Wednesday Sept 2nd at 7:30pm
TICKETS AND INFO for Willamette University:
https://arts.willamette.edu/goudyartistseries/#elsewhere
TICKETS for NYC September 11th at 7:30pm: https://tixfox.co/e/invocation
TICKETS for NYC: https://tixfox.co/e/invocation
INVOCATION – a prayer for peace
Presented on the 25th anniversary of September 11
“The times are urgent. Let us slow down. Let us make sanctuary.”
— Nigerian-born poet-philosopher Báyò Akómoláfé
In troubled times, when religion and deeply held beliefs can be used both to divide and to heal, Invocation offers a space to pause, listen, and come together through music.
Written by composer Colin Pip Dixon for soprano, baritone, and string trio, Invocation weaves together prayers, poems, and texts from across more than two thousand years around the themes of peace, violence, and faith. In a lyrical, haunting, and deeply expressive score, words by Rumi, Frederick Douglass, St. Francis, Albert Einstein, Etty Hillesum, Shantideva, and others are brought together, allowing past and present to enter into a living conversation.
Invocation does not seek to explain or preach. Rather, it offers an experience through music: eighty minutes of inward listening, a kind of shared silence around one of the most urgent questions of our time:
Do our beliefs drive us further into violence and separation—or can they lead us toward deeper peace and reconciliation?
Across their differences, these voices invite us to listen for the “better angels of our nature.” More than a concert, Invocation seeks to open a space for reflection and encounter around our mutuality, our interdependence, and the possibility of peace.
The Elsewhere Ensemble presents Invocation with Grammy Award–winning baritone Kenneth Overton, acclaimed soprano Camille Ortiz, violinist Colin Pip Dixon, violist Arnaud Ghillebaert, and cellist Kathryn Brunhaver.
On the 25th anniversary of September 11, the concert takes on particular resonance.
The work of peace no longer feels optional. It feels necessary.
“Soprano Camille Ortiz was compelling… the emotional impact was undeniable.” — New York Concert Review, on Hear My Prayer, from Invocation
The Elsewhere Ensemble 