Songs of Concord

Songs of Concord
Saturday, September 3, 2022
2:00–4:00 pm Pacific Time in person and via live-stream
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA
Presenter: Joseph Miller

In 2005 a choral work, ‘Four Songs of Concord’, premiered in Santa Barbara, sung by Canticle Choir, a 50-voice cappella ensemble founded and directed by local choral legend, Phyllis E. Zimmerman. Zimmerman was commissioned to write the work in honor of Raghavan and Nandini Iyer, Founders of the Institute of World Culture in Santa Barbara, and long-time educators at UC Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College.

‘Four Songs of Concord’ sets two Eastern and two Western texts, which together constitute a universal affirmation of harmony, compassion, and the human promise. The work was commissioned by students of the Iyers, and is based on world literary passages dear to them: English translations of Indian and Tibetan scriptures, as well as words from the American poet Edwin Markham and the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

At this forum, Joseph Miller, a former singer and administrator with Canticle, will present an audio recording of the 2005 performance–the final concert of Zimmerman’s 46-year career of choral direction. The then 71-year-old Zimmerman, who was honored in 1995 as one of the twelve living female composers by the American Choral Directors Association, wrote and rehearsed ‘Four Songs of Concord’ during the first four-and-a-half months of 2005. Miller, as one of the commissioners and singers, will personally reflect on that experience, and offer a few insights about the structure and message of the composition. There will be time at the end for discussion.

There is no need to register. Masks are optional in Concord Hall
Livestream begins at 2:00 pm: https://www.youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live
The program will also be recorded and posted to the YouTube Channel: IWCinSantaBarbara