As people around the country lead growing movements to resist and reject oppressive immigration policies and rhetoric, now is the time to advocate for inclusivity and peace in the face of ongoing discrimination and immediate threats.
MUSE is pleased to welcome Bradley Kauffman to the podium as Interim Director for the 34th Annual Spring Concert. He is the Director and General Editor of the Mennonite Worship and Song Committee, tasked with generating the next hymnal for Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada. Bradley thrives on exploring ways that music and social movements can interflow.
An inclusive and feminist choral community advocating for peace and social justice, MUSE will perform an outcry in three parts: Reckoning with the Past, Modern Hospitality, and An Expansive Patriotism. Program highlights include:
- MUSE commissioned “Rise Up,” a choral adaptation of Lyla June Johnston’s “All Nations Rise,” which calls on Indigenous People to step out of the shadows and be warriors of peace and love.
- “I Remember I Believe” is a previous concert selection that MUSE is delight to once again bring to audiences.
- Based on the poem "Song of the Exiled" by Alicia Mabel Partnoy, and composed by Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell, “Song of the Exile” speaks to the brutality and inhumane conditions Partnoy experienced as a political prisoner in a concentration camp in Argentina.
- Local actress, Burgess Byrd, will read Langston Hughes’ poem “Let America Be America Again.”
- "Room at the Table" expresses Carrie Newcomer's Quaker philosophy of social equality and welcoming all.
- MUSE Alumni are welcome to join and sing “On Children” conducted by Dr. Catherine Roma.
MUSE presents WELCOME! at Mt Auburn Presbyterian Church (103 William Howard Taft Road, Cincinnati 45219) on Saturday, May 20 at 7pm and Sunday, May 21 at 2pm. Tickets at www.musechoir.org. Early bird pricing through May 13: Adult/General Admission $16.50, Senior/Student $13.50 and Child $7. After May 13: Adult/General Admission $20, Senior/Student $17 and Child $10. Childcare is available by reservation to muse@musechoir.org.
