Mehrdad Gholami Performs Ruah

Mehrdad Gholami, who performed Ruah with the Aspen Contemporary Players, will perform with the Western Washington University Symphony Orchestra, led by Dr. Ryan Dudenbostel. Ruah (the ‘h’ is guttural, as in the German ‘ch’) is a Hebrew word that translates as air, wind, or breath. In Cabalistic mysticism, it also refers to the part of the soul that mediates between the body and the spirit. Both the colloquial and spiritual meanings are at work here. The images of breath and air inform the timbral stretching of the flute’s sound, with the flutist using the voice and its breath flow in conjunction with played tones. The program also features Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, K. 543, Charles Halka’s Son of Scherzo and Disposition, by Colin Marks. Livestream here!