Introducing New Music Celebrating History And Honoring Service
Composed by Patrick Zimmerli with libretto by Mirabelle Ordinaire, Letters From The Front is a new work for four voices and piano based on letters sent by American service members and their loved ones during wartime.
Executive producer and pianist Ian Gindes teamed with artistic originator Steve Robinson alongside Zimmerli and Ordinaire to select the letters and set their words to music in honor of the 250th birthday of the United States. Tenor John Riesen, Mezzo-soprano Angela Born, Bass-baritone David Govertsen, and Soprano Desirée Hassler bring to life the voices of the writers by telling their stories.
Each piece on the recording is based on an actual letter written during one of our nation’s most crucial wars, including the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Vietnam, and the Gulf War.
This music is a tribute to the men and women who made the sacrifice of service over the course of 250 years. Each piece represents not only history, but also the hope that their duty was done for a greater purpose – for their families, friends, neighbors, communities, and country.
The album will be released by Lexicon Classics July 3, 2026.
Our Inspiration
In 2001, Chicago’s WFMT aired “War Letters,” an award-winning documentary of letters written by service members read by college-age theater and acting majors and narrated by their station’s team as well as by the late Chicago author and journalist Studs Terkel. The letters for this program were subsequently donated by the station to the Pritzker Military Museum. This project honored service members and their families and has been presented by the station for Memorial Day.
The retired general manager of WFMT, Steve Robinson, who produced the original project, was inspired by the idea to set the most moving portions of the letters to music. He reached out to pianist Ian Gindes with the suggestion of commissioning a new work for piano and voice. Ian and Steve connected with Patrick Zimmerli and Mirabelle Ordinaire to make this composition a reality. Together, they selected letters and writings from the collections at the Pritzker Military Museum as well as a few others collected from the works of Alan Seeger and from the Museum of the American Revolution.
About The Artwork
The album artwork and design showcased on this website was created by Dan Kwarcinski. It includes portraits of the following letter writers:
- CPT Jacob and Emeline Ritner, courtesy of Charles Larimer
- Fred Leo Brown, courtesy of Barbara Brown
- Alan Seeger (wikimedia commons, creative commons licensing/public domain).
The artwork also includes a photo of the grandfather of pianist Ian Gindes, who served in Europe during World War II, as well as a photo of his wife’s grandfather, who served during World War II in the Pacific.