Entitled “Creation: A World-Premiere Event”, it will feature live performances of new compositions written by musicians from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim backgrounds expressly for this project. The musical offerings will be followed by an engaging roundtable discussion featuring an interfaith collection of scholars and clergy affiliated with Cambridge University. The event is open to all members of the public.
The event will take place at Westminster College in Cambridge. Tickets are available at https://www.woolf.cam.ac.uk/whats-on/events/concert-creation-a-world-premiere-event
“I envisioned this event as an opportunity to explore the unique the arts can contribute to interfaith dialogue”, says Delvyn Case, an American musician and scholar who curated the project as part of his Visiting Fellowship at the Woolf Institute. “Listening to music reminds us of all the things we have in common with each other, no matter who we are or what we believe: the love of beauty, the value of human connection, and our need to explore the deepest questions life poses to us. Using music to help us consider questions of faith and spirituality will be a one-of-a-kind experience for all who attend.”
The event will feature new compositions for voice and piano by Ari Ben-Shabetai, an internationally-prominent composer now based in the UK, as well as Case, who serves as Professor of Music at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. These works will be performed by baritone Robert Rice, a member of The Cardinall’s Musick, and Calvin Leung, one the UK’s most accomplished young pianists. The third piece, a new song based on an original text, will be performed by Samia Malik, a singer-songwriter, workshop leader, and activist known for her emotionally-riveting bilingual Urdu/English songs.
“Each of us has created a new piece of music that explores the theme of ‘creation’ from a religious or spiritual perspective,” says Case. “It’s fascinating to see the unique ways each of us has approached the challenge. Some of us have focused on the ways the theme relates to the basic human urge to create – and how that helps us understand the spiritual dimension of human experience. Others have expressly connected it to the issue of environmental crisis that we all face. Altogether, these pieces demonstrate the unique power of the arts to bring people together in conversation about themes that are relevant to all of us today. This should make for a vibrant conversation.”
The performances of the pieces will be followed by an informal panel discussion featuring scholars representing each of the three Abrahamic faiths. Cambridge Faculty of Divinity members Prof. Giles Waller and Prof. Timothy Winter (Abdal Hakim Murad) will be joined by Dr. Danielle Padley, a Research Fellow at the Woolf Institute.
Each of the composers will also be present for the event and will share their own thoughts about their music.
The event will be followed by a drinks reception open to all. This event is being presented by the Woolf Institute and is co-sponsored by Westminster College, and The Spalding Trust.
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