Syzygy Ensemble: Divine Inspiration

The Pleasure Principle.

Don’t we all just want to be happy? Syzygy’s 2023 series explores the many paths that lead to pleasure and purpose. Whether we are seeking serotonin bursts from secular thrills or pursuing an otherworldly divine transcendence, happiness means different things to all of us depending on our heritage, our goals, and our need to conform or disrupt.

Divine Inspiration ruminates on the significance of being insignificant. To live with wonder and awe is to know contentment of an entirely different kind. Syzygy explores ancient castles, the inexorability of the seasons, and the rituals of the Eastern Orthodox Church in a concert that celebrates their search for meaning in a large, chaotic universe.

ARTISTS: Laila Engle flutes; Robin Henry clarinet, bass clarinet; Kyla Matsuura-Miller violin
Campbell Banks cello; Leigh Harrold piano

PROGRAM: Sofia Gubaidulina Your Joy No Man Taketh From You; Evan Ziporyn Tsmindao Ghmerto

Gabriela Ortiz Tres Haiku No.1 El cielo es cada muro ‘A Sky is Every Wall’; Peteris Vasks Castillo Interior

Ned Rorem End of Summer i. Capriccio; Dobrinka Tabakova Whispered Lullaby

Richard Toensing Children of Light v. Phos Hilarion