Adventurous, exciting, and thought provoking, Aurea is dedicated to an interdisciplinary vision of the arts, where words and music intersect at every turn.

The members of Aurea. Photo: courtesy of the artist.

By Mary Paula Hunter

Coincidences abound in the teensy state of Rhode Island, and often to the benefit of all. Case in point: when Consuelo Sherba, the Artistic Director of Aurea, and Nigel Gore, now Aurea’s lead actor, bought houses side by side in the funky little town of Pawtucket. Two more adventurous art makers in the area could not be found, but find each other they did in 2000. Indeed, the minute Gore heard music wafting from the open windows of the Sherba house he recalls that he was transfixed and, in a near stupor, stumbled across the driveway lulled by the gorgeous string-playing of Consuelo and her late husband, the violinist Charles Sherba.

According to Sherba and Gore, Aurea, the boundary blasting group whose performances deftly fuse words and music, was born on that evening. Charles Sherba suggested that they musicalize Ferdinand the Bull and Gore signed on. A sweet tale that embodies what turned out to be the group’s egalitarian spirit suited him just fine. An English born actor trained in performing Shakespeare and Chaucer, Gore eagerly accepted the challenge of blending his skills with those of the  group’s accomplished musicians.

A passion for all of the arts is at the heart of Aurea’s eclectic mission. Today, the group features Sherba’s string quartet, the virtuoso harmonica player Chris Turner (an actor, as well), and Gore, an accomplished performer who is obsessed with the music of words. Projects are worked out among the various artists; the balance regarding words and music is discussed and negotiated as well. Sherba points out that “it is all in service to the work.”

War Music was an early work that Gore and Sherba agree fulfilled their mission and more. Drawing on English poet Christopher Logue’s updating of parts of The Illiad, War Music incorporated Turner’s bold improvisations on the harmonica (which Gore compares to the propulsive sound of John Coltrane), Brown University composer and conductor Paul Phillips’ original music and, of course, the superb performances of Gore and Sherba’s string ensemble. Additional Actors were hired, and the staging toured to NYC, Chicago and, of course, Rhode Island. The project’s ambitious budget almost bankrupted the group but, several productions later, Aurea seems poised to become a Rhode Island stalwart, in the same theatrical league as Trinity Repertory Company and The Gamm.

Up next is Of Nature Composed, which premieres at Brown University’s Granoff Center on November 19. (The presentation is sponsored by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.) This expansive, hybrid work will “explore the intersection of nature, science, the arts and humanities as we celebrate the Pulitzer Prize centennial and the sanctity of our environment.” In this piece, the company meshes the writings of Mary Oliver, Galway Kinnell, Henry David Thoreau, and John Muir with the music of John Luther Adams (The Wind in High Places).

Mary Paula Hunter lives in Providence, RI. She’s the 2014 Pell Award Winner for service to the Arts in RI. She is a choreographer and a writer who creates and performs her own text-based movement pieces.