Philip
Glass brings to New York a special benefit concert for the Garrison Institute
In the Spirit
NYC Premiere of SONGS OF MILAREPA by PHILIP
GLASS. performed by Greg
Purnhagen, baritone & Nelson Padgett,
piano
Pomerium, a cappella vocals
RiyaAz Qawwali, Sufi vocal tradition
from the Indian subcontinent
FODAY MUSA SUSO, kora (West African harp-lute)
Omar Faruk
Tekbilek,
ney (Turkish flute), vocal
Wu Man, pipa
(Chinese lute) with the Scorchio Quartet
Thursday, October
24, 2013 7:30pm
The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, NYC
In the Spirit will
celebrate the healing power of music rooted in spiritual traditions stretching
from Tibet and China to Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the US.
Composer Philip Glass has
invited an extraordinary array of acclaimed traditional and contemporary
musicians from around the world to perform in In the Spirit, a benefit concert for The Garrison Institute at The
Town Hall in New York City on October 24, 2013.
Speaking about the Garrison
Institute, Glass says, “Fifty years from now …I can’t believe the world will be
livable without these institutions as they become important places to seed
ideas, to develop ideas…places that provide leadership and inspiration.”
In the Spirit will
mark the Garrison Institute’s 10th anniversary and bring its mission
to a wider public. For the past 10
years, the institute has been working to build a compassionate and resilient
future by integrating the wisdom that comes from deep reflection with scientific
research to solve the pressing social and environmental challenges of our
time. Located on the Hudson River an
hour north of New York City, the institute develops contemplative-based
programs and professional networks in the fields of climate change, education
and trauma, and holds retreats and trainings to support personal and social
transformation.
The In the Spirit concert features:
* Songs of Milarepa, a work by Philip Glass set to the poems of
Milarepa (1052-1135), one of Tibet’s most famous saints and poets. This NY
premiere will be performed by baritone Greg
Purnhagen, who has toured in several productions with Mr. Glass, and prize-winning
pianist Nelson Padgett, who has been
a member of Philip Glass’s ensemble.
* The Pomerium vocal ensemble, under the director of founder/conductor Alexander
Blachly, performs early Christian music. Noted for its luminous sound, the
ensemble has been described as the “most venerable of New York’s early music
vocal ensembles (Wall Street Journal), “the standard by which early music vocal
groups are measured” (New York Times),
and “a driving force for performances of Renaissance polyphony” (Washington Post).
* Riyaaz Qawwali performs
the ecstatic improvisational Sufi vocal tradition made famous in the West by the
late Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Based in Texas, the ensemble is acknowledged as the only professional qawwali group in the US. This
multi-sectarian group is composed of Muslims and Hindus who perform in the
Punjabi style, following in the footsteps of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
* Foday Musa Suso, a renowned Gambian griot or jali (oral
historian/praise singer), is a master of the kora, a 21-stringed harp-lute.
He is known for his hypnotic performances of traditional Mandingo music,
as well as for his collaborations with Herbie Hancock, Philip Glass, Jack
DeJohnette, and the Kronos Quartet.
* Omar Faruk Tekbilek is one
of the finest Turkish musicians performing on the ney (bamboo flute) and a versatile artist who has collaborated with
‘ud virtuoso Simon Shaheen, Don
Cherry, and Glen Velez, among others.
Singing and playing ney, he
will perform mystical Sufi music of the Middle East with accompaniment on frame
drum.
* Wu Man, the celebrated
Chinese pipa virtuoso and interpreter
of the traditional Chinese repertoire and contemporary pipa music, has been acclaimed for “her consummate musicality and
brilliant technique” (New York Times).
She will perform with the Scorchio Quartet, a cutting-edge string quartet that
has been the “house quartet” of the Tibet House Benefit Concerts produced by
Philip Glass.
For information about the
Garrison Institute, contact: Denise
Clegg, Deputy Executive Director of Development and External Relations at
845-484-4800, X 114 or denise@garrisoninstitute.org
For
press information, contact: Helene
Browning at 718-541-2366 or mailto:helenebrowning1@gmail.com