Co-commissioned with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, this unprecedented musical experience for winds, percussion, strings, and voices disperses musicians from The United States Air Force Band throughout the outdoor settings, allowing listeners to roam freely and explore the work from multiple perspectives

In the Inuit tradition, sila is the spirit that animates all things—the wind, the weather, and all forces of nature. In John Luther Adams’ piece, Sila: The Breath of the World, composed specifically to be heard out of doors, musicians and listeners alike are encouraged to move about the performance space freely. “The twin hallmarks of Adams’ work—a deep concern with the interactions between humans and the environment, an undeniable though wholly nonsectarian mysticism—are fused through masterly command of musical texture and pacing,” said NPR Music on Sila’s July 2014 New York City world premiere at Lincoln Center. “Absent a stage, the traditional walls between musicians and listeners dissipated absolutely. That intimacy created a marvelous cocoon of shared experience and silky, ethereal layers of sound. The music shimmers and shifts in magical and beautiful ways. Sila is as much performance piece as sonic work.”

Washington Performing Arts, which co-commissioned Sila, presents its D.C. premiere on May 13, 15 and 16, 2015. The grandeur of D.C.’s public spaces will be represented by three distinct locations: Meridian Hill Park (May 13^th at 6pm), Constitution Gardens (May 15^th at 6pm), and the Jefferson Memorial (May 16^th at 3pm).  Sila will be performed by musicians from The United States Air Force Band, led by Colonel Larry Lang, who have partnered with Washington Performing Arts since the inception of the project.   The brass and percussion sections will be featured on May 13^th; the woodwinds, strings and voices on May 15^th; and, in a culminating event, the full group performs on May 16^th.

The presenter of this performance is Washington Performing Arts. Please note this information in any coverage of this event.

What:             Sila: The Breath of the World
John Luther Adams, composer
The United States Air Force Band

Where:           Meridian Hill Park (May 13) (If raining, this performance will be cancelled)
Constitution Gardens (May 15) (If raining, this performance will be cancelled)
Jefferson Memorial (May 16) (Rain Location: Nat’l Museum of Am. History)

When:             Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at 6pm (brass & percussion)
Friday, May 15, 2015 at 6pm (woodwinds, strings & voices)
Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 3pm (full group)

About The Author

Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.

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