Carnegie Hall 2026
premiere of Gorgeous Nothings

Sam has been invited by MidAmerica productions to premiere his work, Gorgeous Nothings, with the New England Symphonic Ensemble and a consortium of choirs at Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage of Carnegie Hall on April 19, 2026. 

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Interested in supporting this project or performing as an individual or ensemble? Reach out to carnegie@samscheibe.com for more information.

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Sam's Program Note:

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Gorgeous Nothings is a choral-orchestral work based off of Emily Dickinson's envelope poems --- etchings on the envelopes of letters she wrote throughout her life. I first came across the poems in 2019, and after flipping through was struck by a simple, 5-word poem (A 438 in Christine Burgin’s catalog) that read, “To Light, and then return –”.

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This poem in particular called to me. It manages to say so much using so little, and demonstrates to me perhaps a link between the way Dickinson connected with people through these poems throughout her otherwise isolated life and the way we connect with one another in the modern world. The composition that resulted is, to this day, one that I feel represents me and my musical voice more than any other piece I have written, and once completed became the centerpiece of what would become a much larger, multi-movement choral work including many more of the envelope poems, Gorgeous Nothings. ​

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​Gorgeous Nothings would have received its premier in Spring 2020, but like so many other exciting projects at that time, the premier became a distinct impossibility and was put on hold. It has since been a work I’ve revisited over and over and that I’ve grown very close to over the years. To see it finally come to fruition on this stage, with this ensemble, is more than I think I had ever imagined for it. I think I will find it very difficult to finally let this piece go, but I couldn’t be more excited to see it come to light, and then return —.