MUSIC

The first major endeavor of the Houston Arts Alliance’s Folklife and Traditional Arts Program is Sacred Songs, Sacred Sites, a project that explores the artistic traditions of Houston’s diverse faith communities. Over the next six months, Sacred Songs, Sacred Sites will offer concerts, on-site presentations of diverse artistic traditions by several faith communities, educational workshops and a gallery exhibition.

The Sacred Songs, Sacred Sites program debut will be a concert, Voices of the Spirit, presented on Friday, November 5 at 7:30 pm, in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. A sensational evening of devotional music from four different religious communities will be performed by Houston artists who have spent their entire lives immersed in these faith-based traditions.

Voices of the Spirit performers include:
Kathy Taylor, a lifelong Houstonian, started soloing in the church choir as a child. At 11, she was hired at Mount Horub Baptist Church to perform the only two songs she knew from beginning to end. Her performance was so powerful that the church brought her back every week after that for the next five years. Now the Minister of Music at Windsor Village United Methodist Church, she oversees their comprehensive music, dance and theatre program. She will be joined by vocal ensemble Favor.

Cantor Vadim Tunitsky has been the musical leader of services at Temple Emanu El for over 20 years. A native of Russia and an extremely talented violinist, he studied in New York before moving on to the Lone Star State. In addition to being recognized as one of Houston’s leading cantors, Tunitsky has recorded extensively and performed worldwide. He will be accompanied on piano by Yanina Didyk.

Mariachi Norteno is a Houston treasure. The ten member group will share selections from the mariachi mass they have performed at St. Joseph Catholic Church every single Sunday of the year since the late 1960s. Guided by the legendary Father Patricio Flore, the first Mexican American Archbishop, Mariachi Norteno was very likely the first ensemble to play this special musical version of the mass in the United States.

Ali Durrani is a powerful singer of a style of Sufi music known as Qawwali. Born in Britain to Pakistani parents, they returned to their homeland where he had the opportunity to study directly with the world renown master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. In his teens, he traveled alone to Houston and has since made a career in music and sound production. Accompanied by tabla guitar and bass, Ali sings and plays harmonium, covering a remarkable repertoire of improvisatory raggas.

The primary goal of Sacred Songs, Sacred Sites and its first presentation, Voices of the Spirit, is to establish avenues of exchange across and among Houston's diverse faith communities through the artistic traditions they have fostered and, in some cases, share. Voices of the Spirit celebrates the religious and cultural traditions central to community identity, history and heritage and offers a truly significant way to introduce Houstonians to their many neighbors.

The Houston Arts Alliance is the official local arts agency for the city of Houston, providing funding, technical assistance and leadership to non-profit arts organizations region-wide. Sacred Songs, Sacred Sites is part of HAA’s new Folklife and Traditional Arts Program. For more information, contact Folklife Program Director Pat Jasper at 713.527.9330 or email her at pat@haatx.com.  Sacred Songs, Sacred Sites programs are funded in part by the Houston Endowment, Inc., the National Endowment for the Arts, His Highness The Aga Khan Council for the USA and Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston.

Tickets available at http://www.thehobbycenter.org/  or by calling the box office at 713.315.2525.

Pictured above:  (top image) Mariachi Norteno/(bottom image) Kathy Taylor.