The centerpiece of this concert is Caroline Shaw’s To The Hands, a work that takes the text of Emma Lazarus’ poem The New Colossus and intermingles it with the chorale Ad Manus from Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri in poignant ways. Filling out the program are works by six other acclaimed contemporary composers, including Jake Runestad’s The Peace of Wild Things, David Lang’s If I Am Silent, and Karen Siegel’s To Be Free, an adaptation of the Shaker/Copland tune Simple Gifts.

EPSG:4326

A Gift To Be Free

Broadway Presbyterian Church

The season finale is as personal as it is powerful.  Curated and conducted by award-winning Filipino-Chinese composer Saunder Choi, this concert journeys across the Pacific with music from the Phillippines, China, and the United States. Blending cultural works with Choi's own compositions, the music evokes horizons where sea and sky meet in a story of heritage, identity, and discovery.

Where the Sea Meets the Sky

San Dieguito United Methodist Church

Concert Chorale

The University of Texas at Austin

**Event: Synchromy Waterways and Dwellings**

**Date & Time:** Saturday, November 18th, 2023, at 2:30pm

**Venue:** Culver City Foshay Lodge, 9635 Venice Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232

**Description:** Dive into the depths of ecological and cultural exploration with Molly Pease's "Waterways and Dwellings," a meditative musical piece that turns towards Ballona Creek for inspiration. This performance, set against the backdrop of Culver City's landscape, is a journey through four voices that chart a course of discovery and contemplation. The piece delves into the question of what constitutes a dwelling place, using the creek as a source of ecological and cultural knowledge.

**Tickets:**
- General admission: $25.00
- Senior citizens, students, and artists financially impacted by COVID-19: $15.00

**Program Highlights:**
- Molly Pease: Waterways and Dwellings (Four Movements)
- Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg: Somewhere Over the Rainbow
- Michael Dellaira: Campers at Kitty Hawk
- Saro Lynch-Thomason arr. Saunder Choi: More Waters Rising
- Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork III: Love, from Songs of Love and Justice
- William Grant Still: I Dream a World Text by Langston Hughes

**Performers:**
- Mikaela Elson, Soprano
- Molly Pease, Soprano
- Saunder Choi, Tenor
- Paul Chwe MinChul An, Bass
- Joshua Tan, Keyboards
- Isaac Schankler, Electronics

**Artistic Direction Team:** Juhi Bansal, Chloé Malia Vaught, and Fahad Siadat

**Special Note:** The performance is interwoven with historic vocal music and includes a post-event conversation led by Sylvia Hathaway Chavez and historian John Kent, contemplating Culver City’s past, present, and future.

**Program Note:** "Waterways and Dwellings" begins with a walk along Ballona Creek, capturing the ecological and social conditions through sound and texture. The piece reflects on Culver City's history, its current housing crisis, and the environmental impact of littering, creating a sonic landscape that converses with the city's past and present.

**Biographies:** Molly Pease, a versatile LA-based vocal artist and composer, is known for her experimental and collaborative approach to music. Molly Bendall, the writer behind the text of "Waterways and Dwellings," is an acclaimed poet with several collections to her name.

**Support:** This performance is supported by the City of Culver City, its Cultural Affairs Commission, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and the Culver City Arts Foundation, with electronics and live sound expertise provided by People Inside Electronics.

Join us for an unforgettable exploration of sound, space, and community in the heart of Culver City.

Saunder Choi

Events

Past events

29 - 31 May, 2026

A Gift To Be Free · New Amsterdam Singers

Apr 25, 2026

Where the Sea Meets the Sky · Sacra/profana

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