The Spiritual Voyages Festival in Philadelphia on February 18 will encompass three concerts at Church of the Holy Trinity on Rittenhouse Square, with each program highlighting the music and poetry of a particular culture. The festival will feature musicians from the roster of Astral Artists, which is presenting the festival with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge. Kicking off the festival at 1 p.m. is a program called “Raise Your Voice,” celebrating African-American culture; featured composers will include David Sanford, Alvin Singleton, and Evelyn Simpson-Curenton, and there will be readings of works of poetry by Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Sonya Sanchez, Philadelphia’s newly named poet laureate. At 4 p.m., flutist Juliette Curenton will perform works by her mother, Philadelphia composer Evelyn Simpson-Curenton, as well as works by Bach, Dutilleux, and Schubert, with pianist Andrea Lam. An 8 p.m. concert, “From the Andes to the Yangtze,” will highlight Latin American and Asian American cultures, with works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Vivian Fung, and Gabriela Lena Frank; also performing on that program will be the Balinese Gamelan Semara Santi of Swarthmore College and the Indonesian Cultural Club Dance Troupe.
Posted February 14, 2012
