This May, The Esoterics presented a concert of new works by the African-American composer, Tara Mack. An avid choral singer for much of her life, Tara is currently a soprano in the London Oriana Choir. In 2019, inspired by her choir’s five-year project to promote women composers, Tara began to write choral music of her own. Since then, she has written, studied, and encouraged other choral musicians to compose. Her works have been commissioned and performed throughout the US and Europe, by such ensembles as: the Choral Arts Initiative, the New York City Master Chorale, the New Amsterdam Singers, the Wellspring Ensemble, C4, the Brown University Chorus, Inversion Ensemble, Vox Urbane, Austin Cantorum, Singing City, Junger Kammerchor Köln, and the Covent Garden Chorus.

Tara enjoys setting texts that reflect her political values, her African-American culture, and her experiences as a mother – and this program that she curated for The Esoterics to perform represents each of these influences in equal measure. To start the concert, the ensemble sings Good morning and Nighttime ninja – two short pieces by Mack that depict a child’s curiosity and creativity – one wondering where the sun might go during the night, while the other attempts a secret nocturnal adventure. These pieces are followed by two settings of Georgia Douglas Johnson: Benediction and A bygone sky – a song of love to her own son that is replete with optimism about his ambitious future, followed by a shuffling through unrealized dreams, likening them to “dead leaves.”

In Truth, Tara sets timely verses by Gwendolyn Brooks that liken sun and shade to truth and deception. In a time when we are overwhelmed by constant disinformation, it’s difficult to know who or what to trust. Indeed, if “truth” came knocking at our door, would we welcome it in, or retreat into the comfort of our everyday dishonesties? This piece is followed by Harlem night song, a romantic stroll, “roaming the night together” with this setting of the bard of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes. The first half of our program closes with an abrupt shift from sincerity and romance to the noises of the boisterous barnyard, with Tara’s setting of the 13th-century round, Sumer is icumen in. Set for six-part men’s voices (including countertenors), this silly catch returns us to the impish humor and innocence of childhood.

In the second half of this program, The Esoterics performs a cycle of six pieces by Mack with the title, Virtues of resistance. This cycle includes short texts by activists – including Saul Alinsky, Arundhati Roy, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Gwendolyn Brooks, Emily Greene Balch, bell hooks, and Fannie Lou Hamer – on the themes after which each movement is titled: Faith, Anger, Courage, Community, Love, and Joy. Mack encountered these quotations – which originate from the struggles for emancipation from slavery, women’s suffrage, human rights, environmental justice, or peace movements – while creating a social justice handbook, and included them in the cycle to challenge, affirm, and inspire. After this six-movement cycle, the ensemble closes its program with the world premiere of Island, setting another poem by Langston Hughes, a commission written specifically for The Esoterics. For this final song of the program, there is a bit of audience singing – so be prepared to sing along!

After growing up in the Chicago area, Tara earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Brown University and her Master’s in Journalism from UC Berkeley. She has worked as a professional print and radio journalist, writing and producing for several media outlets, including The Washington Post, The Guardian, and the BBC. In 2000, she left journalism to work for non-profit organizations that focus on arts youth development and social justice. As the first director of the Education for Liberation Network, Tara was able to connect hundreds of teachers, activists, young people, and parents who reimagined education as a tool for liberating marginalized communities. She is currently Director of Programmes at Pembroke House, a community center in London, where she lives with her partner and two children.

We are so happy to welcome Tara to Seattle for the weekend of these concerts! Please join The Esoterics as we commemorate RITES & RESISTANCE, a concert of rhymes, romance, risks, and rage!

CONCERT REPERTOIRE:

[All of the music in this program was composed by Tara Mack.]

Good morning (2019)
Nighttime ninja (2023)
Benediction (2024)
A bygone sky (2025)
Truth (2023)
Harlem night song (2020)
Sumer is icumen in (2025)
Virtues of resistance (2022)
Faith - Anger - Courage - Community - Love - Joy
Island (world premiere commission, 2026)