For Immediate Release: April 16, 2007
MANDALA celebrates commonality among diverse religions
The Esoterics to perform repertoire inspired by non-Western religions
SEATTLE - As The Esoterics prepare for their upcoming choral concert celebrating the religions of the East, members of the group are brushing up on their Chinese, Japanese, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and, surprisingly, Swedish. After the resounding success of its 2005 season, The Esoterics wanted a chance to revisit its favorite new choral works inspired by Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The Esoterics will perform MANDALA on May 4 - 6, and 12 - 13 in Tacoma, Medina, Seattle, and West Seattle.
Loosely translated, the Sanskrit word mandala means "circle," but within a spiritual context, these circular images are profound representations of wholeness and the centeredness of the universe. For Buddhist monks, the mandala serves as a meditation object as they create symmetrical images that include a circle of eight Buddhas surrounding one unified symbol of the Buddha. In a broader context, these circles are a common element to several world religions, including Hinduism, Sufism, Confucianism, and Taoism -- the well-known "yin-yang" symbol is an example of a mandala. Spiritual unity within cultural diversity is the over-arching theme of The Esoterics' upcoming concert.
"I really wanted to look at the idea of meditation and the sacred circle in various cultures," says Eric Banks, founding artistic director. "Buddhist meditation is very different from what Sufis do to find centeredness."
As the theme of MANDALA suggests, the repertoire cycles through a set of diverse religions. The timelessness of Hinduism will be represented by the mysterious verses from the Bhagavad Gita (Roger Nelson's Attaining immortality) and the shimmering Sanskrit of the Mundaka Upanishad (Diane Thome's All this). New York composer Mark Adamo's vigorous Supreme virtue and Minneapolis composer Stephen Paulus' tranquil Meditations on Li Po will bring balance to the Taoist portion of the program, while Donald Skirvin's luminous Songs of enlightenment will be featured with John Muehleisen's resplendent Watching the moon go down, based on verse by the 12th-century Buddhist monk, Myoe Shonin, The Esoterics' MANDALA will also include Three ethereal Chinese poems by Swedish composer Karl-Erik Welin, the iridescent Guang by Linda Waterfall, and Javdani,: Eric Banks' aquatic homage to the afterlife, an a cappella palindrome that sets two quatrains by the Persian poet Rumi.
This concert program is also significant for The Esoterics because it reprises some of the group's favorite choral works, those received particularly well by The Esoterics' growing audience. The pieces were also selected because they were particularly rewarding and enjoyable for the singers. "I am thrilled that we are doing Mark Adamo's Supreme virtue," says Doug Rank, tenor and President of The Esoterics' Board of Directors. "I think it's rare to see such minimalist or orchestral writing for chorus. It's really fun to sing."
These favorites were authored primarily by composers living in the Northwest (Banks, Muehleisen, Nelson, Skirvin, Thome, and Waterfall each hail from Washington). In line with The Esoterics' mission of promoting and sustaining contemporary a cappella choral music, this concert is an excellent opportunity to support the increasingly prominent Northwest choral community.
For one of these composers, MANDALA will be particularly significant. "The third movement of my piece has special meaning for me. My friend Gordon [Abshire] wrote the poem for this movement, but he passed away before it was ever performed," reports Don Skirvin. Of The Esoterics' performance of his piece, Skirvin says, "Even in rehearsal, it already sounds better than ever before."
The image and meaning of the mandala will be represented in many different ways in The Esoterics' upcoming performance. The concert poster http://www.TheEsoterics.org/press/mandala-poster.pdf, designed by David Gellman, a Seattle graphic designer, portrays a mandala that spells out the word "mandala" in Sanskrit, Persian, Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan. In addition, the members of the chorus will create their own sacred circle in performance. "We're going to perform all of our pieces standing in a full circle," says Bayta Maring, mezzo-soprano and Vice President of The Esoterics' Board of Directors. "It is such a unique way to perform. It allows us to hear each other so well and be much more aware of our connections to each other while we sing."
The formation of the group is not the only aspect of MANDALA that will be unique. During the Paulus and Skirvin cycles, the score calls for members of the group to play hand-bells. "I used to play hand-bells, so I am really excited to be one of the ringers," says Brad Fanta, bass. As another source of accompaniment, there is an audience-participation element to Don Skirvin's piece when, as the score indicates for the last section of his first movement, "have audience chant 'Om' quietly . . . . ending on a signal from conductor at end of piece."
Thanks to grants from The National Endowment for the Arts and The Seattle Foundation, The Esoterics will record this repertoire and release it under its own label, Terpsichore Records. The singers will also be recording in a circle, creating a unique sound for this CD. "Everything will be in surround-sound: with soloists standing at different places in the circle, hand-bells scattered around the circle, and NO ONE in the back row." says Banks. "I think that our audience's OM might even make it on to the CD as well."
The Esoterics are also using MANDALA as an opportunity to support one of their most important partners. Since 2002, Queen Anne Christian Church (QACC) has provided the group with free rehearsal space in exchange for monthly performances by representatives of The Esoterics at the church's Sunday services. These appearances are a small price to pay for such a valuable resource as space. "What this exchange with QACC gives us every year is equivalent to $20,000 in rent," says Banks. "Our organization would not be where it is today without this relationship." Over the years, QACC has also been home to the Early Music Guild, Gallery Concerts, the Medieval Women's Chorus, and countless independent artists and performers. To celebrate this long-time supporter of the Seattle arts community, The Esoterics has agreed to open its dress rehearsal for MANDALA as part of QACC's "Above & Beyond" concert series to benefit their roof fund and two charities: Central Asia Institute (building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan) and the Family and Adult Services Center (helping homeless and low income families in Seattle).
The Esoterics' MANDALA performance dates and locations are as follows:
Friday . 4 May . 8 pm . Seattle
Queen Anne Christian Church . 1316 3rd Ave W
*OPEN DRESS REHEARSAL to benefit QACC's
"Above and Beyond" Roof Benefit Concert Series
Saturday . 5 May . 3 pm . Tacoma
Trinity Lutheran Church . 12115 Park Ave S
Sunday . 6 May . 3 pm . Medina
St Thomas Episcopal Church . 8398 NE 12th St
Saturday . 12 May . 8 pm . Seattle
St Joseph's Catholic Church . 732 18th Ave E
Sunday . 13 May . 3 pm . West Seattle
Holy Rosary Church . 4139 42nd Ave SW
Tickets are $20 at the door, $18 in advance, $15 for students, seniors, the un(der)employed, and the differently-abled. Discounts are available for groups of five or more at $12 per person. Active singers of any choral group may attend for only $10. Advance tickets are available online at www.TheEsoterics.org (through PayPal.com), or reserved by phone at 206.935.7779.
If you have additional questions about the MANDALA concerts or The Esoterics, please contact Bayta Maring ().