Ai'yu: Songs of Transcendence: Resound Ensemble Spring Concert - May 12,13,15

The theme of Resound Ensemble's Spring concert is best captured in one word,  Ai'yu, which evokes the spirit of transcendence. Used mainly in Egyptian cultures, this word serves as an exclamation meaning "astonishing!" and "marvelous!" during times of great joy. Our program includes such works worthy of this exclamation, such as Arvo Pärt's Magnificat, Gabriel Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine, and works by contemporary composers such as Dominick DiOrio's I Am, and Ola Gjeilo's Northern Lights. Our composer-in-residence this year is Bay Area composer, Anne Hege. We will perform the West Coast premiere of her piece, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. To further our collaboration with artists, the choir welcomes pianist Jonathan Gregoire who will join us from Dallas as our featured guest musician, and artist Peggy Gyulai will be painting live during all three concerts. As a preview to our collaboration with Other Minds Festival, we will perform selections of Lou Harrison's La Koro Sutro, which will be performed in its entirety on May 20th at Mission Dolores Basilica under the direction of Nicole Paiement (Opera Parallèle).