In the Spirit to Premiere SONGS OF MILAREPA by Philip Glass, 10/24

Under the artistic direction of Philip Glass, In the Spirit features an extraordinary array of acclaimed musicians to celebrate the great spiritual and cultural traditions stretching from Tibet and China to Africa, the Middle East, and the West. In the Spirit will be held at The Town Hall in New York City to mark The Garrison Institute's 10th anniversary and bring its mission to a wider public. Located on the Hudson River an hour north of New York City, the Institute develops contemplative-based programs that integrate the wisdom from deep reflection with scientific research to help solve the pressing social and environmental challenges of our time. Working in the fields of climate change, education and trauma, the Institute is dedicated to creating a more compassionate and resilient future through personal and social transformation.

Speaking about the Institute, Mr. Glass says, "Fifty years from now ...I can't believe the world will be livable without these institutions as they become important places to seed ideas, to develop ideas...places that provide leadership and inspiration."

In the Spirit features:

* The New York premiere of Songs of Milarepa, a work by Philip Glass set to the poems of Milarepa (1052-1135), one of Tibet's most famous saints and poets. This work was commissioned by the Sagra Musicale Umbra Festival and premiered in 1997 in Perugia, Italy for orchestra and baritone; the version to be performed on October 24th was recently developed for solo piano and baritone. Mr. Glass chose three of Milarepa's poems for this work: "One is about the renunciation and life of the yogi who lives in a cave. A second one, song of the white staff, uses the cane to illustrate the ideas of Buddhism that he wants to talk about. And third is the song of the five sisters in which he talks about the ultimate truth of reality." The New York premiere will be performed by baritone Gregory Purnhagen, and prize-winning pianist Nelson Padgett, members of the Philip Glass Ensemble. Mr. Purnhagen, a frequent interpreter of Glass's music, appeared in Le Belle et la Bete, Galileo Galilei, Monsters of Grace, Einstein on the Beach and Hydrogen Jukebox. He also created roles in operas by Anthony Braxton, Fred Ho and Michael Kowalski, and appeared as a soloist with Musica Sacra, Voices of Ascension, Chatham Baroque, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. Padgett, a protégé of Leon Fleisher, has accompanied Pinchas Zukerman, Pamela Franks and Augustin Hadelich, among others.

* The Pomerium vocal ensemble, inspired by the renowned chapel choirs of the Renaissance, revives the golden age of a cappella singing. Noted for its luminous sound, the group has been described as the "most venerable of New York's early music vocal ensembles (The Wall Street Journal), "the standard by which early music vocal groups are measured" (The New York Times), and "a driving force for performances of Renaissance polyphony" (The Washington Post). Pomerium is under the direction of Alexander Blachly, who founded the group in 1972; it is widely known for its interpretations of Du Fay Ockeghem, Busnoys, Josquin, Lassus and Palestrina. Its name-medieval Latin for "garden" or "orchard"-derives from the title of a treatise by the 14th-century music theorist Marchettus of Padua, who explained that his Pomerium in arte musice mensurate contains the "flowers and fruits" of the art of music. For this program, the 15-member ensemble will perform O vos omnes by Carlo Gesualdo (1567-1613), Ave Maria by Josquin Desprez (ca. 1452-1521), In ieiunio et fletu and Derelinquit impius by Thomas Tallis (ca. 1505-1585), and Vide homo by Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594).

* Riyaaz Qawwali performs the ecstatic improvisational Sufi vocal tradition made famous in the West by the late Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Qawwali, mesmerizing music which dates back to the late 13th century, is characterized by powerful vocals (similar to gospel in a call-and-response manner) and lively rhythms; its central themes are love, devotion and longing for the Divine. Based in Texas, the ensemble is acknowledged as the only professional qawwali group in the US. This multi-sectarian group is composed of Muslims and Hindus who perform in the Punjabi style, following in the footsteps of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. It is under the direction of Sonny Mehta, its lead vocalist, composer and arranger who studied Hindustani classical music and counts Nusrat, Jagjit Singh and his grandfather as his greatest musical influences. This program marks the ensemble's second NY appearance (it performed in 2012 at the Locating the Sacred Festival).

* Foday Musa Suso, a renowned Mandingo griot or jali (oral historian/praise singer) from the West African nation of Gambia, is a master of the kora, a 21-stringed harp-lute. He is known for his hypnotic performances of traditional Mandingo music, as well as for his collaborations with Herbie Hancock, Philip Glass, Jack DeJohnette, and the Kronos Quartet. Suso grew up in a traditional Gambian village in a household filled with kora music. In 1977, he moved to Chicago and became the first kora player to establish himself in the US. Since that time, he has toured as a soloist and with various musicians throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and North and South America. He has a long history of collaboration with Philip Glass, with whom he co-wrote the soundtrack for Powaqqatsi and the music for a revival of Genet's The Screens, and with whom he performed at many of the world's most prestigious venues. In this program, Suso will perform traditional Mandingo music.

* Omar Faruk Tekbilek is one of the finest Turkish musicians performing on the ney (bamboo flute) and a versatile artist who has collaborated with 'ud virtuoso Simon Shaheen, Youssou N'Dour, Yasmin Levy, Enrique Morente, Ginger Baker and Glen Velez, among others. A brilliant interpreter of Sufi, folk, and contemporary music of the Middle East, he has recorded 10 critically acclaimed CDs. His numerous accolades include the 2011 Turkish Music Award for Best Instrumental Album of the Year presented by Kral TV, a Best Artist of Turkish Music award from the Turkish Writers Association, and a nomination for a BBC World Music Award. In this program, Tekbilek (ney, vocal) will perform mystical Sufi music of the Middle East - including Yunus, a classical Sufi song with lyrics by Yunus Emre, the 13th century Sufi poet - with accompaniment on frame drum by his son Murat Tekbilek.

* Wu Man, the celebrated Chinese pipa virtuoso and interpreter of the traditional Chinese repertoire and contemporary pipa music, has been acclaimed for "her consummate musicality and brilliant technique" (The New York Times). The Boston Globe described her as "one of those rare musicians who has changed the history of the instruments she plays." She is renowned for her solo performances and her work with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project, the Kronos Quartet and Philip Glass, and was named Musical America's 2013 Instrumentalist of the Year, the first traditional musician ever to receive this prestigious award. She will be joined by the Scorchio Quartet, a cutting-edge string quartet that has been the "house quartet" of the Tibet House Benefit Concerts produced by Philip Glass. The quartet has worked with such prominent artists as Philip Glass, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, Lou Reed, David Byrne, Ziggy Marley, Rufus Wainwright, and the Kronos Quartet. The program will feature traditional Chinese music and original music by Philip Glass.

The concert is under the artistic direction of Philip Glass, whose operas, symphonies, compositions for his own ensemble, and wide-ranging collaborations with artists ranging from Twyla Tharp to Allen Ginsberg, Woody Allen to David Bowie, have had an extraordinary and unprecedented impact upon contemporary musical and intellectual life. His associations with leading rock, pop and world music artists date back to the 1960s, including the beginning of his collaborative relationship with artist Robert Wilson. He is the first composer to win a wide, multi-generational audience in the opera house, the concert hall, the dance world, in film and in popular music -- simultaneously. In the past 25 years, Mr. Glass has composed more than twenty operas; eight symphonies; two piano concertos and concertos for violin, piano, timpani, and saxophone quartet and orchestra; soundtracks to films; string quartets; and a growing body of work for solo piano and organ. He has collaborated with Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Yo-Yo Ma, and Doris Lessing, among many others. He presents solo keyboard performances around the world, and continues to appear regularly with the Philip Glass Ensemble.