“The only way of awakening to the life within, which is most beautiful, 
is first to respond to the beauty outside.” 
–Inayat Khan (1882-1927)

“There are only two ways to live your life. 
One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
 –Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Dear friends,

I hope you are staying warm and as well as can be in these uncertain times! It almost goes without saying that our climate, political and ecological, has become increasingly unstable. We have become pulled apart from one another and from the generous earth which sustains us. And yet, the living world never fails to offer touchstones of hope, joy, and beauty: even now, small buds emerge against the greyed February snow and sparrows begin to fly branches back to their nests, preparing for new life. This moment is one that requires wonder, and there is perhaps no better place to seek it than in nature – and music.

Singing itself is an act of co-creation with our environment. All of the nutrients which have become cells in our bodies were other things once; now they form our bones, musculature, lungs, and larynxes. We breathe in the air of where we stand and exhale it into sound. Our bodies resonate, the spaces in which we sing resonate with us; our experience of that spatial resonance informs how we sing, which informs how our bodies resonate, and so on. The small miracles of choral music can remind us that we are perhaps not so separate from others, or from the earth, after all.

Ensemble Companio’s 2024-2025 concert season, (Un)Common Ground, draws upon rich natural imagery, folk traditions, and syncretic soundscapes to celebrate the nourishment we find in the earth and each other. The program features the premiere of Forrest Pierce’s Fire in the Meadow, a newly commissioned multi-movement work fusing mystical texts by Hildegard von Bingen with the poetry of 20th-century Sufi teacher Inayat Khan (quoted above), alongside a kaleidoscope of choral works by living composers including Reena Esmail, Kerry Andrew, Andrew Balfour, Laura Jēkabsone, Russell Wallace, and others. With repertoire both about nature and embodying natural forces, (Un)Common Ground offers a revitalizing vision of connection and awe through the lens of place.

We look forward to sharing this inspiring program with you at our upcoming concerts:
March 22, 8pm – Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian, 152 W 66th St, New York, NY
March 23, 2pm – South Presbyterian Church, 343 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, NY
April 26, 7:30pm – The Substation, 4228 Washington St, Roslindale, MA

Be well, and see you later this Spring!

With wonder,

Dr. Erik Peregrine (they/them)
Artistic Director, Ensemble Companio