Interfaith Works presents:

The 2009
World Sacred Music Festival
OLYMPIA, USA

a celebration of the sacred
through the uplifting music & dance of the world

Saturday March 7, 2009

at the Minnaert Center for the Arts

What’s your sacred music? Meditative chanting? Hymns? Drumming? High-energy gospel? Ask 10 people from different backgrounds and traditions, and you’ll get a variety of answers. Of course, you’ll also hear how music makes each listener feel uplifted and connected.

The Dalai Lama, leader of Tibetan Buddhism, says “There is something in music that transcends and unites. This is evident in the sacred music of every community….” This observation was part of his call for sacred music festivals to be held around the world.
Now you have a chance to learn about the sacred music traditions of others up close. This spring, Interfaith Works is sponsoring a rare opportunity to hear music from many sacred traditions in one place. The first (annual) World Sacred Music Festival in Olympia takes place at St. John’s Episcopal Church Saturday May 21, 5:00-9:00 p.m. and Sunday May 22, 12:30-4:30 p.m. A donation of $5 is requested, and refreshments and ethnic food will be available for purchase.

Saturday’s performances include Native American drumming, Sacred Harp singing (also known as Shapenote singing), a Classical Indian trio, and Native American flute player and storyteller Paul Wagner. Two workshops on Saturday will focus on Native American flute and participatory Sacred Harp singing.

Saturday concludes with a concert featuring the Ancient Sounds Ensemble, an emerging group increasingly featured at regional sacred and interfaith events. Ancient Sounds combines Native American & world flutes, didjeridus, other ancient woodwinds, and ethnic percussion with vocals, piano, guitar, animal calls and other creative instruments. The resulting music is intended for rejuvenation, enjoyment, and support of inner knowing.

Sunday’s lineup includes Jewish songs by the Temple Beth Hatfiloh Choir, didjeridu by Doug Bridges, and solos on kora (an African calabash harp) by Kane Mathis. Ethnomusicologist Sean Williams will provide an informative talk on sacred world music as well as a performance of solo Gaelic songs in the Sean-nós style. Local percussionist Scott Saunders will offer an opening blessing, and later lead a participatory workshop in TaKa TiNa, a musical group process that uses precise stepping, clapping, and rhythmic voicing patterns.

Sunday’s 3:00 p.m. grand finale features Seattle’s Peregrine Medieval Vocal Ensemble performing “A Place for the Divine.” This program will include harp music from three of the ensemble's members, and chants from the Mass and other rites for the dedication of a church. These chants have been used since the early Middle Ages to consecrate sacred space in cathedrals, shrines, and chapels.

Olympia’s World Sacred Music Festival is a showcase for musicians from across the region. The festival includes both established performers and less-known emerging talents, all part of the Pacific Northwest’s rich spiritual tapestry.

Interfaith Works envisions the World Sacred Music Festival as a spring complement to the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration, which each November draws an audience of hundreds.

The full schedule, directions, and up-to-date details can be found at the festival website: www.olysacredmusic.org.