycle and narrative honoring Susan B. Anthony. "We were thrilled last year when the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council and the New York State Council on the Arts accepted our grant request to have composer Bob Warren write the text and song cycle for "Only the Message Mattered". The final project was to portray the story of Susan B. Anthony's life here in Battenville, Washington County through Bob's beautiful music. That the performance was on the Batten Kill just a few minutes from Susan's home where she spent her childhood provided a moving experience for all those attending. Bob's music truly created the effect we had hoped for when this dream was in the planning stages."
~ Debi Craig, grant proposal author, educator
Only the Message Mattered uses Susan B Anthony's own words in narrative and song showing the strength of this feminist who fought so diligently for women's right to vote. The program describes the trial of Miss Anthony when she was charged with illegally voting in an election in 1872. Bob Warren has captured a piece of history and wove together his original songs and music creating a performance for all ages.
~ Claudia Blackler, Director, Greenwich Free Library
A moving, memorable, educational portrait of a remarkable crusader for human rights, Only the Message Mattered is a 45 minute presentation of songs and musically underscored narrative written for piano, cello and voices.
"Only The Message Mattered" is a powerful reminder of how much we owe the great Susan B. Anthony. When she was born in 1820, America's women were barred from all colleges and most professions. They couldn't vote, hold political office, or speak in public without fear of being disgraced. When they married, they became legally penniless. Any property, wages, and inheritances belonged to their husbands. If divorced, they had no rights to their own children. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed a brilliant political partnership determined to right those wrongs. At their deaths half a century later, most of those rights had been won, thanks to their tireless leadership on behalf of all women."
~ Anne Kamma, author of If You Lived When Women Won Their Rights (Scholastic)
Only The Message Mattered is a portable presentation to be performed indoors or outdoors, at schools, camps, churches, or for any gathering of citizens who have an interest in history and a passion for positive change.
An electronic press kit with photos and song samples may be viewed here: View Only The Message Mattered's EPK
KBW Music was founded in 1995 by songwriter