Current Season

The SMU Reading Series is back for the fall season with a kick-off musical event at the Halifax Public Library, Central Branch:

Wed. 16 Oct. 2024 at 7 p.m., in the Paul O’Regan Hall

THE SIGN OF JONAS, an apocalypse folktale

by Luke Hathaway & Benton Roark; performed by Benton Roark & Mother Country

Sparse in construction, timeless in imagery, arcane in meaning, mythological in characters and narrative, The Sign of Jonas is an apocalypse folk tale — a story of personal and cultural collapse, and regeneration.

Join us as we bring to life this song cycle lost and found. The fragments of text speak of journeys, of death and rebirth, of decay and regrowth; the music, blending Baroque polyphony, art song, old-timey, and ambient styles, is a ceremonialized cycle of part songs, responsorials, rounds, and incantations.

This event is free and open to the public; supported by the Halifax Public Library, the SMU Reading Series, ANIMA, & Arts for Everyone.