Acclaimed Indian-American composer Reena Esmail—whose work spans continents and traditions—joins Cornell as the artist in residence from Nov. 17–21.
Her residency will culminate in a collaborative concert featuring Cornell’s combined choirs and orchestra, joined by guests Shreekant Shah on the sitar and Sutana Sur on the tabla, on Thursday, Nov. 20, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the United Methodist Church of Mount Vernon. General Director of Cedar Rapids Opera Thaddeus Ennen will also be in attendance, performing as a guest bass soloist.
“It's one thing to perform a composition by a deceased composer, and it's another thing to have a living composer on campus, responding to how our students are performing their music, right in front of them. The music-making process becomes more personal, and we want to do well by our visitors,” Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Music Christopher Nakielski said.
The concert and the following reception are free and open to the public, but tickets are required to reserve a seat. There will also be a livestream of the event available. The church is located two blocks from campus at 304 First Street SW in Mount Vernon. Audience members will experience a fusion of Indian and Western classical music in this showcase of Esmail’s composition “This Love Between Us.”
Made up of seven movements weaving together the seven major religious traditions of India (Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Islam), “This Love Between Us” is a piece about unity. It is set simultaneously in English and in each religion’s original language, treating the audience to the combined beauty of the original and the understanding of a translation.
In addition to wanting to move to a different direction from the Brahms and Handel that students studied last year, Nakielski was very specific about the benefits of inviting Reena to campus this fall.
“Reena has been featured more and more across the United States, including her stand-alone piece titled ‘Tuttarana,’ an Indian piece featuring scat-syllables in the Hindustani dialect, set at a virtuosic tempo; this piece was featured a couple of years ago at the Iowa All State Choir Festival,” Nakielski said. “She's a fabulous composer with a truly distinctive and idiosyncratic compositional style.”
While on campus, Esmail will work with Cornell’s choirs, visit classes, and give a lunchtime presentation. She will also provide important directives on how best to perform “This Love Between Us.” In addition, the tabla and sitar players—both from Appleton, Wisconsin—will also be providing a lunchtime presentation on the history and performance practices of their instruments.
Esmail will be the sixth artist in residence during the past three years, and Cornell will welcome a second artist in residence in April—Jake Runestad.