Friday, March 7, 2025, 8:00 pm
First Baptist Church, Oakland

Sunday, March 9, 2025, 4:00 pm
Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church

What would it mean for us to “dwell together in unity”?

Dwell Together takes its name from Psalm 133: "How pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." It’s the final line from Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, which will be presented in conversation with the Pittsburgh premiere of Joel Thompson’s powerful The Seven Last Words of The Unarmed, Julia Perry’s heart wrenching Stabat Mater, and other choral works.

Dwell Together isn’t just sentiment, it’s a powerful call to action.

Artists:

  • Lucia Bradford

    MEZZO-SOPRANO

  • Victory Brinker

    TREBLE SOLOIST

  • Dr. Herbert V.R.P. Jones

    CONDUCTOR/CREATIVE PARTNER

  • Maria Sensi Sellner

    CONDUCTOR/PRODUCER

  • Reson8 Vocal Octet

  • Resonance Chamber Orchestra & Chorus

Program to include:

Joel Thompson - Seven Last Words of the Unarmed

Julia Perry - Stabat Mater

Leonard Bernstein - Chichester Psalms

Brittany J. Green - Speak world premiere

Rosephanye Powell - To Sit and Dream

and more!

More about the show

Created in partnership with esteemed choral conductor and founder of The Heritage Gospel Chorale of Pittsburgh, Dr. Herbert V.R.P. Jones, celebrated mezzo-soprano and Resonance Works board member Demareus Cooper, Artistic and General Director Maria Sensi Sellner, and Associate Producer Robert Frankenberry, this major choral-orchestral concert program for our 2024-25 season features lauded mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford, who performed Perry’s Stabat Mater in our 2020 digital season, rising star Victory Brinker, our Resonance Chamber Orchestra and Reson8 Vocal Octet, performing with an expanded Festival Chorus.  

Joel Thompson’s Seven Last Words of the Unarmed is a powerful work that uses the liturgical format of The Seven Last Words of Christ, with each movement quoting the last words of an unarmed Black man before he was killed. We are placing this powerful recent work in conversation with two other pieces that also utilize ancient forms and timeless texts interpreted through a contemporary American lens - Julia Perry’s setting of the 13th century poem about the sorrowful mother of Christ, the Stabat Mater, and Leonard Bernstein’s implicit plea for peace in combining Christian and Hebrew choral traditions in his Chichester Psalms.

"The final line in Bernstein’s work (from Psalm 133) struck a particular chord in me - “How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”  We continue to struggle to achieve this goal, in our communities, in our society, and in the world. But it is a powerful call to action, an ideal to continue to strive towards, and we can embody this ideal through music, creating space for empathy, understanding, and connection.” - Maria Sensi Sellner

Preview of Julia Perry's Stabat Mater, from our 2020 digital chamber performance featuring mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford. Join us in March 2025 to hear it live with full orchestra!

Preview the music:

Documentary about the creation of Joel Thompson's Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, created by the University of Michigan, including a complete performance by the University Men’s Glee Club, who premiered the work in 2015.

First Baptist Church
159 North Bellefield Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

 

  • There is a ramp at the rear of the church at the parklet entry adjacent to Schenley Place, near the intersection of Bayard St and Bigelow Blvd. An accessible restroom is conveniently located on the first floor. 

Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church
384 Fox Chapel Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15238

 

  • Entrance Option #1: There is a side entrance, just off Field Club Road before turning into the main parking lot, which will allow you to enter just outside the sanctuary. This is entirely flat, there are several accessible spots outside, and is the shortest route.

    Entrance Option #2: If the spots above are taken, park in one of the accessible spots in the main parking lot (accessed from Field Club Road), enter through the doors facing the parking lot (we'll have a sandwich board outside), and proceed mostly straight, following the signs for the sanctuary. You'll pass through an atrium: the sanctuary entrance will be directly ahead of you. There are several inclines along the way.

    Seating: If you'll be using a wheelchair, once in the venue you can either place it at the end of a pew in the center aisle, or there are four shorter pews about 2/3rds of the way up, where you can pull in next to the pew on the left or right of the space.

If you have questions about accessibility, please do not hesitate to contact Brennan Sellner at brennan@resworks.org or 412-501-3330 (please note that this is an office number, and cannot receive texts).