With the anniversary of September 11th on the horizon, Arts and Faith St. Louis is again gearing up for a concert to both remember the tragedy and promote unity across faith backgrounds.
"One way to look at 9/11 is that it was an attempt to divide Americans in some ways along lines of faith, and so this concert was meant to be a coming together, an expression of unity, a common hope for peace. And we thought, wouldn't it be great to do it with music," said Timothy O'Leary, general director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. He has been involved with planning the annual concert since the beginning.
Part of the goal of these concerts is to break down stereotypes, said Mont Levy. He is chair of the community programming initiative for Arts and Faith St. Louis.
As always, several faith groups will perform alongside the St. Louis Children's Choir and professional musicians, including groups affiliated with Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and Christian faiths.
Grammy-winning soprano Christine Brewer will perform at the concert for the third time, singing a Strauss song called "Morgen" in what she calls a violin duet with St. Louis Symphony Concertmaster David Halen. They will be joined by Grammy-winning jazz pianist Peter Martin.
"Tomorrow morning is what it's about...it's a hopeful song," said Brewer. "And that's what I get from this program. There's a hopefulness about peace...when you hear all these groups singing and playing their hearts out on their instruments, it's overwhelming to me it's so beautiful."
Related Event
Arts and Faith St. Louis Presents "The Third Annual September 11th Interfaith Commemoration in Music: "An Appreciation of Religious Diversity"
5:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 8, 2013 at the Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd.
For more information, call 314-533-9900 or visit the Arts and Faith St. Louis website.
Cityscape is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer, hosted bySteve Potter and funded in part by the the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis, the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
