Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

The haunting call of the shofar, the powerful call to prayer of the muezzin, the beauty of voices joined in chorus, and the majestic pipe organ clothe those gathered in Rockefeller Chapel in a rich tapestry of joyful sacred sounds from Judaism, Islam and Christianity in Sounds of Faith, on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 5 pm. Performed by leading Chicago practitioners including Cantors Alberto Mizrahi and Deborah Bard, Angela Spivey, Amir Koushkani, Salem Baptist Choir, and Rockefeller Chapel Choir with University Organist Thomas Weisflog, this celebration of diverse sounds of faith will be introduced by journalist Bill Kurtis.

Sounds of Faith offers sound upon sound, in rich and overlapping layers: welcome call, prayer, recitation, and song as practitioners would conduct them in their own context, giving visitors of all traditions the opportunity to experience and ponder what they may only have encountered at a distance before. In some traditions and movements, these sounds are not considered as music, yet are engaged both inside and outside worship as sources of joy, comfort, faith, and strength, a subtlety carefully respected in the program.

Guest artists include: Cantors Alberto Mizrahi and Deborah Bard; tar virtuoso and singer Amir Koushkani; gospel singer Angie Spivey; vocal artist and Chapel soloist Andrew Schultze; Salem Baptist Choir, led by Walter Owens; Rockefeller Chapel Choir, led by James Kallembach; Jewish music specialist Stuart Rosenberg and others providing instrumentals, as well as local shofar blowers Norman Weinberg and Michael Zedek; muezzins calling the faithful to prayers and the hafiz reciting from the Qur'an. Music ranges from black Gospel favorites to medieval Marian music in the Christian traditions:liturgical, Ladino, and other folk music in the Jewish tradition; and improvisatory para-liturgical music in the Muslim traditions. The whole becomes a collage of sacred sound, a narrative of the divine singing through every part of humanity.

Presented in partnership by Harran Productions Foundation and Rockefeller Memorial Chapel for a television broadcast special, Sounds of Faith - Chicago brings together examples of the rich liturgical and cultural traditions of sacred sound in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as a locus for dialogue and mutual understanding. It is appropriate that Rockefeller Chapel, which serves the University of Chicago as both a ceremonial and sacred center, engaging in interreligious inquiry, should provide the remarkable architectural and acoustic backdrop for sounds ranging from organ pipes to shofar and tar to clarion calls, chants, and sacred recitation by the muezzin, cantor, and hafiz. Harran Productions Foundation has been exploring these themes as part of a larger documentary series, currently in pre-production, with veteran journalist and producer Bill Kurtis, who introduces this event. (For more information on Harran Productions Foundation, visit http://www.harranproductions.org.) The evening will be filmed for inclusion in the global series.

Sounds of Faith brings a local focus to a global theme: the sacred sounds of our traditions, connecting us to the divine, and filled with the potential to build dialogue and mutual understanding between faiths through their shared history, geography, and experience. Although the event is free, donations are gratefully accepted. For more information, call 773.702.7059.