June 7, 2020
Dear Emmanuel Music Community:
This comes with every good wish that all continues to be well with you and your loved ones.
The city of Boston, this country and the world have borne witness to unprecedented voicing of concern in the last several days over the societal woes and injustice that have plagued this country for decades.
In the midst of what has been a surreal time for which words prove insufficient, individuals and organizations are feeling called now more than ever to even greater introspection.
What has moved me in contemplating Emmanuel Music's place in the context of all things is the ways in which we seek to create beauty and share it with the wider world - the beauty of music, notably that of Johann Sebastian Bach,
to speak to the human condition that connects us all even in the most challenging of times.
That which the organization has done over its near 50 year history - and will continue to do - is to draw in and welcome to share and engage the world in witnessing this beauty … and through this welcome hopefully strengthen us all to do the important work …
To Listen
To Learn
To Love
Thank you all for the ways in which you make the mission of Emmanuel Music move ever forward in this call.
As we work toward the creation of the strategic plan for Emmanuel Music's future throughout the coming days, weeks, and months, the organization will work to craft an actionable approach to ensure that it is part of the solution in response to institutional racism. Please feel free to share with me your thoughts on how we might do this better.
Speaking of Bach, I am reminded of the words from one of the greatest arias from his monumental Saint Matthew Passion - "Mache dich, mein Herze, rein" ("Make yourself pure, my heart").
In these days, may each of us find points of connection with each other and with those in wider circles - for greater welcome, for greater understanding, for greater humanity.
Peace,
Dana Whiteside
Emmanuel Music Board President
