During the pandemic, Chad Sloan, a Baritone on the faculty of the University of Louisville, read Southernmost, a novel by Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House.

Sloan fell in love with what he read, and explored more of his poetry.

“As an artist, something that rings true to me is ‘Whatever is the most personal is the most universal.’ It’s very personal poetry to him, but everything he talks about is such a clear expression of his human experience,” he said.

In awe of House’s words, Sloan knew he wanted to put it to song.

“I want to create something that has the same kind of telling stories as a queer artist in the medium that I know, study and teach,” he said. When Sloan first pitched the idea to House over email, House was intrigued.

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Over the next four years and over countless Zoom meetings and emails, “The Songs of Silas” emerged — a collection of songs made from House’s poetry and composed by Grammy-winning Louisville Orchestra Director Teddy Abrams and set to Sloan’s classical voice.

Now, “The Songs of Silas” will make its world premiere at the University of Louisville’s Comstock Hall on September 13.

“As soon as I started talking to Chad [Sloan], I trusted him. I could hear the passion he had for music, and the arts, and saying something about Kentucky. So I knew right away that we had common goals in mind. I found his singing and was blown away by it, so it wasn’t hard for me to sign on,” House said about the composition of his poetry that Sloan pitched.

House picked four pieces of his poetry for the song cycle – Gloaming, Little Fire, His Body Appalachia, Cumberland Falls – for the 27-minute-long performance with two movements.

Because of the complexity of composing the music needed, Sloan and House agreed to approach Teddy Abrams for the project. Abrams said yes.

“Having the responsibility of setting that to music and trying to find an emotional language in music that describes his experiences accurately is a deep one and one I’m very proud of,” Abrams said.

The song cycle blends classical voice with Kentucky’s deep cultural roots, pulling inspiration and including improvisations from blues, bluegrass, folk, and musical theater. But Sloan knew the music would be very difficult for the singer and the pianist, and the number of pianists who could do the things in Abrams’ composition was few and far between.

Then came Ahmed Alom.

Alom, a Cuban-born performer and composer based in New York City. His recent work includes collaborations with famed pianist Yuja Wang and the New York Philharmonic, upcoming performances at Aspen Music Festival and leading New York arts institution Caramoor, and the Broadway hit Buena Vista Social Club.

“He hugs you with the piano when you sing, every twist or turn, every emotion, he’s right with you. In the first movement, you might hear sounds of a banjo or cicadas or locusts in the forest that has me coming back to center. He created this sense of place via his music,” Sloan said.

The second movement is 80 percent blues improv piano.

“It’s a really agonizing experience for a singer, wailing through a baritone voice — that placing it inside a blues song worked so well,” Sloan said.

Once he heard the full piece, House said he was overcome with “goosebumps.”

“Sometimes it is a quiet small town at dusk, and sometimes it is a roaring waterfall. He completely captured the feel of what I was trying to do in these poems. The passion that he gives to every word, the feeling. It’s hard for me to listen to it and not tear up when I think of how much work and love they’ve both put into this project,” House said.

‘The Songs of Silas’ will make its world premiere at University of Louisville’s Comstock Hall on September 13. Sloan will also sing the music of Mozart, Debussy, Korngold, and Rouse. This concert is free and open to the public.