PEACH WEEKENDER | MUSIC

Ann Arbor honors India with Rasa Festival

8/31/2017
BY WAYNE ANTHONY
SPECIAL TO THE BLADE
Sitarist Rishabh Iyer is among the performers for the Rasa Festival on Tuesday at the Kerrytown Concert House. Tickets for the celebration of India are $15-$20.
Sitarist Rishabh Iyer is among the performers for the Rasa Festival on Tuesday at the Kerrytown Concert House. Tickets for the celebration of India are $15-$20.

The Rasa Festival at the Kerrytown Concert House is designed to promote a deeper awareness and appreciation of the richness and abundance of the cultural heritage the stems from India. The multi-arts and multi-disciplinary event presents both traditional and cutting edge work in the performing, visual, literary, media/​films, and culinary arts.

In Indian aesthetics, a rasa (Sanskrit for “juice” or “essence”) denotes the essential mental state which forms the dominant emotional theme of a work of art. It can also signify the primary aesthetic feeling that is evoked within the person that views, reads, or hears such a work.

Local, national, and international artists will participate in the annual festival. It includes Indo-American artists, as well as actual artists from India, and those inspired by Indian culture.

Special musical performers for this year’s festival include Khayal vocalist Geetha Raghu, sitarist Rishabh Iyer, Odissi dancer Sreyashi Dey, and the Maralas ensemble.

The celebration is a collaborative initiative of the Ann Arbor Art Center, the Riverside Art Center, the Michigan Theatre, the Neutral Zone, and the Ann Arbor Visitors and Convention Bureau, and chef, food visionary, and founder of two Ann Arbor restaurants, Swaroop Bhojani.

The event begins at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor. Tickets are $15 to $20 and available at 734-769-2999 or kerrytownconcerthouse.com.

Galen Bundy, a pianist, organist, composer, and arranger based in southern Michigan, presents a record release celebration of his Project 206 album, Struggle in Joy, which places an avant-garde jazz ensemble into the world of electronics. The concert is a part of the It’s Friday! music series at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the GlasSalon, Toledo Museum of Art, 2445 Monroe St. For more information, call 419-255-8000 or visit toledomuseum.org.

■ The Toledo Choral Society is holding membership auditions for its 2017 season. This year’s concerts include Handel’s Messiah with the Toledo Symphony, a Christmas concert featuring Gwyneth Walker’s new Christmas suite The Friendly Beasts, a Good Friday Concert, and a spring concert featuring Toledo-composer David Jex’s Celebration of Art Tatum. Weekly rehearsals are held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays beginning Sept. 11. The auditions will be held beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at Sylvania First United Methodist Church, 7000 Erie St., Sylvania. Audition requirements can be found at toledochoralsociety.org and an audition time slot must be secured at toledochoralsociety@gmail.com.

■ Music Antigua, Toledo’s early music ensemble, presents two concerts this season. Music of the Reformation celebrates the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and happens at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 12. Music of the Baroque is slated for 3:30 p.m. April 22. Both concerts will be at Epiphany Lutheran Church, 915 N. Reynolds Rd. More information and tickets are available at 419-475-6177.

■ Monroe Street United Methodist Church will showcase five concerts on its annual musical season. An Afternoon with Friends, at 3 p.m. Sept. 17, is a benefit for the series featuring local artists Allison Klein, Gwen Senerius, Amanda Stierman, and Karen Vollmar. A Season’s Evensong, at 4 p.m. Dec. 10, presents seasonal music offered by Young Voices of Greater Toledo and the choirs of the church. Dinner theater on Feb. 10 will be a evening fund-raiser of food and music. The annual Palm Sunday concert at 7:30 p.m. March 25 will feature the Palm Sunday Chorus and Orchestra under the baton of Kevin Byslma. The season concludes with the winner of 2017 Regional Competition for Young Organists sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, Matt Bickett, in concert, 4 p.m. May 6. All events will be held at Monroe Street United Methodist Church, 3613 Monroe St. For more information, call 419-473-1167 or visit monroestumc.com.

■ Rosary Cathedral is offering six concerts on its 2017-18 Cathedral Concert Series. The Sylvan Trio (pianist Greg Kostrava, flutist Suzanne Bona, and cellist Josh Aerie) peforms at 3 p.m. Nov. 5. The annual Handel’s Messiah with the Toledo Choral Society, BGSU choruses, and the Toledo Symphony is slated for 4 p.m. Dec. 3. A Christmas Carol Sing happens 3 p.m. Dec. 17 and the Measure for Measure Men’s Chorus is in concert 3 p.m. March 18. The Cathedral Choir will present a musical Tenebrae Service during Holy Week, 7:30 p.m. March 28, and the season concludes with the Toledo Symphony in Music for Organ and Orchestra 7:30 p.m. May 4. All events will be held at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, 2535 Collingwood Blvd., Toledo. More information on the series is available at 419-244-9575. Tickets for the two Toledo Symphony events are available at 419-246-8000 or toledosymphony.com.

■ Because of an overwhelming response, the Texas Tenors are adding a performance to their appearance on the Niswonger Performing Artist Series. The additional performance is at 3 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center, 1007 State Rt. 118 South, Van Wert. Tickets are available at 491-238-6722 or npacvw.org.