Virtual Discussion & Book Launch Celebrating Arvo Pärt

This online event hosted by the Estonian Consulate General in NY marks a groundbreaking new publication— Arvo Pärt: Sounding the Sacred (Fordham University Press).  The panel discussion will feature scholars, musicians, and artists who are also among the foremost experts on Pärt’s music.

The panelists will discuss the impact of Arvo Pärt in today’s world.

How does his music reach such a diverse listenership?
How does it strike people, in their hearts and minds, and how does the sound impact them physically?

Peter Bouteneff (moderator) – Stemming from his longtime association with the Pärt family, Dr. Bouteneff co-founded the Arvo Pärt Project that brought the composer and his music to Carnegie Hall in 2014. He is author of Arvo Pärt: Out of Silence, an exploration of the spiritual reach of Pärt’s music.

Maria Cizmic – a professor at University of South Florida, Dr. Cizmic is author of Performing Pain: Music and Trauma in Eastern Europe, where she has made groundbreaking observations on the role of Pärt’s music in contemporary cinema and other media.

Jeffers Engelhardt – Another leading Pärt scholar, Dr. Engelhardt is also an expert in contemporary Estonian culture, especially its singing. He is associate professor of ethnomusicology at Amherst College.

Robert Saler – A co-editor of Sounding the Sacred, Dr. Saler is a theologian and cultural commentator who has recently published All These Things Into Position: What Theology can Learn from Radiohead. He is a research professor at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.

Jaanika Peerna – an Estonian born visual and performance artist based in New York, Peerna’s abstract drawing work— ranging from tiny drawings to extensive room-sized installations—and her performances, bring her audience closer to the simple yet profound transitions in the natural world.