Hamilton, Ohio – Democracy gives voice to the masses.
While American democracy – especially in the midst of a contentious election cycle – occasionally creates rifts among those masses, the arts build bridges to connect the many voices struggling to be heard.
Enter the OLEA (pronounced Oh-LEE-ah) Ensemble.
The second-ever SOS ARTS artists in residence - in partnership with the Fitton Center for Creative Arts - will perform Contemplations on Democracy, a pair of FREE chamber music concerts scheduled for Saturday, October 26, and Sunday, October 27.
The Saturday performance is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Fitton Center (101 S. Monument Avenue, Hamilton, Ohio 45011), while the Sunday concert is at 3 p.m. at Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church (103 William Howard Taft Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45219).
The Fitton Center also hosts an interactive rehearsal – also free and open to the public - from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, October 25.
OLEA - a trio including Kate Kilgus (clarinet), Alayne Wegner (violin) and Marissa Kerbel (piano) - formed in 2021 after the musicians met as members of the Cincinnati New Music Ensemble, a student- and alumni-led group from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.
“The Cincinnati New Music Ensemble began as a collection of music nerds who wanted to work together,” Wegner said. “After playing together for the first time, we found that we really connected and worked well together, so we decided to form our own smaller group, which is OLEA.”
Wegner and Kilgus are based in Cincinnati, while Kerbel is in Chicago. The ensemble has weekly video conferences to handle administrative details, but they usually rehearse together in person.
“We’re really good friends, so it’s not hard to get together,” Wegner said. “It really creates an interesting ensemble as a whole, but also the individual instruments have an opportunity to shine on their own.
“The residency is so exciting for us because it connects us with an opportunity to perform this music that really reflects what we’re hearing every day in the news. The Fitton Center’s idea of ‘Come curious and leave inspired’ is exactly what we try to do with our music.”
Topics OLEA plans to explore in Contemplations on Democracy include climate change, women’s rights, police brutality, prison, immigration, war, healthcare, mental health and income inequality.
“For each one of these topics, we have found a piece of music that correlates to it,” Wegner said. “The idea for each of these concerts, the majority will be us playing, but it’s also an interaction with the audience to explore the things they are concerned with during this election.”
Greater Cincinnati poets and visual artists associated with SOS ART accompany each musical selection with readings and projections of visual art.
“We want to work on this barrier between audience and performer and get to know one another during the performance,” Wegner said. “We’re providing a time and space to think and contemplate and feel, but also to prompt people into action, whatever that might mean for an audience. Simply exercising their right to vote is an action.”
All of which aligns with the goals of the artist-in-residence program, part of an ongoing partnership between the Fitton Center and SOS ART.
“We’re encouraging creators to make impactful art that shines a light on challenging topics and share it with the community,” said Kate Rowekamp, Fitton Center Director of Education and Outreach. “Our goal is to give both artists and their audiences a creative way to process large societal issues.
“We’ve had a long-running, successful partnership with SOS ART. This is a great opportunity to use our shared resources to amplify local artistic voices engaging with themes of peace and justice.”
“All the work we do is to empower our local artists to use their voice, their creativity, to start conversations about important issues,” said SOS ART founder Saad Ghosn. “It’s a win for both organizations and – we hope – for the artists.”
“We’re excited to share this conversation,” Wegner said. “This place of contemplation of the democratic process – in the midst of that process in action – is centered on the community and what we hear people talking about every day.”
The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.
Building Community Excellence through the Arts and Culture
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