The Spark Catchers is a poem by Lemn Sissay that serves as inspiration for Hannah Kendall’s work of the same name. The poem tells the story of the women who worked at a match factory that once stood near the Olympic Stadium in London, who would be on constant watch of stray sparks that could light the factory on fire.

Hear that, plus: memories of a once-experienced Tibetan folk dance fill the String Quartet No. 3 by Bright Sheng, a work that he describes as a point of departure from the original dance, rather than a literal interpretation.

Also featuring music by Pauchi Sasaki, Tanner Porter, Anthony R. Green, Chris Cerrone, Kitty Xiao, Finola Merivale, and others; and performances by pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, clarinetists Andy Hudson and Anthony Taylor, pianist Eunbi Kim with violinist Laura Cauley and cellist Amanda Gookin, fivebyfive, violinist Adrianne Munden-Dixon, and more.



Join Tyler Kline for the next Modern Notebook, Sunday night from 8 to 10 ET on Classical WSMR 89.1 and 103.9. Streaming at wsmr.org.