Can a cello performance in an empty museum gallery help us rethink our future?
In short: In June 2020, cellist Thapelo Masita transformed the silent, historic halls of The Met Cloisters into a space for profound reflection. By weaving together Bach, spirituals, and South African hymns, he proposed that music is not just a luxury, but a vital tool for social transformation and human unity.
Recorded on June 15, 2020, in the Unicorn Tapestries Room of The Met Cloisters, Thapelo Masita’s performance was a deliberate response to a period of global turmoil. Masita, a Juilliard graduate and founder of the Free State International Chamber Music Festival, argues that we should not wait for crises to subside before seeking healing. Instead, he suggests that the 'fiery furnace' of difficult times is exactly when we must intentionally reshape our collective thinking to emerge as a more cohesive society.
The program itself serves as a metaphor for this transformation. Masita juxtaposes the structured complexity of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Solo Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major with the raw emotional resonance of Negro spirituals, South African hymns like 'Ha Le Mpotsa Tshepo Yaka,' and the works of African American composer Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson. By demonstrating how these distinct musical traditions can harmonize to create a sound-world defined by peace and belonging, Masita posits that humanity is capable of achieving the same unity. If we are the authors of such music, he reasons, we are also the authors of our own social reality.
Beyond the performance, Masita’s career is dedicated to the idea that art is a catalyst for tangible social change. As a faculty member of the Opportunity Music Project and a founding member of the Uhuru String Quartet, his work emphasizes community building and education. He specifically focuses on empowering women who have survived domestic violence through artistic collaboration. For Masita, the cello is not merely an instrument for aesthetic pleasure but a bridge for connection. His performance at The Met Cloisters stands as a testament to the belief that art can provide the essential framework for hope and community in the face of uncertainty.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: World Music Day—Thapelo Masita at The Met Cloisters | MetLiveArts
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