“Music reaches the deepest heartstrings in us. Good vibration aligns and heals on a molecular level, like the effect of thoughts and vibrations on water,” said Lecturer of Music and Director of the Strings Ensemble, Kenichiro Aiso.
This sentiment was brought to the concert series, “Music @ Marymount,” a collaboration between LMU’s Department of Music and the Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture, and the Arts, featuring Aiso as violinist and his partner, Valeria Morgovskaya, as pianist. The final concert, on December 4, is free and open to public.
Founders of the series state its purpose is to spread joy amidst difficult times. While attending the concerts, audience members can remove themselves from their daily struggles and focus on music and its great ability to bring people together. It can be seen as an homage to the beauties in the world showcased through beautiful symphonies of strings and keys.
“Music @ Marymount” was developed in 2020 after a previous successful collaboration with Aiso. It was cut short due to the pandemic, then revitalized in 2024 under the previous Marymount Institute director, Jennifer Abe.
“We thought it would be a great idea to reach out with our music to contribute to the rich LMU culture,” said Aiso. “And we love performing.” He hopes that the series provides a space for people to gain peace of mind. “We try to make programs both accessible and intriguing for our listeners, presenting classical music by old and contemporary composers.”
In addition to “Music @ Marymount,” the institute collaborated with the Department of Music to present “Community Workshops for Balinese Gamelan.” The workshops offer students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to explore Balinese gamelan, a traditional Indonesian music ensemble. The instruments, on loan from LMU’s Department of Music, were created on commission from a master instrument maker in the Gianyar region of Bali. Participants get to collaborate with their fellow community members at LMU. The final two workshops, on November 11 and December 2, are free and open to the public.
“The workshops offer direct acquaintance with a set of musical instruments that are beautiful to see and fun to play,” said Paul Humphreys, professor emeritus of music and leader of the Balinese gamelan workshops. “This music is a fabric of interrelationships that complement and support one another; it plays out as a sound community.” Regardless of experience level, everyone is welcome to join the harmonious events to play and learn.
The two music series are exemplary of the rich slate of programming housed in the Marymount Institute. Established in 1991, the institute was founded through an endowment from the Leavey Foundation. It is rooted in LMU’s Jesuit mission and strives to preserve the educational tradition of faith, culture, arts, and education of the whole person.
“A lot of the institute’s programming emerges from the interdisciplinary humanities, including the critical arts, and explores how the humanities help us understand and respond to the needs of our time,” said Elizabeth Drummond, associate professor of History and director of the Marymount Institute. “The arts offer creative responses to those needs, so the institute also fosters the arts, both through Ken’s and Valeria’s concerts and through music-making opportunities like the Balinese Gamelan workshops.” The collaboration between the Marymount Institute and the College of Communication and Fine Arts highlights shared values. “Like CFA, the institute embraces the critical study of culture and the arts, as well as acts of creation and performance, all important for the human experience.” said Drummond.
Music @ Marymount and the Balinese Gamelan workshops are both free, public events that will continue in the Spring.