Sunday, October 21, 2012

Courage for Lydia Concert, Oct. 31, 12:30 noon, Grebel Chapel

We want to share with you information about an upcoming free, noon hour concert On Wednesday October 31 at 12:30 at Conrad Grebel College Chapel, University of Waterloo. The music for this event has been created to "bless" Lydia, and to grant her further courage in her journey.

The composer, Carol Ann Weavaer writes: The concert is meant to give strength, courage, joy, and respect for and to Lydia. For this concert I've composed "Three Seasons", a brand new set of instrumental (non-vocal) pieces for Lydia for flute, alto saxophone, cello and piano. Within this piece are these sections: 'Summer Silence,' 'Autumn Dawn,' and 'Winter Prayers and Blessing.' This music attempts to capture different aspects of what has happened and will yet occur for/with Lydia. 'Summer Silence' is a short, wordless expression of the silence occurring for Lydia, with the cello representing her continued heart beat. 'Autumn Dawn' begins like a dawn I witnessed at an Algonquin lake this August -- at first all is obscured by mist and then gradually, distant shores become visible, and then the entire world opens up, gradually. Though there are moments of fullness of life, there is also the reminder that this world is in the 'process' of unfolding for Lydia. 'Winter Prayers and Blessing' is for the upcoming season we will all live through. The piece opens with individual and collective prayers being offered up. Then, there is a kind of group prayer, as it were, where over one pattern, players give melodic prayers. At the end of this piece there is a piano/cello 'blessing' for Lydia. I thought I had finished this piece, but came home, sat down at the keyboard and my fingers started playing this 'blessing' which emerged. So, this became the final musical statement for Lydia, for her family and medical team, and for all those thousands of people who are thinking and praying for her.

Joanne Bender will be adding some piano solo pieces and a short piece for violin, cello, and piano. This 50 minute concert will be held in our beautiful Grebel chapel with its magnificent stained glass windows and quiet, calming atmosphere.

Directions for getting there: https://uwaterloo.ca/map/# -- follow CGR on the map, which stands for Conrad Grebel Residence on WestmountRd.

Here for more details: Courage For Lydia Poster