COURTESY OF CROSSING BORDERS MUSIC
Following the critical and popular success of its first Celebrating Resilience program, Crossing Borders Music will present Celebrating Resilience II: Music from the Unvanquished Bahá’í University of Iran. The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, at Unity Temple in Oak Park, 875 Lake Street. The suggested donation to attend is $15.
This program will feature music by Baha’i composers and performers who, being denied access to official institutions of higher education by the Iranian government because of their religion, attended the grassroots Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education, a school raided by the government on multiple occasions and whose teachers have been imprisoned.
Music from the Unvanquished Bahá’í University of Iran celebrates the young musicians’ positive outlook despite religious persecution. Through music, they have embraced the Persian culture they were forced to leave behind. They have eschewed violence, pursued education and used music as an outlet and means of communicating their experiences.
The concert program includes the world premiere of a string duo influenced by traditional Persian musical styles composed by Parisa Sabet, who studied music at the Bahá’í Institute of Higher Education. Also featured will be a piano trio by former Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education music instructor Nikan Milani that, using Persian modes, tells the story of the perseverance of Iranian Bahá’í’s; Farsi songs newly arranged for santour, voice, piano and cello; and excerpts of the documentary “Education Under Fire” about the denial of higher education to Bahá’ís in Iran.
Founded in 2011, Crossing Borders Music is the leading interpreter of chamber music from Haiti and Uganda, and a pioneering, critically acclaimed presenter of music by graduates of the Bahá’í Institute of Higher Education in Iran. The mission of Crossing Borders Music is to foster intercultural appreciation, understanding and cooperation through music. Crossing Borders Music presents music that tells compelling stories by composers from under-represented cultures – music that invites audiences to learn more and get involved. Crossing Borders Music is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.
