UNCSA Media releases Lawrence Dillon’s “you/we,” a genre-bending celebration of connection and collaboration

UNCSA Media has released “you/we,” a new recording of a work by acclaimed composer and UNCSA faculty member Lawrence Dillon. Featuring a distinguished ensemble of UNCSA faculty artists and alumni, the work brings together elements of American folk music and contemporary classical composition in a distinctive musical conversation about love, unity and artistic collaboration. The release is available today on all major streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

The recording features Jodi Burns, soprano; Phyllis Pancella, mezzo-soprano; Stephanie Patterson, bassoon; Paul Sharpe, double bass; Ksenija Komljenović, marimba; Drake Duffer, mandolin; and Joseph Pecoraro, guitar.

The inspiration for “you/we” began unexpectedly during a visit to a bookstore outside Paris.

From left to right: Jodi Burns, soprano; Lawrence Dillon, composer; Drake Duffer, mandolin; Ksenija Komljenović, marimba; Phyllis Pancella, mezzo-soprano; Stephanie Patterson, bassoon; Joseph Pecoraro, guitar; and Paul Sharpe, double bass.

“Music was piping in that sounded for all the world like French medieval troubadour song with a contemporary twist,” Dillon said. “Listening for a bit, I thought, ‘It would be fun to try that with traditional American folk song.’ When I got home to North Carolina, I set about doing just that.”

Dillon combined familiar folk harmonies and melodies with harmonic shifts and melodic turns not typically found in traditional folk music. He paired instruments commonly associated with American vernacular music with others less frequently heard in that context, creating what he describes as “a hybrid, a meeting point for dissimilar elements...

“At the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, we pride ourselves on versatility,” Dillon said. “This song is just one of the ways we bridge divides, bringing disparate artistic styles into dialogue with one another. The performers on this recording exemplify that mindset, bringing their extraordinary skills together to achieve a novel result.”

The recording was produced and engineered by Bill Stevens and mastered by Grammy Award-nominated Dave McNair. Among the production challenges was capturing the bassoon in an unconventional role.

“We approached the bassoon almost as though it were a lead guitar,” Dillon said, noting the recording team’s efforts to highlight the instrument’s expressive and melodic character.

“You/we” premiered in fall 2019 as part of the School of Music’s performance season. Dillon's use of folk-inspired melodies and vernacular instruments in "you/we" reflects one example of the many ways UNCSA artists engage with American musical traditions.

That exploration comes as the School of Music continues to expand opportunities for students to study and reimagine musical traditions with an eye toward versatility, employability and the future of the industry. In fall 2025, UNCSA announced the creation of the American Roots Music Institute in the School of Music, made possible through a lead gift of more than $10.1 million from Winston-Salem residents Randall "Randy" and Kamalakshi "Kamu" Dishmon — the largest single gift in the university's history. When fully launched, the American Roots Music Institute will offer a Bachelor of Music in American Roots, as well as a minor for undergraduates and educational opportunities for students in the UNCSA high school program. That same approach has informed recent initiatives such as the undergraduate minor in Improvised Music and Jazz, which broadens students' musical experiences while building on the School of Music's more than 60-year foundation in classical training.

About Lawrence Dillon

Lawrence Dillon is Composer in Residence at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and one of America's most respected contemporary composers. Known for creating music that connects past and present in imaginative and unexpected ways, Dillon has produced work that has been praised for its lyricism, craftsmanship and emotional depth. Gramophone magazine described his music as "arresting and appealing," while NPR noted the "magnetism" that has earned him commissions from leading ensembles and organizations.

A graduate of The Hartt School and The Juilliard School, Dillon became the youngest composer to earn a doctorate from Juilliard in 1985 and was immediately appointed to its faculty. His honors include the Berlin Prize, First Prize in the Ravinia Festival Composer Competition, and the Gretchaninoff Prize. He is a two-time winner of the North Carolina Artist Fellowship, the state's highest honor for artists.

Dillon's music has been commissioned by and performed by renowned organizations including the Emerson String Quartet, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Louisville Orchestra, Boise Philharmonic and Winston-Salem Symphony. He has served as guest composer at institutions and festivals around the world, including the Curtis Institute of Music, the Colburn School, Indiana University, the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory and the Wintergreen Summer Arts Festival. His music is published by American Composers Editions and recorded on the Bridge, Naxos, Albany and other labels.

“you/we” is published by American Composers Editions.

About UNCSA Media

UNCSA Media is a mission-driven media publishing arm that features the creative projects of faculty and alumni from UNCSA across all disciplines and offers curricular opportunities for students to gain practical career skills in intellectual property and entrepreneurship. With two to three releases per year, UNCSA Media features music, film and video, plays, dance, and more, leveraging the conservatory’s five disciplines on one campus and its extensive worldwide network of talented alumni and faculty.

UNCSA Media launched in September 2023 with the release of “Windows,” a contemporary classical recording featuring UNCSA faculty members performing works by Valerie Coleman, Jessie Montgomery and Reena Esmail, as well as a world premiere commission by Kamala Sankaram, followed by alumna and singer/songwriter Cashavelly’s “Meditation Through Gunfire” in October 2024, Stravinsky’s “Firebird Ballet Suite” with the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra in May 2025 – which has since been used as the recording for Dance Theatre of Harlem’s tour of its iconic revitalized “Firebird” – Zéphryos Winds’ “Desert Pass” featuring works by Reena Esmail, David Sanford and UNCSA alum Tyson Gholston Davis in June 2025, and Vesna Duo’s “Poptimism,” featuring pop, rock and indie songs reimagined for piano and percussion, in February 2026.

UNCSA Media is made possible with funding and programmatic support by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts.

For more information about “you/we” and other releases, visit: www.uncsa.edu/uncsa-media

June 26, 2026