Jay Phillips Center Programs

Sacred Bridge: Earth and Water (JPC Earth Day Concert Event)

Document Type

Performance

Publication Date

4-22-2026

Sponsoring Department(s)

Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning

Abstract

Care for the earth and the sanctity of water are central motifs in David Jordan Harris and Nirmala Rajasekar’s new artistic co-creation, Sacred Bridge: Earth and Water. Building on more than a decade of musical collaboration, Harris and Rajasekar weave music, poetry and folktales into a concert drawing on the deep pool of Sephardic piyyutim and kantigas and South Indian Carnatic ragas and improvisations.

The concert is co-produced by the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas and the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at Saint John’s University.

Nirmala Rajasekar is one of the most well-known Carnatic musicians in the world today. She has studied with veteran veena and vocal Gurus of India who were both renowned performers and teachers.  A dynamic Saraswati veena player, vocalist, composer and educator, Nirmala has appeared in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, and Symphony Space in the USA and many venues around the world. In her four-decade-long career, Nirmala has created innovative works expanding the possibilities of traditional Carnatic music. She is an A-TOP rank graded artist of Indian Radio and Television. Nirmala has been honored for her work throughout her career, including awards in the 2025/2026 international Music and Dance Festival in India from several well-known Indian organizations. She has received the highest civilian recognition/award of ‘Kalaimamani’ award from the Government of Tamil Nadu, India, and is a recipient of both the Bush and McKnight Fellowships. A passionate educator and equity advocate, Nirmala serves as a Vice President of the Global Carnatic Musicians’ Association (GCMA), India, and on the Board of Directors of Dhvani, a nonprofit organization promoting the arts in Central Ohio. She has served as Chair and Co-chair of the Board of Directors of the American Composers Forum. Nirmala has been passing on the wonderful oral tradition of Carnatic music to students for over 30 years. She regularly visits colleges, universities, and schools as a visiting faculty and has been on the roster of teaching artists of COMPAS in Minnesota. In 2019 Nirmala formalized her service when she–along with a group of like-minded people–created the nonprofit organization ‘Naadharasa’ with the mission of ‘ building bridges through music’.

David Jordan Harris is co-founder and Artistic Director of Voices of Sepharad. He has pursued study and performance of Sephardic music throughout North America, Morocco, Greece, France, Israel, Turkey, Poland, Bosnia, and Spain. Integrating his skills as a singer, actor, and dancer, David has appeared as guest artist with Zorongo Flamenco, Katha Dance Theatre, Illusion Theater, Corning Dances and Company, Rose Ensemble, North Star Opera, Walker Art Center, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Minnesota Opera, Lyra Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Espan᷉ol, and In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre. David has co-authored four plays and composed music for the film Romania 1941/Rwanda 1994. He was founding Executive Director of Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council and has served as interfaith arts consultant for the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas since 2010.       www.voicesofsepharad.com

Percussionist mick laBriola is a founding member of Voices of Sepharad. He has dedicated his life’s work to cultural music, encompassing dance, theater, workshops, and residencies. mick has accompanied Carmela Greco, Gloria de Jerez, Poco Fonta, Christian Lozano, Simon Shaheen, Jaco Mueller, Deepak Bajrucharya, Sakher Hattar, Floyd Westerman, Devon Evans and Ed Volker. He is a noted music educator and has worked as a roster artist with the Minnesota State Arts Board, WAITS, Compas, Young Audiences of Minnesota, and the Nevada Arts Council. www.micklabriola.com

David Burk plays a variety of stringed instruments, including ‘ud and guitar, and has studied numerous Middle Eastern, Latin, and African musical traditions. He has performed live with The Rose Ensemble, Yair Dalal, Georges Lammam, Vanessa Paloma, Ethnic Dance Theatre, Robayat and many others. His recorded compositions and arrangements can be heard in various film and television productions. David has performed with Voices of Sepharad since 1998.

Yaron Klein is a violinist, oud player, and a scholar of premodern Arabic literature and Arab music. He is an Associate Professor of Arabic and director of Middle East Studies at Carleton College, where he also teaches oud. Yaron was trained in both (Western) classical violin, studying with Avigdor Zamir (Haifa) and Maurice Crut (Paris), and in Arab music, studying with Bassam Saba (NYC) and Taiseer Elias (Haifa). He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 2009. Yaron is a member of the Minneapolis based Amwaaj ensemble.

Thanjavur K. Murugaboopathi is one of the leading mridangam players of today. Hailing from a family of musicians and artists, Murugaboopathi had his initial training from Vidwan Sri T R Srinivasan. Murugaboopathi has performed with virtuosos in Carnatic music, including Sri M. Balamuralikrishna, Sri T. V. Sankaranarayanan, Sri T. N. Seshagopalan, Sri P.S. Narayanswamy, among others. He has also collaborated with Hindustani musicians including Ustad Sultan Khan, Ustad Shahid Parvez, and Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Murugaboopathi travels extensively to USA, UK, Europe, the Middle East, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

Composer/vocalist Shruthi Rajasekar is a McKnight Composer Fellow with the American Composers Forum, Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, Associate of the Royal Northern College of Music (ARNCM), winner of the Global Women in Music Award from the United Nations, and recipient of a Marshall Scholarship from the Government of the United Kingdom. Her music draws from her deep roots in Carnatic and Western classical traditions. Shruthi’s compositions have been featured at the Royal Albert Hall, Cannes Film Festival, Mumbai’s National Centre for Performing Arts, Singapore’s Victoria Hall, and the United Nations’ COP 26 (Glasgow, UK). www.shruthirajasekar.com

Srivatsan Lakshminarasimhan is a versatile harmonium player known for his exceptional skill and deep understanding of Indian classical music. He has performed at numerous prestigious music festivals and sabhas in Chennai and abroad. Srivatsan has accompanied several eminent artists in traditional Carnatic lec-dems, Namasankeertanam exponents in various Divya Nama Sankeertanam and Radha Kalyana Mahotsava events in India, the USA and Australia. He is actively involved in organizing and accompanying for Nama Sankeertanam events in the Twin Cities and volunteers for Global Organization for Divinity, Minnesota Chapter.

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