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Art, science and religion are fundamental means with which humanity addresses the enigma of existence. All three are ways of comprehending the world, our shared reality and the parameters of a good life. Science focuses on reason, art on experience and religion on the unknown. At their juncture is the very core of our cultural heritage: who are we, and in what kind of a world do we want to live?
This is the purpose of the series of lectures and discussions to be held in the project You must be the change you wish to see in the world, where experts in arts and science probe the forces for change in music, the arts in general and even more generally immaterial culture. The talks will be about the significance and responsibility of music, the arts and other mental pursuits in society at large, for instance in promoting peace, in dealing with communal traumas, in protecting the environment and biodiversity and in any public debate on values.
These events also point to the concert theme of each week, offering a fresh perspective on classic works. A classic orchestral work is a classic precisely because it addresses the fundamental issues of existence in a way that is always relevant and engenders new dimensions in time and place.
When we sit in a concert hall, we and everyone around us vibrate in a sea of sound waves. A concert is a soundscape reflecting coexistence in the world: the ultimate unity of everything, an empathetic listening to others, a constant state of flux. But what kind of world, and what kind of change? Join us and find out!
Susanna Välimäki
Music researcher, docent