Present Music Blends Many Cultures

Experience world cultures in an awe-inspiring setting when Present Music offers a “Concert for Peace” this Sunday before Thanksgiving at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. The concert will resonate with themes of peace and unity through music from Native American, Gospel, Ukrainian, Muslim, and Jewish traditions. Led by conductor/advisor David Bloom, a 20-piece Present Music ensemble will bring these cultural pieces to life.

The concert highlights MacArthur-winner Courtney Bryan‘s powerful call for unity against brutality and Michael Kropf‘s violin concerto based on Holocaust-era themes featuring violinist Sabrina Tabby.

The program will begin and end, as for many years, with traditional drumming and songs by the Ho Chunk Little Priest Singers.

The program then explores a 1626 Danish folk song “We Gather Together.” The song emerged in the 19th century as a familiar AME hymn by Eduard Kremser, later set to variations by organist Mark Fax. John Orfe, pianist for Present Music, will premier his organ variations on the theme along with Fax’s Fantasy on Kremser (1968.)

A kinetic sculpture serves as the centerpiece for C Ce See (2022) by Niloufar Nourbakhsh, who will attend the concert especially to oversee the structure she and Roxanne Nesbitt have created. She explains, “The foundation for this piece, therefore, is to make our connections to one another physically visible. The score is written for this sculpture that intertwines the ensemble into a single unit.”

The sculpture features a thread that winds in a circle past each of the performers. The thread links ensemble instruments, intertwines the ensemble and activates instruments as it is pulled. When the thread is exhausted, the ensemble continues to explore the ethereal sounds created at the start.

Nourbakhsh’s work is the most experimental of the evening, meditative even as the sounds are less familiar. Though only some attendees may observe the details up close, this video provides deeper insight into the experimental piece.

The concert features powerful works like Bryan’s Sanctum, a poignant piece that combines traditional holiness preaching with sounds and voices from current events, aiming to present unity against brutality and offering solace despite adversities.

Two main melodic themes set the emotional landscape of the piece. The first melody that’s heard early in the brass suggests a forward motion and unrest while the later melody is delicate. The intrusion of events is jarring, but the music reflects strength for those living through the experience. It will be a reflection on resilience and hope; as Present Music Artistic Director Eric Segnitz notes, “She’s coming from a religious community perspective.” Concerned with justice, the music offers peace.

Kropf’s Moses in Nederland (2022) reflects on the life of his great grandfather, Moses Schenkein, with movements drawn from music Moses wrote affected by his experiences in the Netherlands during the Holocaust. The work closes with his more upbeat mood as he resettled in Amsterdam following the war. Violinist Tabby will perform this deeply personal work that leverages a traditional Romantic style, showcasing fortitude through history. Bloom premiered this work with his New York City ensemble, Contemporaneous with Tabby as soloist.

The works of living Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov have frequently been represented to honor Ukraine. Through an elegiac miniature for cello and piano, Postlude No. 3 (1982), this work is “a testimony to life” underscoring the value of peacetime, Silvestrov observes.

As always, Present Music maintains its dedication to exploring contemporary works that channel real-world experiences, with an accent on celebrating peace during this holiday season.

The concert will be held on Nov. 24 at the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, 812 N. Jackson St., and live online via the Present Music Digital Stage. The pre-talk begins at 4:00 p.m. and the concert at 5:00 p.m. Tickets and livestream access can be purchased online.

There will be a pre-concert talk at 4:00 p.m. with the conductor David Bloom, the Iranian composer Nourbakhsh, and Kropf.

The next Present Music concert, Moby Dick; or, The Whale is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, at the Oriental Theatre. The program will feature a visually stunning new silent film by MacArthur-winning artist, Wu Tsang, whose work has captivated audiences worldwide. This provocative adaptation of the Herman Melville classic features beautiful artistry and choreography while exploring hidden histories, marginalized narratives, and issues of social class and capitalism. Live orchestral accompaniment by Caroline Shaw, Andrew Yee, and Asma Maroof explores the novel’s subterranean currents.

Before that concert, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, the Present Music community is invited to a free “caroling” event, phil kline’s Unsilent Night. All participants will convene at 7:00 p.m. and walk several blocks of Brady Street using smartphones and boom boxes creating a shifting, shimmering sound sculpture where everyone gets to participate. Each participant will be playing one of several soundtracks created by phil kline. This event has become an annual celebration. This year the family-friendly event is cosponsored by Brady Street Area Association, coinciding with the magical debut of Brady Street’s new European-inspired street decorations.