Please join us for a conversation between composer Martha Gentilucci and poet Shara McCallum about their collaborative work across music and literature on moving still, which premiered at the Biennale in Venice in 2021.

Marta Gentilucci is a composer of instrumental, vocal, and electronic music. She completed her studies in vocal arts as a soprano in Italy, and her master in composition and computer music in Germany, as well as a doctorate in composition from Harvard University. Her electronic and instrumental music has been performed internationally by renowned ensembles. She is an assistant professor in composition at the Faculty of Music at the University of Cambridge, and Official Fellow at Girton College Cambridge.

Shara McCallum is the author of seven books of poetry, published in the US and UK, including Behold (forthcoming 2026), No Ruined Stone, and Madwoman. McCallum’s poems have been translated into several languages, set to music, made into short films, and integrated into public art. Recognition for her work includes a Guggenheim Fellowship, among others. At Penn State, she is an Edwin Erle Sparks Professor and served as the 2021–22 Penn State Laureate.

Sponsorship for this event provided by the Edwin Erle Sparks Professorship, Department of English, School of Music, and the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State