For Immediate Release: September 25, 2007
RU'IA brings enlightenment and potential controversy
The Esoterics makes bold choices in their upcoming concert exploring Islam
SEATTLE - In mid-August, The Esoterics' Board of Directors were faced with an unusually crucial decision as they discussed a possible change of venue for their upcoming concert series. "Just to put this in perspective, we are using almost all of our annual venue budget for this one performance," commented Doug Rank, Board President and tenor in the group. In the end, the Board unanimously decided that the somewhat risky location change for RU'IA would be worth the potential benefits of reaching a broader and more diverse audience within the community.
For almost 15 years, The Esoterics has performed in churches around the Puget Sound area, but in looking forward to their upcoming concert, a secular venue seemed particularly appropriate as the group launched into its second performance of founding director Eric Bank's composition, Twelve Qur'anic visions. When The Esoterics performed Banks' piece in 2005 as part of its IMAN concert series, the irony of singing Qur'anic texts in venues such as St. Joseph's Catholic Church was not lost on the group. This time around, Banks and the Board of Directors decided to move the Seattle concert to the newly constructed Olympic Sculpture Park Pavilion. Not only does the gorgeous setting provide an inspiring backdrop of water and mountains for the concert, the location change presents an opportunity for The Esoterics to connect with members of the Muslim community in Seattle who would not feel comfortable hearing sacred Muslim texts in a Christian setting.
Beyond the issue of venue, The Esoterics have discussed some important questions about the extent to which Twelve Qur'anic visions crosses boundaries set by the Muslim faith. Although conservative Muslims would take issue with women or any non-Muslim uttering Qur'anic texts, these tenets are not so strongly held by liberal and innovative sects of the faith. For Banks and The Esoterics, any controversy is outweighed by the benefits of using music to expose Westerners to the original texts of Islam. Banks suggests that he was strongly motivated to write the piece to illuminate parallels between text from the controversial faith and what many individuals might consider universal beliefs. Says Banks, "The whole point of the concert is to initiate people in the West to one of the most prevalent religions in the world."
Communicating across religious and cultural divides is also an important goal for HATE FREE ZONE (http://www.hatefreezone.org), a Seattle-based organization primarily aimed at empowering immigrant communities and advancing social justice and democracy. An important goal for HATE FREE ZONE is developing unique collaborations that will foster dialogue around issues of difference. The Esoterics has partnered with HATE FREE ZONE, making their concert series a benefit for the organization in the hopes that the supporters of HATE FREE ZONE will be particularly inspired by the spirit of RU'IA.
In addition to Twelve Qur'anic visions, the concert will include three other works inspired by Islamic scripture and poetry. Mombasa matatu meditation by Vancouver composer Hussein Janmohamed portrays an African cityscape by interweaving the Muslim call to prayer with some non-traditional, choral sound effects. Bern Herbolsheimer's Kader kiç [The night of destiny] sets a story by Gabdulla Tukai about divine intervention in which angels descend to earth and hear the prayers of the suffering. Tukai is the national poet of Tatarstan and The Esoterics will sing the piece entirely in Tatar. Rounding out the repertoire will be the Islamic-inspired Prière by the Dutch composer Ton de Leeuw, performed in French.
RU'IA will certainly not be the first concert by The Esoterics that features almost no English text, but the concert series will be the first to feature super-titles. In part, the decision to include this technological feature was based on the beauty of the texts the group will present. Banks comments that the Arabic language and poetry of the Qur'an were central to inspiring him to write Twelve Qur'anic visions, "Some of the imagery in the Qur'an is truly stunning and I think the experience of the piece is not complete without truly appreciating the text itself."
Super-titles will be presented for all the pieces in the concert series and at all the venues. "It will be a huge leap in production value for us," says Phil Edry, baritone. "The logistics of pulling it off might be daunting, but I think The Esoterics' concerts could be forever transformed by allowing the audience to get a full appreciation of the work being presented." Edry has designed the super-titles and has headed up the efforts to add this multi-media element to The Esoterics' performances.
With RU'IA, existing fans of The Esoterics will experience new levels of intellectual and emotional engagement with the group's work and new audience members will receive a first-rate introduction to this innovative and cutting-edge organization. Please join The Esoterics for this memorable, ground-breaking concert.
ATTENTION: The Olympic Sculpture Park Pavilion has limited seating. Season subscribers should RSVP for this Seattle concert (206.935.7779), and all audience members are encouraged to arrive early on October 20th concert for best seating.
The Esoterics' RU'IA performance dates and locations are as follows:
Saturday . 13 October . 8 pm . Tacoma
Trinity Lutheran Church . 12115 Park Ave S
Sunday . 14 October . 3 pm . Medina
St Thomas Episcopal Church . 8398 NE 12th St
Saturday . 20 October . 8 pm . Seattle (NEW VENUE)
Olympic Sculpture Park Pavilion . 2901 Western Ave
Sunday . 21 October . 3 pm . West Seattle
Holy Rosary Catholic 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.
The Esoterics has presented dozens of local and international premieres, and has tackled the most challenging works of 20th and 21st century choral repertoire. Now in its fourteenth season with founding director Eric Banks, the ensemble has drawn national and international praise for presenting the many styles that comprise contemporary choral music. In 2001, 2003, and 2006, The Esoterics' commitment to innovative concert repertoire was nationally recognized when ASCAP and Chorus America granted the ensemble its coveted Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music. The ensemble was also honored to be selected as the only North American chorus to compete at the 2000 International Choral Festival in Cork, Ireland, the 2001 International Choral Festival in Tolosa, Spain, and the 2006 Harald Andersén International Choir Competition in Helsinki (Finland).
The Esoterics' Season 2007 has been made possible by grants from 4 Culture, ArtsFund, The Horizons Foundation, Meet the Composer, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Seattle Foundation, City of Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Washington State Arts Commission, Classical King FM 98.1, and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
If you have additional questions about the RU'IA concerts or The Esoterics, please contact Bayta Maring ().