Born in Petersburg and growing up in Chesterfield, composer Damien Geter said he was surrounded by music.
“It’s always been around as long as I can remember. My grandmother lived with us, and she played piano and organ in the house," Geter said. "My mother sang, and my dad had a bunch of records and as I got older, I discovered this was becoming a passion of mine.”
That early influence has allowed Geter to flourish in the opera and classical music world. You may remember his name from Loving v. Virginia, an original, full length operatic retelling of the forbidden love that led to the U.S. Supreme Court ending laws against interracial marriage.
The piece undoubtedly helped influence the Library of Virginia when they decided to honor Geter with the organization’s highest honor, the Patron of Letters degree, which recognizes outstanding contributions in the arts, history, humanities, or information, library or archival science.
“I think one of the benchmarks is when you come home and you’re recognized. You go away and you come back, and people sort of notice what you’ve done," Geter said. "It feels good."
Geter will receive the award Saturday as part of the 28th annual Virginia Literary Awards Celebration. But you better already have a ticket cause the event is sold out.
And keep your ears out for more from Geter. He’s premiering a new opera, this time about blues legend Robert Johnson. He aims to retell the myth that Johnson made a Faustian bargain: selling his immortal soul to the devil in order to learn the language of the blues.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
