A musical and poetic conversation between diverse traditions

Join us on a journey of music and poetry that celebrates the classical forms of both the African American and European musical traditions through the lens of sisterhood. LA-based singers Lindsay Patterson Abdou and Brooke Iva Lohman, and violinist, scholar, and poet Dr. Lesa Terry will be joined by pianist Joseph Williams and Anima Mundi Productions’ resident poet Tiziana DellaRovere for a unique concert that combines art songs with blues, spirituals, and improvisation to explore women’s struggles for greater equality and racial reconciliation.

This unusual and unforgettable program brings together Hildegard von Bingen, Giovanni Pergolesi, and Carlisle Floyd with African American women composers Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Dorothy R. Moore, alongside newly commissioned poetry, beautiful visuals, and instrumental and vocal improvisation.

Mezzo-Soprano Lindsay Patterson Abdou has premiered numerous new works in performances with the LA Opera, LA Master Chorale, The Industry, Long Beach Opera and many others. She has appeared in Porgy and Bess with the Metropolitan Opera, on Hollywood soundtracks such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and as background for Björk in her 2022 California tour.

Called  “witty, adorable, and one to watch” (Singerpreneur), soprano Brooke Iva Lohman has likewise performed new works and traditional masterpieces with many of the leading companies in Southern California and around the country as an opera singer, orchestral soloist, and recitalist.

As a violinist, composer, educator, and scholar, Dr. Lesa Terry is at the vanguard of contemporary musical interpretation and an artist whose creative genius consistently brings distinctive innovation to musical performance. A founding member of the legendary Uptown String Quartet and the founder of the Women’s Jazz Orchestra of Los Angeles, Dr. Terry has taught more than 50 courses on jazz history and contemporary techniques in string pedagogy at Santa Monica College, and has implemented culturally specific programming across the country.

Pianist, educator, and curator Joseph Williams has enjoyed performing at numerous venues across the United States including The John F. Kennedy Center, the Northwest African American Museum, Steinway Hall, and at Dubai’s Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children. A passionate advocate for accessible, high quality music education, Mr. Williams is founder and director of Tukwila Kids Make Music, a free after-school music mentorship program, and also an advisory board member for the New Music Initiative for Black Voices.

Born in Milan, Italy, Tiziana DellaRovere is an accomplished writer of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. She has written three librettos for operas, poetry for the Rogue Valley Symphony and numerous art songs and choral collaborations, and led the creation of Anima Mundi Productions’ oratorio of Covid pandemic stories, Six Feet Apart. A published author since her 1995 Sacred Fire, Tiziana’s writings flow from her convictions about the cultivation of love as a fierce, courageous and down-to-earth power that can heal the heart of humanity and transform the social structure of our world.

UPDATE FOR TICKET-HOLDERS: The Uptown String Quartet concert has been postponed to Sunday, November 5, 2023. All tickets for the Uptown String Quartet, including season subscriptions, will instead be valid for the same seats at Honoring My Sister’s Beauty, which will take place on the same date and time that the Uptown String Quartet was originally scheduled. Simply bring your original ticket to the door. If instead you’d prefer a full refund, please call (541) 833-3066 (ext 2) and leave a message for Jeffri.

Now Streaming

Anima Mundi Productions is proud to present Six Feet Apart: Stories of Resilience and Transformation, an innovative multimedia choral oratorio that harnesses the power of music, poetry, and art to amplify diverse voices and foster collective healing in Oregon during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Featuring music by Ethan Gans-Morse and poetry by Tiziana DellaRovere with special guest contributions by current and former Oregon poets laureate Anis Mojgani and Kim Stafford and renowned artist Betty LaDuke.

Six Feet Apart premiered as a multimedia online video performance featuring HEX Vocal Ensemble, the Brightwork Ensemble, and filmmaker Camilla Tassi.

Grammy-winner Estelí Gomez has been praised for her “clear, bright voice” (New York Times) and as “a soprano with a floating, angelic voice and a powerful presence” (I Care If You Listen). Her longtime collaborator, Colin Davin, has been hailed as “the real thing, a player with a virtuoso’s technique, a deeply expressive musicianship, and a probing imagination” (American Record Guide).

Coming Soon…

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Dreams Have No Borders is a new chamber opera about immigration by our resident composer/poet team, Ethan Gans-Morse and Tiziana DellaRovere, based on real-life stories of Oregon’s migrant families.

Featuring Grammy Award winners soprano Estelí Gomez, (praised for her “clear, bright voice” by The New York Times), mezzo soprano Cecilia Duarte (critically acclaimed for her “robust” and “creamy” voice by The New York Times), and tenor David M. Sanchez and the Delgani String Quartet (called “the state’s finest chamber ensemble” by Oregon Arts Watch), Dreams Have No Borders follows a young mother’s harrowing journey to create a better life for herself and her family.

Combining stirring music and richly narrative poetry, Dreams Have No Borders will surprise you, touch your heart, and lift your spirit.

Dates, programming, artists, and details are subject to change.