CONFLUENCE: Imagination meets Innovation

Our upcoming concert CONFLUENCE is inspired by our city and the geography that has influenced this region of the world. The "Mighty Mississippi" and the “Big Muddy” Missouri rivers join in a confluence just to the north of modern day St. Louis, creating a historic meeting and trading community sharing cultures and ideas. Celebrating this spirit, the music in this program melds equally rich ideas coming together to shape a new sound.

All of the pieces on the program merge distinctly different sources of inspiration. Ennanga, by William Grant Still illustrates this idea beautifully.

A WW1 veteran, a three time Guggenheim Fellow and a pioneer in his field, African-American composer William Grant Still (1895-1978) led the way not only for African-Americans working in the classical arts, but also in creating a uniquely "American" sound in classical music. One of the ways he did that was by including musical elements from cultures and genres outside of the European roots of his art form.

Ennanga - William Grant Still

ENNANGA, which we are performing on Oct. 15 is a prime example of this. The ennanga is a an arched harp played for centuries by the Ganda people in East Africa. Inspired by this music, Still wrote a piece for modern western harp, piano and string quartet, fusing the rhythms and energy of east Africa within a traditional European sound and art form, creating something never heard before.

The Singing Wells Project has an rich collection of East African music, including this wonderful performance on an ennanga by the incredible Buganda Music Ensemble.

Also on the program St. Louis composer and pianist Kim Portnoy playfully mixes musical theater into a violin sonata; globe trotting Czech composer Boluslav Martinů combines influences of a lifetime in his final wonderfully wild and weird work, Chamber Music No. 1, and Kansas City native Shelley Washington celebrates the land that inspired the theme of this program in Middleground.