Bethlehem, Pa., January 22, 2015 - The Moravian College Department of Music and IN FOCUS program will be hosting a musical performance and discussion of "Prayer (Yellow Birds), by composer and cellist Alyssa Weinberg, on Tuesday, January 27, from 11:45 to 12:45 p.m. in Peter Hall, Located on Moravian College's Priscilla Payne Hurd (South) Campus. All are welcome to attend and admission is free of charge.

Alyssa Weinberg, a composer from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, wrote her solo cello piece based on the book Yellow Birds, written by author Kevin Powers. This novel was the First Year Seminar reading assignment for Moravian College freshmen this year in conjunction with the IN FOCUS theme of war and peace. Weinberg will discuss the piece, which is titled "Prayer (Yellow Birds)," and and then perform the nine-minute work.

In 2012, Weinberg attended the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, France, where she studied with composers Allain Gaussin and Francois Paris, as well as master classes with Phillipe Leroux. Weinberg received her B.M. in Composition and Theory at Vanderbilt University and her M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music. Her works have been selected for performance by the New York based ensemble Contemporaneous, as well as the New Lens Music Series, where her piece "Four Stanzas" was performed by the ensemble Panic Duo across the west coast. Alyssa is currently enrolled in the Curtis institute of Music as an Artist Diploma candidate, where she studies with David Ludwig.

Moravian College encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have any questions about the physical access provided, please contact Moravian?s Larry Lipkis at lalipkis@moravian.edu or at 610-861-1656.

Moravian College is a private coeducational liberal arts college, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its founding to 1742, Moravian is recognized as America's sixth-oldest college and the first to educate women. The College emphasizes the deliberate integration of a broad-based liberal arts curriculum with hands-on learning experiences to prepare its 1,600 students, not just for jobs, but for successful careers. Moravian College excels at transforming good students into highly competent graduates who are ready to enter the workplace with confidence or shine in graduate school. Visit the Web site at www.moravian.edu.