ArtsLab

Jane Ramseyer Miller, Director of the Chorus, lived in Haiti for years, which has provided a unique vantage point for her regarding the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

She was for this reason especially eager to work in collaboration with Titamba. Titamba, “welcoming the masters” in one of the languages of Zimbabwe, was founded by Christian Adetti, an immigrant from Ghana. Mr. Adetti was also eager to participate in a program focusing on AIDS, a significant health issue throughout the African continent.

The concert focal point was a newly commissioned work designed for this cultural juxtaposition. Christopher Gable, a professor at Macalester College, was tapped for the commissioning. His creation, “By the Fireside,” is set to poetry of Nigerian poet Odia Ofeimun and South African Ingrid de Kok. The second of the poems is a meditation on the social costs of HIV/AIDS. The work concludes with “Lux Aeterna” from the Latin Requiem.

The performances to very full houses were enthusiastically received.