{"id":54834,"date":"2023-11-06T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=54834"},"modified":"2023-11-06T16:10:30","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T21:10:30","slug":"gala-concert-to-celebrate-connectedness-and-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2023\/gala-concert-to-celebrate-connectedness-and-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Gala concert to celebrate connectedness and community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Where:<\/strong> Lehman Auditorium
When:<\/strong> 7 p.m., Friday
Cost:<\/strong> Free, with suggested donation of $10 to $20
Online: <\/strong>emu.edu\/gala\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s 2023 Music Gala Concert, says David Berry<\/strong>, is a labor of love for so many people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The upcoming concert will showcase three talented guest artists and every music ensemble on campus collaborating in a special evening of dance, poetry, jazz and world music. Two compositions written for the event will premiere. And the university choir and chamber orchestra will pair up to perform Beethoven\u2019s “Ode to Joy,” featuring soloists Olivia Rominiyi, Sarah Hamilton, Jordan Davidson, and Shannon Kiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re celebrating the connectedness of community and humanity across the globe and what we can do when we come together,\u201d said Berry, music program director at EMU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concert, fittingly titled Together<\/em>, begins at 7 p.m. on Friday in Lehman Auditorium. It is free to attend, with donations welcome<\/a> to help support EMU Music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Has Changed<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Embodying the theme of collaboration, an actress, dancer, orchestra and choir will join together to perform The World Has Changed<\/em>. The interdisciplinary piece, based on the poetry of Alice Walker, will see its world premiere at the gala. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zachary Wadsworth<\/a><\/strong> composed the score for The World Has Changed<\/em>. Wadsworth, an assistant professor of music at Williams College, also wrote music for this year\u2019s Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. His compositions have been performed at The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and at Westminster Abbey for Queen Elizabeth II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Has Changed<\/em> will feature a narration of Walker\u2019s poetry from actress Andre\u00e1 Bellamore<\/strong><\/a> of the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton. “We needed a voice that would communicate the text well with the orchestra, with the choir and with the dance, so we knew we needed someone special for that,” Berry said. He credited EMU Provost Tynisha Willingham, a board member of the theater company, with connecting Bellamore with the production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paula Facci<\/strong><\/a>, an assistant professor at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, will perform a dance that her class, Creative Approaches to Peacebuilding, helped to choreograph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berry described the music of The World Has Changed<\/em> as \u201cethereal, powerful and soulful\u201d and said the composition serves as \u201ca celebration of what could be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amahoro Suite<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The other original piece premiering at the concert will be the world jazz fusion composition Amahoro Suite<\/em> by Makinto<\/a><\/strong>, a man of many talents and cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Liberian-German composer, musician, singer, storyteller and pastor plays jazz flute, piano and percussion. He\u2019s performed in Vatican City for Pope John Paul II and at Madison Square Garden. He is the director of Amahoro International<\/a>, a Christian ministry affiliated with Mosaic Mennonite Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s really just an amazing artist and person,\u201d Berry said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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