Gitana Productions will present the first “St. Louis Festival of World Sacred Music” on Saturday, October 17, 2009, from noon to 8:00 p.m. at the Union Avenue Christian Church, home of the Union Avenue Opera, at 733 Union Blvd., St. Louis.
“Prepare to be moved by the incredible music of these wonderfully gifted artists,” said Cecilia Nadal, executive director of Gitana Productions, a not-for-profit arts and education group that nurtures global healing in the St. Louis community through music, dance and drama.
“Every culture creates music that is sacred, music that expresses universal emotions,” Nadal said. “The Festival of World Sacred Music reflects our commitment to global healing, by bringing together international and local musicians who represent diverse spiritual and religious interests."
Guest artists include world-renowned musicians: Ustad Imrat Khan is India’s foremost sitar and surbahar (bass sitar) musician and teacher, whose many students have included George Harrison of The Beatles and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones. Surbahar players are rare today, and Imrat is the world’s leading exponent of the art. Khan spends a portion of each year teaching classical Indian music and instructing sitar students at Washington University in St. Louis.
John Two-Hawks of the Lakota nation is an indigenous flutist, singer and musician whose Platinum Award-winning work has been featured in dozens of movies, CDs and videos. Two-Hawks has traveled throughout the world as a performer. He plays dozens of instruments, but is best known as a virtuoso player of the Native American flute.
Brother Seamus Byrne is an international composer and performer of Celtic Christian music that is deeply inspiring and soul-nourishing. Born in Ireland, he lives a contemplative lifestyle with the Servants of Love monastic community near the Wicklow mountains. His plays traditional Irish flute, whistles and Bodhrán, and his melodic “old style” vocals are soothing and deeply inspiring. He has a passion for the Celtic spirit of the people who lived in Ireland from 500 to 1,000 AD. The primitive, ancient wisdom of that era comes across in his style of singing and musicianship, which is enthralling and uplifting.
Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya practices a sacred Buddhist dance that, for hundreds of years, has been virtually unknown outside the circles of those who perform it. This ancient ritual dance dates back more than 1,000 years and is a religious discipline of the priests of Kathmandu, who perform the dance as part of their esoteric meditation practices, ceremonies and rituals.
Alerica Anderson is a gospel singer, songwriter, composer, producer and director. He began playing in churches at the age of twelve, studied jazz and music performance at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and directed the university’s gospel choir. He has performed with both secular and gospel artists including Edwin Hawkins, Walter Hawkins, David Peaston, and Celine Dion.
Other musicians include vocalist Margaret Waddell, who will perform 12th century Benedictine chants; vocalist Iya Ashabi, who will perform a Yoruba-derived African musical ceremony; and harpist Amy Camie, who will provide a musical and lyrical interpretation of the Mesopotamian myth of Nanna and Ningal with her ensemble.
Tickets for the full-day festival are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors over 65 and students with ID, $8 for children 12 and under. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more. For tickets or more information, call Gitana Productions at (314) 721-6556. Tickets also will be available at Screenz Computer Center, 6680 Delmar in the Loop; the Living Insights Center at 6361 Clayton Rd.; and the Everest Café and Bar at 4145 Manchester Avenue, where restaurant patrons can purchase discounted tickets beginning September 1, 2009.
The Regional Arts Commission, Missouri Arts Council, Midwest Arts Alliance, Boeing Employees Charitable Trust and the National Endowment have provided funding to support Gitana Productions events.
Gitana Productions, Inc. is a not-for-profit arts and education organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural awareness and collaboration by bringing international music, dance and drama to the St. Louis community. Gitana events present a rarely seen diversity of international and local artists exhibiting an array of traditional and innovative artistic expressions. For more information, visit www.gitana-inc.org or call Gitana Productions at (314) 721-6556.
