The concerto premiered at Carnegie Hall on April 29, 2008 with Roven conducting the American Symphony Orchestra with Glenn Close narrating.
[citation needed] The text for Glen Roven's composition is drawn from The Runaway Bunny, a 1942 picture book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd.
Brown claimed that her inspiration for The Runaway Bunny came from "Chanson de Magali", a love song based on French Provençal folklore.
[4] The call-and-response (music) structure of Brown's text provides an emotionally compelling depiction of a small child's first burst of independence and a mother's affirmation of unconditional love.
[5] The broad popularity of Glen Roven's setting of Margaret Wise Brown's text has attracted many international celebrities[6] including: