The Resonance Collective Holds Album Release and Listening Event for Fahad Siadat's 'The Conference of the Birds'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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THE RESONANCE COLLECTIVE HOLDS
ALBUM RELEASE AND LISTENING EVENT FOR
FAHAD SIADAT’S THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS

Featuring Live Dance, Readings from Librettist SHOLEH WOLPÉ,
and Projected Animations by CHIA-HSIN LEE

Saturday, March 16, 2024
First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, Koreatown

LOS ANGELES, CA  - On March 16, 2024 at 7pm, the Resonance Collective will hold an album release and listening event at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles in Koreatown for The Conference of the Birds, the full-length recording of Fahad Siadat’s a capella oratorio based on the Persian epic poem by 12th-century mystic Attar of Nishapur. The recording, which features the original cast of the oratorio, will be released through Voices of the Pearl on March 16, and will be available to stream and purchase on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp, among other services.

The oratorio premiered at BroadStage in Santa Monica on June 18, 2022, directed by the Resonance Collective’s Director of Original Works André Megerdichian, where it was lauded by the LA Times as “[e]legantly staged and choreographed…a luminous ensemble of singers.” A concert version of The Conference of the Birds was also performed this past November as part of the state-wide California Festival, a new music initiative spearheaded by the LA Phil, the San Francisco Symphony, and the San Diego Symphony.

The event will feature tracks from the album played in full, along with additional performers and guests, including:

• Librettist and award-winning poet and playwright Sholeh Wolpé will perform readings from her 2017 translation of The Conference of the Birds, which PEN lauded as an “artful and exquisite modern translation” and formed the basis of the oratorio’s libretto.
• Animations by award-winning animator Chia-Hsin Lee commissioned for the event will be projected during the listening.
• Dancers Catalina Jackson-Urueña and Tippy Dringman, both from the original cast, will perform choreography by director André Megerdichian from the production.

There will be a reception before the album listening starting at 6pm in FCCLA’s courtyard. Preceding the event on Wednesday, March 13 at 7pm, there will also be a preview lecture and talk about The Conference of the Birds given by Siadat at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz. The talk will provide an introduction to Attar’s work as well as the Sufi philosophy and mythology that inspired The Conference of the Birds.

The Conference of the Birds follows the birds of the world who embark on a journey to find their sovereign, the Simurgh, a divine, mythical creature. Traveling through the Seven Valleys, the birds follow the spiritual trials of the Sufi path as they journey to the Simurgh’s door. Sung in English and Farsi, the oratorio features Siadat as the Narrator, soprano Anne Harley in the role of Hoopoe, and the LA-based vocal ensemble HEX as various, interchangeable characters. HEX is made up of soprano Amanda Achen, mezzo-soprano Molly Pease, tenor Saunder Choi, baritone David Conley, bass Paul Chwe MinChul An & bass James Hayden.

According to Wolpé, the narrative in the oratorio cultivates an idea of “unity in diversity.” “We are the birds in the story. All of us have our own ideas and ideals, our own fears and anxieties as we hold on to our own version of the truth,” says Wolpé. “Attar tells us that truth is not static, and that we each tread a path according to our own capacity. It evolves as we evolve.”

General admission for the listening event starts at $10; purchase tickets at bit.ly/cotbalbum. To learn more about The Conference of the Birds, head to conferenceofbirds.info.

The Resonance Collective seeks to cultivate curiosity and a sense of sacredness to the creative life of Los Angeles in an inspiring and supportive social environment. Embracing a diversity of cultural and spiritual approaches in how society defines “art” and “sacred,” the Resonance Collective welcomes and serves those interested in sharing spiritual uplift through music. Led by Artistic Director Fahad Siadat, the Resonance Collective furthers this mission through its three divisions: the Original Works program, which creates interdisciplinary, theatrical narratives based on spiritual transformation; the Golden Thread Concert Series, which curates exceptional music from all religions and cultures; and the N.E.O. Voice Festival, which educates creative musicians interested in holistic vocal performance and writing for the voice.

Since starting in 2022, the Resonance Collective’s Golden Thread series has presented artists from around the world, including the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Gamelan Burat Wangi, sacred Middle-Eastern artist Yuval Ron, jazz vocalist Dwight Trible, and many others. In June 2022 at BroadStage, the Resonance Collective premiered The Conference of the Birds, an a capella oratorio based on the Sufi poet Attar’s classic poem, directed by André Megerdichian, with music by Fahad Siadat and a libretto by Sholeh Wolpé. The Resonance Collective also presented the oratorio on Nov 4, 2023 in Los Angeles, as part of the state-wide California Festival.

Fahad Siadat’s work sits at the intersection of artistic and spiritual practice. He creates meditative solo pieces and interdisciplinary storytelling works, folding together words, sound, and movement into ritualistic narratives. His work is described by the press as “exceptional” (LA Times), “hypnotic” (Backstage) and having “a sophisticated harmonic vocabulary” (San Diego Story) with “characteristic vivaciousness” (Theatre Scene). He is an advocate of innovative and adventurous music and approaches this advocacy as a performer, composer, conductor and entrepreneur.

In addition to directing the Resonance Collective, Fahad also directs the new music vocal ensemble HEX and is an active composer and performer. He has appeared as soloist with LA’s groundbreaking opera company The Industry, and the Grammy Award-winning ensemble PARTCH. He is regularly commissioned to write for concert music ensembles, dance companies, and theater troupes, including Cor Cantiamo, theater dybbuk, Rosanna Gamson Dance, Monmouth University, Jacksonville Dance Theater, the California EAR Unit, and the TOCCATA Orchestra.

Sholeh Wolpé is an Iranian-born poet, playwright and literary translator. Her performances, solo or in collaboration with musicians and artists, have been hailed by audiences as mesmerizing. Her literary work includes five collections of poetry, several plays, three books of translations, and three anthologies. Her most recent book, Abacus of Loss: A Memoir in Verse (Univ. of Arkansas Press, Mar. 2022) is lauded by National Book Award finalist Ilya Kaminsky as a book “that created its own genre—a thrill of lyric combined with the narrative spell.” Her translations of 12th century Sufi mystic poet, Attar, The Conference of the Birds (W.W. Norton & Co), and 20th century Iranian rebel poet Forugh Farrokhzad, Sin: Selected Poems of Forugh Farrokhzad (Univ. of Arkansas Press) have garnered awards and established Wolpé as a celebrated literary translator.

She is the recipient of a 2014 PEN Heim, 2013 Midwest Book Award and 2010 Lois Roth Persian Translation prize, as well as artist fellowship and residencies in the U.S., Mexico, Spain, Australia and Switzerland. In 2020, she was named a “Cultural Trailblazer” by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

André Megerdichian has worked with such companies and choreographers as the Limón Dance Company, Dance Kaleidoscope, the Mary Anthony Dance Theatre, Janis Brenner and Dancers, Seán Curran, and Daniel Charon. As a choreographer his work has been presented by numerous universities, festivals, and dance institutions throughout the United States and internationally in the Czech Republic, Austria, and China.

André is an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina and has served as a faculty member at the Duncan Center Conservatory in Prague, Czech Republic, the Limón Institute in New York City, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and teaches master classes and workshops throughout the United States, Europe, and China. As the Co-Founder and Director of New Works for the Resonance Collective he is deeply drawn to creating interdisciplinary, collaborative works driven by narratives of transformation and discovery.