Evento

Rumi by Candlelight

Join us for this magical evening as Friends Outside of Time make their Triangle debut on Friday, Nov. 15, at Unity Center of Peace in Chapel Hill, NC. Read by poet and performance artist, Adrian Vyner-Brooks, experience the ecstatic poetry of this ancient Sufi mystic accompanied by the lush, original music of Betsy Bevan (piano). Will Ridenour (kora -- African harp) and Meredith Holladay (vocals) round out the quartet. The group will be joined by special guest Daniel Chambo (Indian flute).

Performer bios -

Adrian Vyner-Brooks was born in England and came to the US in 1980. He settled in Greensboro in 1995 and in 2007 was asked to run a Rumi group. His interest in Rumi grew and soon he started reciting the poetry in performance. After some early performances with Betsy Bevan, Will Ridenour and Meredith Holladay joined the group. For Adrian the support of this wonderful and original music greatly enhances his experience of Rumi and the joy of presenting it. He believes that Rumi is an agent of positive change for all of us.

Betsy Bevan, composer, pianist, visual artist, and educator, has been composing since age 11. From New England, she earned a masters degree from the Eastman School of Music in NY and has been influenced by improvisational studies and as a colleague with cellist-composer, David Darling of the Paul Winter Consort. She is a long-time practitioner of Zen meditation and feels a close affinity with Rumi's poetry. Many of Rumi's poems elicit instant music which she delights in writing.

Will Ridenour is a musician of the kora, a harp-lute from West Africa. The kora's 21 strings are made of fishing line and they resonate through a large, halved calabash gourd stretched with a cowhide. Will began teaching himself in 1999 in his hometown of Greensboro, NC and in 2003 and 2010 he traveled to Senegal and Mali, West Africa to study at the source. Today Will performs traditional kora music throughout the southeast and composes original pieces with the blessings of his teachers from across the ocean. His first encounter with Rumi's poetry came while he was around a campfire with strangers, and he feels like he returns there whenever he hears it. Ever since experimenting with Rumi readings, adding kora music to the poetry, he's seen the two lift each other to new heights.

Meredith Holladay is fulfilling a lifelong dream to sing, perform, and compose. Influenced by her spiritual studies, her professional work as a counselor, and her love of poetry and musical improvisation, she began performing in 2004 as a way to bring all of her interests together. She enjoys exploring how performance can catalyze healing in both artist and audience. Adrian asked Meredith to join the group in 2008. Since then Meredith remembered that even as a young adult when she first heard Rumi's poetry she wanted to sing it.