Women of Valor symposium and concert

Women of Valor Logo by Louise Clearfield.

SAVE THE DATE

Sunday, September 18, 2011, and Saturday, September 24, The Women's Sacred Music Project http://www.voicesfound.org presents a Symposium & Concert: "Women of Valor Suite." 

September 18 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM at the Daylesford Abbey in Paoli http://www.daylesford.org/

September 24 8:00 PM at the Germantown Jewish Centre in Mount Airy http://www.germantownjewishcentre.org/

The Women's Sacred Music Project, the Daylesford Abbey, and the Germantown Jewish Centre, will present an exciting performance of Andrea Clearfield's "Women of Valor Suite," with a newly commissioned piece, "Hagar," written by Clearfield, with words by Ellen Frankel, and performed in a special chamber version. WSMP is delighted to announce that the soprano for the concerts will be Elizabeth Racheva, http://www.elizabethracheva.com/, and the mezzo-soprano will be Suzanne Du Plantis, http://www.mec-sing.com/suzanne.html. 

The first concert, which will take place at the Daylesford Abbey on Sunday afternoon, September 18, will be preceded by a symposium focusing on the image of the Woman of Valor described in Proverbs 31 and in Muslim tradition, exploring Jewish, Christian and Muslim responses to this figure. The program also includes a brief talk by composer Andrea Clearfield, http://www.andreaclearfield.com.

The program will be repeated on Saturday night, September 24, as the lead-in program for Germantown Jewish's Centre’s observance of S'lichot, a midnight penitential service in preparation for the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, which begins the following week.  The symposium will begin at 8 pm that evening, followed by the concert.  

Abbey Program Schedule Sunday, September 18, 2011

1:00 PM Symposium on “The Woman of Valor,” with 3 presenters: Christian speaker, Susan Teegen-Case; Jewish speaker, Ellen Frankel; and Muslim speaker, Zakiya Islam.

2:15 Performance of the Chamber Suite from “Women of Valor,” by Andrea Clearfield, including “Sarah,” “Hagar” (new commission), “Rachael,” “Leah,” “Jocheved,” and “Miriam,” with narration and remarks by the composer.

3:15-4:00 Hymn Sing: audience participation in songs related to the Women of Valor, led by the Massed Episcopal Diocesan Choir directed by Jay Fluellan and the Abbey Choir directed by  Ted Latham.

Andrea Clearfield originally composed “Women of Valor,” her doctoral dissertation, as an oratorio for soprano, mezzo-soprano, narrator, and orchestra.  The Los Angeles Jewish Symphony premiered it in April 2000.  She subsequently wrote a chamber arrangement for soprano, mezzo-soprano, piano, violin, and percussion.  The oratorio highlights women in the Hebrew Scriptures, and was conceived as a midrash on the Proverbs 31 text describing a woman of valor, or in an Anglicized translation, "the goodly wife." For more information about the composer and the piece, please click here: http://www.andreaclearfield.com/works/vocal/women-of-valor/. For more information on librettist Ellen Frankel, click here: http://ellenfrankel.instantencore.com/web/home.aspx.

The Women’s Sacred Music Project is a public charity (501c3), organized in 1997 to promote the creation and performance of sacred music by, for, and about women at the highest level of excellence. WSMP became interested in the chamber version of “Women of Valor” and presented an aria from it, “Jocheved” in 1997.  The aria is a lullaby sung by the mother of Moses as she puts her tiny son into a basket and slips him into the Nile.  WSMP later commissioned an SSA choral arrangement of “Jocheved's Song” so that the Lady Chapel Singers could sing it.  They presented it to great acclaim, throughout the US and as far away as England and Germany.  They then recorded it on the CD, “Magdalene and the Other Mary.”  To order, click here http://www.voicesfound.org/ A simple version arranged for cantor, keyboard, and congregation is published in the “Leader's Guide to Voices Found,” http://www.voicesfound.org/.

The Germantown Jewish Centre is a pluralistic and egalitarian synagogue located in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia, embracing a wide diversity of Jewish lifestyles and households, and fostering multiple prayer communities.

Premiering September 18 is a newly commissioned movement, “Hagar,” by Andrea Clearfield, with text by Ellen Frankel.  WSMP decided to commission the piece so that Hagar would be remembered as a woman of valor, along with Sarah, the wife of Abraham. The Suite to be performed on September 18 and 24 will include the movements: “Sarah,” “Hagar,” “Leah,” “Rachel,” “Jocheved,” and “Miriam.”

All are welcome to attend both events.  There is no admission fee but a freewill offering will be collected at the September 18 event.