Fifth House Ensemble Premieres River Empyrean Outdoor Concert

Press release from the Brushwood Center:

Sept. 17, 2021

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods welcomes Fifth House Ensemble’s performance of River Empyrean, an outdoor concert premiering this Sunday, September 19, at 2 p.m.
At a time when the environment is more threatened than ever with pollution and our life-giving waterways at risk, Fifth House Ensemble traces the life cycle of water from its metaphorical descent from the heavens as rain, to its long journey in streams and rivers informed by conservation experts and ecologists.

The concert is taking place in conjunction with the opening of Brushwood Center’s newest exhibition showcasing youth artwork, Our Future: Youth Perspectives on the Environment. Featuring a new commission by Fresh Inc Festival alumnus Patrick O’Malley driven by ecological data from Friends of the Chicago River, a new commission by Shawn Okpebholo that celebrates water as a precious resource by transforming it into a musical instrument alongside music inspired by First Peoples, this program asks what it would mean to return to a sacred conception in which humans are a part of nature rather than beings standing outside of its impact. Following the performance, the audience is free to join members of Fifth House Ensemble on a Deep Listening walk to navigate the sounds of natural world together.

Rivers Empyrean and its related residency and partnership programs have been made possible with support from: Chamber Music America, through its Residency Endowment Fund; New Music USA, made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, The Fidelity Foundation, The Rogers & Hammerstein Foundation & Anonymous; and a grant from the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research at the Eastman School of Music.

Registration is required. Tickets are $20 for Brushwood Center Members/Riverwoods residents, $30 for nonmembers, and free for any youth ages 14 and under (if accompanied by a ticket-holding adult).

This press release was produced by the Brushwood Center. The views expressed here are the author’s own.