‘Rhymes of Robert Frost and Rumi’

     
If you like artistic creativity in your spiritual life—and who doesn’t?—or simply if you enjoy music and poetry—ditto—there are two great events coming soon to New York City. New York Open Center will host Amir Vahab for an evening of musical interpretation of Sufi poems, and the Anthroposophical Society will present Andy Leaf, who will frame the verse of Robert Frost in the Society’s spiritual science perspective. From the respective publicity:

Sufi Songs of Rumi, Hafiz

and Other Sufi Poets

Amir Vahab and Ensemble

with the Daf Caravan

Saturday, October 3 at 8 p.m.

New York Open Center

22 East 30th Street

Manhattan

Members: $35/Public: $40

Courtesy NY Open Center

Amir Vahab has been described by The New York Times as an “ambassador for a silenced music.” One of New York City’s most celebrated composers/vocalists of Sufi and folk music, he sings in the evocative, traditional Persian style which embodies millennia of mystical tradition. His work transcends political boundaries while maintaining traditional sensibilities in a way few artists can manage. Vahab’s music is rooted in tradition, but has been influenced by contemporary sounds. Like Amir himself, his music symbolizes diversity-in-unity. He is teaching and lecturing private and group classes in universities, libraries, museums, and cultural centers on the one hand and, on the other, he organizes music therapy and sound healing workshops.

This evening, Amir Vahab and ensemble will perform songs selected from the poetry of the great Sufi masters Rumi and Hafiz and other legendary mystical poets to transport us to 13th century Persia with all its beauty and exoticism. The ensemble also will perform lively traditional music from Turkish, Kurdish, and other sources featuring the mystical reed flute, ancient lutes, and the daf drum. The concert will conclude with a dynamic drumming performance that echoes the universal heartbeat of existence.

Robert Frost in the Light

of Spiritual Science and Vice Versa

Presented by Andy Leaf

Saturday, October 10 at 2 p.m.

Anthroposophy NYC

138 West 15th Street

Manhattan

Admission: donations

Since college days in the mid 1950s, Andy Leaf has had a passionate interest in the spirituality expressed in the poetry of Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson. This Saturday program will be an informal exploration of how spiritual science can enhance appreciation of Frost’s poetry in ways conventional criticism does not—and which can, in turn, enrich our experience of truths revealed in Anthroposophy. The focus will be on a few selected, representative poems.

Andy Leaf has studied Anthroposophy since 1967. He served as a teacher and administrator in the Waldorf School of Garden City, New York from 1967 to 1978. Subsequently, he has been an instructor, program designer, and consultant in training and organizational development. As principal of his own consulting practice, Leaf & Associates, he has consulted with Waldorf Schools in the United States and Canada on issues of organizational health and leadership.