Crosscurrents

We are thrilled to invite you to an haunting and passionate program of music by composer and concert accordionist Merima Ključo!  Merima and her vocal partner Jelena Milušić will be joining us all the way from Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina for their performance, discussion panel, and live Zoom Q&A immediately following the concert.

All of the music for our next Virtual Concert was composed or arranged by the one-of-a-kind Merima Kljuĉo, whose works encompasses a wide range of influences from contemporary classical to traditional music from many different Eastern European, Jewish and Muslim cultures, bringing all of them into harmonious coexistence.  We'll begin the concert with a set of solo accordion pieces that showcase contrasting aspects of Merima's musical personality, along with artwork by Bart Woodstrup.  Most of you may not associate the accordion with classical music, but it actually has a significant following in conservatories throughout Europe, growing beyond its folk roots as a popular contemporary instrument. Combined with Merima's own experiences as a refugee from the Bosnian War, all these influences add up to a performance that will be both personal and powerful. The second half of the concert features Merima joined by contralto Jelena Milušić for the recently-written and appropriately named song cycle Snoviđenje (Apparitions), a soul-stirring work centered on the theme of love - including the good, the bad, and the ugly.  You won't find this kind of experience anywhere else, so don't miss it! The performance will be live-streamed on our homepage (www.constellationsmusic.org) starting right at 4PM on Sunday, July 26.  The Zoom Q&A for our last concert was a big hit, so we're happy to invite you to another live Q&A session with the artists and virtual reception immediately following the concert in Constellations' Zoom meeting room!  (Yes, they're joining live even though it will be the middle of the night in Europe - thank you Merima & Jelena!)  Join with the free Zoom app - you can find that here if you don't already have it.  After the reception, the virtual concert will remain on our home page for 72 hours, and then will move to our online archives. Sunday's concert features the following works:

Couperin Visiting the Balkans (after François Couperin's Les Roseaux)

Vračenica

Mujo

Merima Kljuĉo, concert accordion video art by Bart Woodstrup

Snoviđenje (Apparitions)

1. Kletva (Curse)
2. Ogledam se (Reflection)
3. Tamna noći (Dark Night)
4. Adio kerida (Farewell Beloved)
5. Lume (Life)

Merima Kljuĉo, concert accordion & Jelena Milušić, contralto