Aurea Ensemble to Present Reprise Performance of EATING POETRY—Food For The Soul On A Winter Day

Aurea Ensemble is reprising its 2022 program, Eating Poetry, a performance of music and poetry on Sunday, January 29, 2023, 4:00pm, at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 50 Orchard Ave, in Providence. The program promises to feed the soul and nourish the senses.

Consuelo. Sherba, artistic director of Aurea said, "The choice of poetry and music 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."

This program, Eating Poetry is a veritable feast, from start to finish. It opens with the words of Enheduanna, a 23rd century BC Sumerian high priestess and earliest known poet in the world- whose life and influence are the subject of an exhibit now on display at the J.P. Morgan Library in New York City. As the program unfolds it continues with poetry by a diverse group of artists, two of whom inspired the title of the program-the 13th century poet, Rumi, and the contemporary American poet, the late Mark Strand.

As Mark Strand said,

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.

There is no happiness like mine.

I have been eating poetry.

and from Rumi:

My poems resemble the bread of Egypt - one

night

passes over it, and you can't eat it anymore.

So gobble them down now, while they're still

fresh,

before the dust of the world settles on them.

Where a poem belongs is here, in the warmth of

the chest:

out in the world it dies of cold.

Such delectable words are woven together with Aurea's special blend of chamber music, celebrating the work of Mozart, Rebecca Clarke, José Elizondo, and Ernst von Dohnanyi, along with the soaring harmonica improvisations of Chris Turner and readings presented by Nigel Gore.

This program welcomes all lovers of music and poetry.

Aurea is committed to arts access for all, and is therefore, offering a "pay what you can" option. Suggested admission is $30. Donations greatly appreciated. Tickets may be purchased at the door. No credit cards accepted; cash or check only.

About the Aurea Ensemble

Based in Rhode Island and founded more than 15-years ago, this eclectic chamber ensemble explores the relationship between music and the spoken word. The group takes its name from Catena Aurea Homeri, or the Golden Chain of Homer, a symbol of 18th century esoteric alchemy-the combining of disparate elements into a divine new element. This is the very definition of every Aurea event: a new kind of artistic experience is created out of the group's strong framework of classical, folk and contemporary music performed together with eloquent poetry, journals and prose.

Visit their website: AureaEnsemble.org

email: info@aureaensemble.org

phone: 401-331-0543

PROGRAM

Eating Poetry

Featuring:

Nigel Gore, Spoken Word

Chris Turner, Harmonica Improvisations & Spoken Word

Alexey Shabalin, Violin

Consuelo Sherba, Viola

Emmanuel Feldman, Cello

ABOUT THE AUREA ENSEMBLE ARTISTS

Consuelo Sherba

violist, Aurea Artistic Director/ founding member and violist, is an active chamber music and orchestral performer throughout New England, performing regularly with the RI Philharmonic, Buzzards Bay Music Festival. She is also on the faculty of Brown university, Interharmony International Music Festival and the RI Philharmonic Music School. Consuelo was violist of the Charleston String Quartet from 1983-2000, in residence at Brown University, performing throughout the US, Europe and Scandinavia. Since 2004, she has performed with Aurea at the Chicago Humanities Festival, the New York University Humanities Festival, FirstWorks Providence, the Pawtucket Arts Festival, the Maverick Festival and throughout New England. She is a 2015 honoree of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities for her creative vision and multidisciplinary, humanities-driven programming with Aurea.

Alexey Shabalin, violin

Alexey is a member of the RI Phil and is Artistic Director/Conductor of the RI Philharmonic Youth Orchestra since 2003. Shabalin graduated from Moscow Conservatory in 1995, having studied with Professors Igor Besrodny and Alexander Melkinov. As a student he won third prize in the Soviet national string quartet competition in 1991. During the same year he was a semifinalist in the International Shostakovich Chamber Music Competition. In 1995 he won the "Best Violinist in a Duet" category in the International Bashmet Competition in Moscow. From 1992 to 1996, Shabalin toured with the world-renowned Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra. In 1995 the group gave the second performance ever held of Mozart's newly unearthed Triple Concerto, with Shabalin playing the solo violin part. In recognition of his talent, he was allowed to perform on a priceless Stradivarius violin owned by the Russian government. He moved to the United States in 1996 and has since played in many orchestras and chamber groups.

Emmanuel Feldman, cello

Hailed by John Williams, Grammy award winning composer and conductor as "an outstanding cellist and truly dedicated artist," Emmanuel Feldman enjoys an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, champion and commissioner of new music and educator. With a repertoire ranging from Bach to Ligeti to today's cutting-edge composers, Feldman has concertized throughout Europe and North America. He has performed as soloist with the Boston Pops, Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Greensboro Festival Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, New England String Ensemble and many others. An avid chamber musician, he was invited to participate in the Marlboro Music Festival and has collaborated with such distinguished artists as Richard Stoltzman, Gilbert Kalish, Robert Levin, Joy Cline-Phinney, Victor Rosenbaum, Jorge Bolet, Lynn Chang, Marcus Thompson, the Borromeo String Quartet, Aurea Ensemble and soloed with world renowned pop and jazz artist Bobby McFerrin in music from McFerrin's album "Hush."

Feldman has participated in the Pablo Casals Festival, Schlesswig Holstein Musik Festival and was a faculty member at the Yellow Barn Music Festival, the Killington Music Festival and the Summit Music Festival.

Chris Turner, harmonica, spoken word

Harmonica virtuoso, Chris Turner was born into a musical family in London, England, and learned harmonica and recorder as a child. He has been playing professionally since 1967, working in a variety of idioms including Folk, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country, Early and Avantgarde music. While traveling extensively in Europe and Africa, he assimilated many different musical styles. Turner studied composition with Christopher Small and improvisation with John Stevens. In 1975, he was recognized for his virtuosity when he was awarded the European Harmonica Championship.

Chris has toured with numerous professional bands and appears on many recordings. He has worked extensively as a composer, music director, and arranger for various theatrical organizations including Rhode Island's prestigious Trinity Repertory Company, as well as for films, animations, radio and TV.

A unique and very talented stylist on all kinds of harmonicas, Turner is equally at home playing blues, various folk styles, as well as modern classical music. He has premiered and recorded orchestral pieces composed for the harmonica and has composed and transcribed others himself. Besides a variety of harmonicas, Chris is also proficient on flutes, bagpipes, shawms, keyboards, brass, synthesizers and some percussion. He has appeared as concerto soloist with the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Ocean State Chamber Orchestra.

Nigel Gore, spoken word

Nigel Gore trained at the Rose Bruford College, UK and at the Trinity Repertory Conservatory in Rhode Island. He received the Eliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actor for his portrayal of George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Publick Theatre in Boston; and the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Richard at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, "Gore's original interpretation made the Colorado Shakespeare Festival production of Richard III new."-Westword, Denver. Most recently he has performed as Titus in "TItus Andronicus" at Portland Playhouse and Scrooge at Orlando Shakes, this season and last, the World Premiere of Mother of the Maid, Shakespeare & Company; the Bedlam Theatre production of Sense and Sensibility & Seagull, Off-Broadway; Women of Will at the Hague Shakespeare Festival, Netherlands; the San Miguel Allende Writers Conference, Mexico; and the Orlando Shakespeare Theater; as well as Brutus in Julius Caesar, Prague Shakespeare Company and Caesar in Julius Caesar, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. Other roles include Macbeth in Macbeth and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, 2013. Television includes Thurston Twitchell in seasons 2 and 3 of Brotherhood for Showtime.

With Aurea his roles include Faust in Goethe's Faust, the role of Hector/Menelaos in the Airea & First Works World Premiere of War Music by Christopher Logue which performed in NYC, Chicago and Providence; and most recently, Sigfried Sassoon in Not About Heroes.

Mr. Gore is a founding member of Aurea and a published poet.

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