The Prophet Premieres in St. Paul
Often when we read a spiritual book, we get transplanted to another place and time and may be transformed in a profound way. While transplanted in France as a college student in 1989, Sanctuary’s musician Dennis Curley was transformed after reading passages from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet. Wandering through a bookstore, he picked up the book, read few passages, and became hooked!
Dennis commented on his discovery of The Prophet: “I have encountered many works of literature along my spiritual path, but few with the timeless and enduring quality of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet. Written in 1923 by a Lebanese author then living in the United States, its commentaries on the true nature of such universal concepts as love, marriage, joy, sorrow, death, friendship and beauty are so relevant today as they were 80 years ago.”
So moved by this small book, Dennis immediately read it again, “. . . as I read it a second time, I noticed the lyrical quality of certain passages. As I studied these I began to hear music, and within three days I had written four complete songs using text straight out of the book.”
Upon returning to the U.S. after completing his junior year studying in France, Dennis focused on finishing his degree at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. Over the years Dennis spent many years as a performer, composer, musical director and arranger. Among his many accomplishments, he has performed the roles of Jinx, Frankie and Sparky in the musical “Forever Plaid” in Minneapolis, Maine, and Michigan. He sings with the Twin Cities’ rock band, Pizzazz and most recently appeared in Warm Beer, Cold Women, the critically acclaimed salute to the music of Tom Waits.
Dennis was particularly moved by some of the passages on marriage, children, and friendship. He shared a passage on marriage that had really caught his attention, “Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup . . . Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, even as the strings of a lute are along though they quiver with the same music.”
Over the years his mother kept mentioning how much she loved and was moved by the music he had written. At one point, having some time on his hands, Dennis went back to the project. After rereading the book, he found a few more passages that he could work with for lyrics and together he and his mother created a script. By 1997, he had added three more songs and in 1998, the project had reached completion as a collection of songs and readings that evoke a musical meditation.
Dennis is excited about producing the world premiere of The Prophet: “We have assembled an extremely talented group of musicians for this program . . . extraordinary singers and instrumentalists. I hope you (the audience) will be as moved as I am by the powerful, important words contained in ‘The Prophet.’ I believe the meditative quality of the music only enhances the underlying message, and I invite you to join us in a peaceful evening of reflection and celebration of the ongoing mys-tery of life.”
Performing with Dennis will be several favorite Sanctuary vocalists and instrumentalists, including Nick Raths, Peggy George, Jan Joseph, Daniel Abdon, Bruce Menier Bell and Troy Peterson. For the 7:00 p.m. May 13th performance, tickets ($10) are available at the door or by calling 651-222-1732.
The Prophet is a fundraiser for Sanc-tuary of the Heart and all proceeds will go toward supporting Sanctuary’s presence in the heart of the Twin Cities-St. Paul. Join us for this unique experience and be prepared to be transplanted and transformed!!
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