Brubeck Festival 2004, presented April 1-8 by University of the Pacific and its Brubeck Institute, observes the 40th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and recognizes Dave and Iola Brubeck for their lifelong commitment to social justice and human rights.
The Festival will open April 1 with a lecture by South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, internationally acclaimed human rights activist and recipient of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize. It will conclude with two performances of Dave Brubeck's cantata "The Gates of Justice," a musical setting of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Other highlights include performances by the Joe Gilman Trio, the Brubeck Institute Jazz Sextet, and the Pacific Jazz Big Band. Dave Brubeck will make a guest appearance at an interfaith music and prayer service in Stockton on April 4.
STOCKTON, CA (PRWEB) March 16, 2004 -- Brubeck Festival 2004, presented April 1-8 by University of the Pacific and its Brubeck Institute, will observe the 40th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act as it recognizes Dave and Iola Brubeck for their lifelong commitment to social justice and human rights.
The Festival will open with the words of one Nobel Prize winner, South African Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, internationally acclaimed human rights activist and recipient of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize and conclude with the words of another, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., set to the music of Dave Brubeck in his cantata The Gates of Justice."
The elemental message of ‘The Gates of Justice is Dr. Kings statement, ‘If we dont live together as brothers, we will die together as fools," says Dave Brubeck. Unfortunately, that message is no less relevant today than when I was commissioned to write this work in 1969."
Archbishop Tutus lecture at 6 p.m. on April 1 at Spanos Center, University of the Pacifics Stockton campus, will open the Festival. Events are scheduled in all three cities where University of the Pacific is located: Stockton (main campus), Sacramento (McGeorge School of Law), and San Francisco (School of Dentistry).
Along with the Tutu lecture, the Festival includes five concerts, an Interfaith Prayer and Music service celebrating the Civil Rights Act, school and community outreach events, films, and an exhibit on Brubeck involvement in civil rights issue from the Holt-Atherton Special Collections Department at University of the Pacific Library. All events except for the final two concerts are free to the public.
The concluding concerts at 7:00 p.m. April 7 at Faye Spanos Concert Hall, University of the Pacific, and 7:30 p.m. April 8 at Congregation Sherith Israel, San Francisco, will show two sides of Dave Brubeck; a legendary jazz innovator, and as composer and performer of large-scale works on religious and socio-political themes. The concerts feature the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the Brubeck Institute Jazz Sextet, and The Gates of Justice," which is based on biblical and Hebrew liturgical texts, the Book of Hillel, and the speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with additional lyrics by Iola Brubeck.
On April 8 at 6:30 p.m., Rabbi Charles D. Mintz, who commissioned The Gates of Justice" on behalf of Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1968, will give a pre-concert lecture.
The Gates of Justice," which calls for tenor (a Jewish cantor), an African-American baritone, Dave Brubecks jazz ensemble, chorus, and a 15-piece brass and percussion orchestra, was commissioned in 1968 by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations to help heal the rift in the traditional alliance between Blacks and Jews, which was unraveling following violence in the inner cities and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King., Jr. The work has since received numerous performances in the U.S. and abroad. A new recording, featuring Cantor Alberto Mizrahi and bass-baritone Kevin Deas, with Russell Gloyd conducting, is now in release by the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music on the Naxos label.
Dave Brubeck, a National Endowment for the Arts American Jazz Master and a Library of Congress Living Legend," has long been recognized as one of the foremost pianists, composers, improvisational musicians, and social activists of our times. Drawing upon an eclectic array of musical, social, and philosophical influences, and often working in collaboration with Iola as his lyricist, he has created a unique body of work which includes not only numerous jazz standards, but musical theater, ballets, song cycles, symphonic and chamber compositions, and major choral works based on socio-political and liturgical themes. Throughout his career, Dave Brubeck has been a musical ambassador in the U.S. and around the world, creating new audiences for jazz and contemporary classical music while influencing and inspiring new generations of composers and performers.
The Brubeck Institute was established in 2000 by University of the Pacific alumni Dave and Iola Brubeck, class of 1942. Building on Dave Brubecks legacy of creativity and inclusivity across the entire spectrum of music, the Institute seeks to develop artists and audiences for the future through education, performance, research and outreach.
The complete schedule of Brubeck Festival events can be found at www.brubeckinstitute.org. Tickets for the April 7 and 8 concerts by the Dave Brubeck Quartet are available through www.tickets.com or by calling (415) 478-2277, (800) 225-2277 or (209) 946-2UOP in Stockton and Sacramento.
Note:
Dave Brubeck is available for telephone interviews with journalists through March 19, 2004. Between March 19 and April 2, interviews may be scheduled subject to his travel schedule.
# # #
|
