RICHARDTON, N.D. — Dakota Pro Musica is bringing their professional ensemble choir Friday to Richardton to celebrate 250 years of American history and religion.
For the past four years, the Bismarck-based nonprofit music and performing arts organization has been performing concerts at Assumption Abbey to provide live music to the people living in the town and its surrounding communities. On Friday at 7 p.m., the organization will present their “Music of American Faith” concert as a part of a celebration of this country’s 250th anniversary and the season of Lent.
“I think it will be an enjoyable, beautiful experience,” said Dr. Jason Thoms, Founder and Artistic Director of Dakota Pro Musica. “It’ll be a time to allow the craziness of our current world to be left outside the doors of the abbey and give people a respite.”
One of the main goals Thoms had when organizing the concert was to create a true representation of both American religious history and the local community. So while the concert will be taking place inside a Catholic place of worship, the show itself will feature sacred music from a variety of faiths that can be found in North Dakota. The sacred music that will be performed includes pieces from Lutheran, Christian Orthodox, Catholic, Jewish and other traditions.
“We are purposely choosing music that represents many different faith traditions so folks will say, ‘I’m familiar with that experience, but this one is new to me,’” Thoms said. “What I like to do is always provide people with something interesting, new and diverse.”
The diversity of the music is not only meant to make individual audience members feel represented but also bring the whole community together. Rachel Wermerskirchen, a singer for Dakota Pro Musica, said the concert will be a great opportunity for people of different faiths to see the overlap of their beliefs and the commonality between everyone.
“The reason our country was founded was for religious freedom and for people to express their religious beliefs and not be persecuted,” she said. “I think music has a way of bringing people together that I don’t think any other art form has.”
Thoms said the reason why Dakota Pro Musica organizes concerts in small towns like Richardton is to bring the experience of live music to people who might not otherwise have that opportunity. Brother Michael Taffe at Assumption Abbey said he agrees with Thoms about the importance of bringing live music to the small town and is happy to be partnering with Dakota Pro Musica. In a world where most people have access to a smart phone and computer, Taffe believes that people in towns like Richardton need moments like this to come together and enjoy live music.
“It’s easy to have music—we’re surrounded by sound,” he said. “But to be able to hear something live, to actually be in a room where human people are singing, is just a very different experience.”
Thoms sees music as vital to building community and raising the voices of individuals. Like other concerts Dakota Pro Musica organizes, the audience will be invited to sing at least one of the songs at the Richardton performance.
“One of the questions I like to ask people is ‘what are you doing to make the world more beautiful,’” Thoms said. “There’s a responsibility that artists and musicians have in a world that is sometimes a little bit ugly to provide moments of peace and beauty and joy.”
“Many writers and popes have written that experiencing beauty is a way that we experience God,” Taffe added. “Our world right now is crazy… and so to be able to take time to listen to some beauty is a way to recharge our souls.”
