Events & Lectures
“Ge Hong and the Formation of the Medieval Daoist Transcendent”
A Lecture by Professor Thomas Michael, Boston University
On March 23, the Program for Scripture and the Arts will present a lecture by Professor Thomas Michael: Ge Hong's (283- 343) Shenxian Zhuan stands out as one of the most powerfully innovative and influential texts of the entire Daoist religion. This work successfully established the image of the Daoist transcendent that would remain popular even to the present day. Arguably the most radical effect of Ge Hong's Shenxian Zhuan was that it brought the two traditions of Daoist sages and occult masters into the rubric of a shared classification. This presentation explores the ways in which the various hagiographies of the Shenxian Zhuan depict these two very different types of masters and the ways in which Ge Hong masterfully melded them into the single concept of the Daoist transcendent. Reception to follow in Room 202.
Location: BU College of Arts & Sciences, Room 313
Time/Date: March 23, 2011, 6pm
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The Escape of Jonah
U.S. Premiere of an exciting new work by Israeli composer Matti Kovler
Join Boston University's Program for Scripture and the Arts, The Jewish Cultural Endowment and the Boston University Humanities Foundation as we present The Escape of Jonah, an oratorio written by Matti Kovler, a Russian-born Israeli composer.
This work of music theater retells the story of the biblical prophet Jonah from the point of view of a modern immigrant, bringing together the sounds of a nine-piece band, choir, soloists and electronics. Written by Matti Kovler and directed by Michael Rotenstein, the oratorio retells the story of the prophet Jonah, from today’s point of view. The English libretto was written by Janice Silverman Rebibo, inspired by Sivan Beskin's original poem.
The concert will also feature an additional work by Kovler: Here Comes Messiah!, scored for soprano and chamber ensemble, directed by Masha Nemirovsky, libretto by Janice Silverman Rebibo.
A conversation with the composer and a reception will follow the performance. Presented with support from the The Other Within, a Jewish Studies Faculty Initiative at BU. Free and open to the public.
Location: BU College of Fine Arts, Concert Hall
Time/Date: March 1, 2011, 7pm
Digital Press Kit for the Escape of Jonah
Download: flyer in JPG color
Matti Kovler's Here Comes Messiah! from Sarah Fylak on Vimeo.
Dunya Ensemble
An exploration of shared scriptural traditions
Musical group DUNYA returns to Boston University! Join us for an evening with DUNYA Ensemble, as we explore a tableau of scriptural music and traditions from the Ottoman Empire, including Islam, Sephardic Judaism and greek Orthodoxy. Introduced by Assistant Professor of Art History Emine Fetvaci, DUNYA Ensemble will present devotional songs in Greek, Hebrew and Turkish; songs of the Alevi and the Bektasi; and a selection of liturgical and ceremonial music from all three religious traditions. This presentation is a rare opportunity to explore the intersections and divergences of three important scriptural and musical worlds with one of Boston's best-loved musical ensembles. Free and open to the public. A Q&A and reception will follow.
Supported by the Boston University Humanities Foundation.
Location: Boston University Hillel House, 4th Floor
Time/Date: November 17, 2010, 6:00pm
Download: flyer in JPG color
Download: program in PDF form
“Rhetoric, Ambition and the Function of the Capella Palatina in Palermo”
A Lecture by Professor Beat Brenk, University of Rome
Join world-reknowned scholar Dr. Beat Brenk as he considers the meaning and use of spiritual architectural space in Sicily's twelfth century Capella Palatina, looking at the development of this sacred building and its dialogue with the temporal and political concerns of the day. The Capella reflects a melange of influence based on participation not only of its Norman benefactors, but its Byzantine, Islamic, Sicilian and Italian artists and builders. To what extent, asks Dr. Brenk, is that space and its sacred art a result of that cultural mix, and to what extent are they an expression of external political and cultural ambitions? Reception to follow.
Location: Boston University Hillel House, 4th Floor
Time/Date: October 20, 2010, 6:00pm
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“Sounds of Enlightenment: Mozart’s Magic Flute”
A Lecture by Professor Christopher I. Lehrich
Mozart's last opera is a bizarre fairytale filled with monsters, a dark Queen, a sorcerous brotherhood, bird people, and a prince rescuing a princess. Only genius could spin musical gold from such a tangle of straw. But is there a deeper meaning there? Why does Die Zauberfote still speak so strongly to us today? Join Christopher I. Lehrich as he explores the hidden depths of Mozart's most beloved opera. The lecture will be followed by a short reception. Free and open to the public.
Location: Boston University Photonics Center, Rm 206, 8 St. Mary's Street
Time/Date: April 20, 2010 6:00pm
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Ecstatic Arabic Music, Karim Nagi
Join us on April 8 for a performance and Q&A by Arab Hand Percussionist Karim Nagi. Karim Nagi is a native Egyptian drummer, DJ, and folk dancer. He has released two internationally distributed CDs of this unique brand of Arab House/Electronica using acoustic instruments. He is well versed in the ultra-traditional styles of music and dance as the leader of the Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble, and the Arab Dance Seminar. Karim performs and teaches Tahteeb Cane Dance, Dabka Line Dance, and Zikr Sufi Dance. He taught at the New England Conservatory of Music for 5 years, and has lectured and presented at Harvard, MIT, Yale, Bowdoin, Princeton, Stanford, William & Mary, and several Community Colleges. As a dance and drum teacher, Karim has taught in nearly all major bellydance festivals in the United States and Cairo, as well as all major Arab Culture festivals in the USA. Karim Nagi is a true crossover artist, uniting the Cabaret and Tribal, Traditional and the Modern, the Ethnic and the Urban. Reception to follow! Free and open to the public.
Co-sponsored by the Boston University Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations
Location: SMG Executive Dining Room, 256-428
Time/Date: April 8, 6:00pm
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“The Song that Can be Sung is Not the Eternal Song”
Professor Paul Humphreys
Join us for a screening of “the song that can be sung is Not the Eternal Song,” a musical setting of nine chapters selected from the Daodejing for women's chorus and harp. The film draws images from four live cameras that document a 2008 performance in Los Angeles. A film/art installation by Luis Proença provides visual resonance with images and themes of the text. Composer Paul Humphreys, Associate Professor and Director of World Music at Loyola Marymount University, will be present for the event, which will be preceded by a reception and followed by a Question and Answer session.
Location: GSU Auditorium
Time/Date: February 18, 2010, Reception - 6:30pm, Film - 7:15pm
Download: Flyer in JPG Color
“How Odd was God to Choose the Jews?: The History of Early Christian ‘Flesh’”
Department of Religion 14th Annual Lecture
The Program for Scripture & the Arts is pleased to be a co-sponsor for How Odd was God to Choose the Jews?: The History of Early Christian “Flesh”, a lecture by Boston University’s Aurelio Professor of the Appreciation of Scripture, Paula Fredriksen and Scripps College Professor Andrew Jacobs. They will discuss ancient Christianity’s ambivalence toward the flesh and toward the Jews and how Augustine challenged those views. This performance will be free and open to the public, and is handicapped accessible. A reception will follow the lecture.
Location: Boston University, Hillel House, 4th Floor
Time/Date: February 9, 2010, 5:00pm
“Popular Scriptures in Turkish Islam”
DUNYA Ensemble
Many devotional and liturgical poems composed in the Turkish language by Suleyman Celebi (early 15th c.), Yunus Emre (13th c.) and others still reserve a very popular place in Islam in Turkey. Join us for a lecture on Anatolian Islamic musical and ritualistic traditions that use the Turkish language in their poetry, followed by Q&A with the audience and a lively 40-minute recital featuring the DUNYA ensemble. A reception will follow in the GSU Back Court.
Location: GSU Auditorium
Time/Date: 6:30pm, Thursday, December 10, 2009
“‘And Now Write this Song for Yourselves:’ The 613th Commandment and the Jewish Sacred Scribal Tradition”
Rabbi Kevin Hale
Rabbi Kevin Hale, a traditionally trained sofer stam (torah scribe) will discuss the mitzvah, or sacred obligation, to write a torah scroll as well as the tools, materials, rituals and techniques that go into their writing and restoration.
Rabbi Hale is an ordained Reconstructionist Rabbi, who trained as a sofer stam under Dr. Rabbi Eric Ray until his death in 2005. Rabbi Hale is the director of the Ray Torah Institute in Leeds, MA, where he works full time as a sofer repairing torahs, writing megillahs and torahs, and teaching.
Co-sponsored by the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies at Boston University.
Click here for the event flyer.