Featuring: Nigel Gore, Chris Turner, Alexey Shabalin, Consuelo Sherba, Emmanuel Feldman

Music of Rebecca Clarke, José Elizondo, and Ernst von Dohnanyi

The Pawtucket Arts Festival presents Aurea, Rhode Island’s unique chamber ensemble breaking boundaries between music and words, performing a new program, Eating Poetry. The title, Eating Poetry, refers to two poems in the program, spanning eight centuries, one by the 13th century Persian poet, Rumi, and the other by contemporary American poet, the late Mark Strand. It also symbolizes the absolute essentialness of art, from ancient times and distant cultures to the present, and their great overarching connections. This project has been full of new discoveries for all of us. Opening with the words of Enheduanna, 23rd century BC Sumerian high priestess and earliest known poet in the world, we find ourselves threading seamlessly through time and space, communing through the ages. Celebrating the work of Rebecca Clarke, José Elizondo, Ernst von Dohnanyi, with the soaring harmonica improvisations of Chris Turner and featuring readings with Pawtucket’s own Nigel Gore. We hope these works resonate as much for you in these pairings, and at this time, as they do for us.