Chamber music, recitals a part of Evangel’s Bonhoeffer Week

September 25, 2006
Contact: Paul K. Logsdon, Director of Public Relations and Publications, 865-2815 ext.7292

SPRINGFIELD, MO. — Three recitals will be held at Evangel University’s Barnett Recital Hall Sept. 26 and 28 as a part of the Bonhoeffer Faith & the Arts Week.

There is no charge for admission, and the public is invited to attend.

Faith & the Arts Week is based on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, an outspoken Lutheran minister and theologian who was executed by Nazis for resisting Hitler. It focuses on living out Christian faith as described in Bonhoeffer’s book “The Cost of Discipleship” (1939).

Evangel University’s Faith & the Arts Week is partially funded by a generous grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.

The recitals of Faith & the Arts Week are intended to reflect the historical times and personal calling of Bonhoeffer.

• The Chamber Music Recital begins at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 26. It will focus on Jewish-themed words and songs, including readings of works by Holocaust survivors. These include excerpts from Elie Wiesel’s “Night” and the performance of “Abodah (God’s Worship: A Yom Kippur Melody).” Excerpts from Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Piano Trio in E minor, Op. 67,” and Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time,” musically identify with the suffering of World War II, particularly that of the Holocaust.
• “Art Song and Bonhoeffer’s Calling” begins at 12 noon, Thursday, Sept. 28. Members of Evangel’s music department faculty will perform selections from three of J.S. Bach’s cantatas, Nos. 75, 21 and 57, and Lori Laitman’s “I Never Saw Another Butterfly,” settings of texts by children of the Holocaust.
• “Prayer and Song in Remembrance” begins at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 28. This recital includes art song and prayer in remembrance of those who lost their lives while resisting the evil of the Holocaust. The program includes readings in English and Hebrew.

The program is meant to reflect Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life and calling – facets of his gifts, predilections, convictions and personal journey.

Additional highlights of Faith & the Arts Week include two presentations of the Bonhoeffer opera, a dramatization of the life of Holocaust Survivor Corrie Ten Boom, and various displays of art.

For a list of scheduled events, visit www.evangel.edu/news/artistseries/Bonhoeffer.asp. For additional information, call LifeWorks at (417) 865-2815 ext. 7896 or the Humanities Department at ext. 8640.