Sankofa Concert: Healing, Reflection, and Renewal

450 Jane Stanford Way,Stanford CA 94305

10 October, 2021

Description

Let us look into the past to forge forward with what is life-giving. Please come to our concert in the historic Memorial Church. This event is only open to the Stanford community and masks are required for this indoor event. Sankofa is a word in the Twii language of Ghana, and it literally means to “go back and fetch it.” Sankofa also implies an active forward hope in the face of remembrance and history. Sankofa also is a way to heal and renew will forging forward with resilience. The events of the recent year and a half –– starting with Covid-19, continuing with the renewed energy for racial justice in the wake of the deaths of many Black men and women at the hands of police and the spike in anti-Asian violence, and extending through the tumultuous events surrounding the election and presidential transition –– have shaken the Stanford Community and global community alike. The COVID and bigotry dual pandemic reveals our physical fragility and mortality, our societal limitations, and shortcomings … and the encounter is terrifying. We have witnessed a rise in bigotry and xenophobia along with the pandemic, and the most recent spate of anti-Black and anti-Asian violence ignited a shared urgency and renewed commitment to transformation. We also cherish how far we have come so that we can begin healing the immediate wounds and start reimagining how to rebuild a more just and resilient global society. Now more than ever, we need to honor the past while mustering our resilience beyond self-determination to renew our community in healing and life-giving ways. We must go forward, but we also must honor what we have experienced in the past 18 months and counting. Not only the disruption, loss, and grief, but also the herculean efforts of front-line healthcare workers to care for the sick and dying, of activists to give productive voice to profound frustration over justice delayed and denied, the incredible work of scientists and researchers to create new vaccines and treatments for an emerging disease. Our work is in the here and now. We are forging a future that respects the past but carves something new. Please give your voice and join Sankofa World Music Concert, the closing ceremony of Stanford’s Festival of Reflection and Renewal. This Concert is also the Closing Ceremony of We Are Stanford: A Festival of Reflection and Renewal. Featured Visual Artist: • Z.M. Rebecca Nie, the concert’s visual director and featured video/algorithm artist. Stanford Buddhist Chaplain-Affiliate Featured Professional Musicians: • Dr. Jiayue Cecilia Wu, the concert’s music curator and featured musician/composer. Prof. Wu is an award-winning scholar, musician, and audio engineer • Dr. Scott L. Miller, Professor of Music at St. Cloud State University, Minnesota• Dr. Jane Rigler, flutist, composer, educator, and producer • Stanford Middle East Ensemble, Stanford Middle East Ensemble plays music from across the Middle East region • Alkimiya Transfer, Stanford-based Alkimiya Transfer (Barbara Nerness and Stephanie Sherriff) is an ambient noise duo • Bonnie Wai-Lee Kwong, poet, musician, multidisciplinary artist, and engineer • Prof. Chris Chafe, composer, improviser, and cellist Concert Leadership: • Spiritual Director & Advisor – The Rev. Dr. Sakena Young-Scaggs, Senior Associate Dean of ORSL and Pastor of Memorial Church • Concert Curator – Dr. Jiayue Cecilia Wu • Visual Director – Z.M. Rebecca Nie • Technical Director – Michael J. Hodgson • Manager of Resources and Community – Claudia V Dorn • Stage Manager – Diane Abundabar