ASL Interpreted Performance

There are moments when art asks us not merely to observe, but to see. Picture This... is a celebration of the imagination and the extraordinary dialogue between image and sound—a journey through galleries, landscapes, and star-filled skies that reminds us that beauty often reveals itself in unexpected places presented by the Mason Symphonic Band, Choirs, and Wind Symphony.

Throughout history, artists have sought to capture the world around them and, in doing so, have transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary. Whether through paint, poetry, or music, they invite us to pause, to wonder, and to encounter familiar things with renewed eyes. This evening's program explores that act of seeing and the enduring power of art to illuminate the human experience.

The culminating work of this concert brings the Mason Choir and Wind Symphony together in collaboration with Jake Runestad's Vincent's Sky. Though Van Gogh's story is often told through the lens of suffering and obscurity, Runestad's work turns our attention toward something more profound: the artist's remarkable capacity for wonder. Vincent lived with extraordinary compassion, loved deeply, and discovered beauty in the commonplace. His genius was not merely in what he painted, but in how he saw.

The work draws inspiration from the poetry of Walt Whitman, whose words Van Gogh greatly admired. Though separated by an ocean, the two artists shared a remarkable kinship. Both were largely self-taught, both were seekers of truth and beauty, and both possessed an abiding love for humanity and the natural world. In Whitman's expansive vision and Van Gogh's luminous colors, we encounter two souls united by a belief that life itself is worthy of awe. 

Richly expressive and deeply moving, Vincent's Sky invites listeners to experience the world through the eyes of these kindred spirits. As Van Gogh's paintings unfold alongside Runestad's radiant score, sound and image become inseparable, revealing a universe alive with light, tenderness, and wonder. Together, music, poetry, and painting bear witness to the extraordinary beauty hidden within everyday life. 

In the end, Picture This... is not simply a concert about art—it is a concert about perception. It reminds us that beauty is not always found in grand gestures or distant horizons, but often in the small moments that surround us: a walk through a gallery, a field beneath the stars, a poem, a melody, a simple act of kindness. 

For every masterpiece begins with a way of seeing. 

And every act of seeing begins with wonder. 

Picture this.

Tickets: $20 Adults, $15 Senior, $10 Youth
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