On Sunday, June 25th, guests are invited to join The LOTUS Project on an artistic journey in their upcoming performance, “Path of Miracles.” The show will kick off at 7 pm at Trenton’s Masonic Temple at 100 Barrack St, Trenton, NJ 08608. This multimedia experience will feature Trenton’s professional choral ensemble, The LOTUS Project, alongside an interactive installation completed by Trenton-based visual multimedia artist Chee Bravo. Tickets for this performance are sold on a “pay what you can” model, with a suggested donation of $25 per ticket. Advanced tickets are necessary to guarantee a seat, so if you plan on attending, please feel free to register here: Tickets – LOTUS Project. Tickets will remain on sale until 5:00 pm on June 25th.
“Path of Miracles”, composed by Joby Talbot in 2005, follows the profound journey along the El Camino de Santiago. El Camino de Santiago is noted as a historic venture, with particular importance to those of the Catholic faith. The journey eventually leads its travelers to a shrine of St. James, the Patron Saint of Spain. At the final destination, the Santiago del Compostela, it is widely believed that the apostles are buried at this holy site. Per Pope Benedict XVI, “It is a way sown with so many demonstrations of fervor, repentance, hospitality, art and culture which speak to us eloquently of the spiritual roots of the Old Continent.” In honor of this great voyage, each movement of the “Path of Miracles” performance is rooted in the four main posts of the historic pilgrimage, Roncesvalles, Burgos, León and Santiago.
Trenton Daily had the opportunity to speak with The LOTUS Project’s Artistic Director, Alicia Brozovich, and The LOTUS Project’s resident artist, Chee Bravo, regarding the development of this performance and what the ensemble hopes to impart to its audiences. In discussing what made The LOTUS Project take on this ambitious piece for their capstone performance, Brozovich stated, “One of our core singers and board members had introduced me to it a while ago, in 2015 or 2016, and I came across it again with people asking to consider performing it. The more research I’ve done on it, the more I fall in love with the piece. It’s a beautiful portrayal of the physical, spiritual, and historical hardships and joys of embarking on this 500-mile pilgrimage.”
This project is truly a meeting of the minds, combining the efforts of musicians and artists to create a truly unforgettable performance. Discussing the process of working alongside musical artists, Chee Bravo stated, “It was a pleasure to work with the Lotus Project. Being creatives, too, they understood how I worked and allowed me to do my thing. Their Artistic Director, Alicia Brozovich, was my contact for the project. During several brainstorming meetings it was decided that the focus would be on the finale, the ‘Path of Miracles’ tour. My job was to create an immersive component for this performance.”
The team has been working tirelessly to bring ‘Path of Miracles’ to life, and showtime is finally almost here. Reflecting on the process, Alicia told us more about some of the most rewarding moments along the way: “I think the most rewarding thing for me was the first seven minutes of our first rehearsal together because, for some people, this is their first time singing with Lotus. For some people, like I said, this is a dream piece for them. And it’s certainly going to be the most difficult piece of music I’ve ever conducted. And so in those first seven minutes to start hearing the music come to life after having so little time together, it was incredible.”
Chee also reflected on her favorite part of the process: “The most rewarding part of working on this project was seeing the group’s excitement and connection to my proposal. I ate, breathed, and slept this project ’till the concept was finalized. And it’s rewarding to see one’s vision coming to life in the best possible way. The concept is based on the creation of four stations, liken to the Roman Catholic’s 12 stations of the cross. The stained glass-like pattern on the collages separates the background from the foreground. Each silkscreen involved creating a digital collage in Photoshop then silkscreening the edition by hand on a manual press. There’s an added surprise element of glow-in-the-dark areas in the “Burgos” and “Santiago” silkscreens.”
Continuing, Bravo noted, “At the Trenton location, each pilgrim/visitor will walk under the path of a glowing night sky along a hallway into the hall. They will be invited to place a lit candle and a penned miracle if willing to share at the base of the stations. I was fortunate to visit Burgos, one of the sites along the 500+ mile pilgrimage, while vacationing in Spain in March. Burgos is also the namesake of one of the four-part “Path of Miracles” composition. That visit connected me in a small but meaningful way to the project. It was pure serendipity.”
Both Brozovich and Bravo have hopes for what audiences take away from this immersive experience. In Brozovich’s reflections, she noted, “We live in a society right now where instant gratification is so important to everybody. Everything’s immediate. And there’s actually a lot of discord that’s happened from the immediacy of everything. Everyone’s so busy, and so many people aren’t fulfilled, right? We’re busy, but we’re unfulfilled. We are well fed, but we’re undernourished. We have things like Tinder, yet we can’t find lasting relationships.”
Continuing, she said, “There are moments in this music that get a bit dark, and they get a little hard to listen to. And then there’s just sheer beauty; I think it’s a good hour-long program. If people allow themselves to experience it and, you know, read the text and try to understand what’s happening to the best of their ability, it’s a really good reminder of the power of the journey and persevering through the hard parts.” Meanwhile, Bravo shared, “I wanted to create something as beautiful as the composition. I hope the audience comes away with a truly enlightened experience: a reconnection with their spirit, with each other, or maybe a stranger.”
The LOTUS Project, one of Trenton’s latest artistic ensembles, aims to bring love and light to the Capital City through one-of-a-kind performances and multimedia events. Per their mission statement, “Our mission is to craft immersive musical experiences in which we can encounter the world with new eyes and a renewed sense of wonder.” They seek to host performances in non-traditional venues and use their platform to illuminate the voices of historically excluded populations to share compelling tales of the human experience. The LOTUS Project team is able to leverage their position to then advance humanitarian efforts that benefit the whole of the community.
If you’d like to read more and support their incredible work, you can check out their website here: The LOTUS Project. RSVP for the upcoming performance can be accessible here: RSVP – Path of Miracles. To keep up with the latest updates, be sure to also follow The LOTUS Project on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
The journey of a lifetime starts with a single step, and the “Path of Miracles” invites you to embark on your next great adventure. The LOTUS Project is working their magic on a performance you’re certain to remember, so be sure to secure your tickets today!
