In the age of global transformations, the animating power of art has never been so vital to international dialogues. In history both far past and more recent, music has channeled cultural exchange, bridged world diplomacy, and inspired social progress. This program will trace the impact of song throughout history. The repertoire will feature songs in various languages and styles, from Spanish folk songs, to classical art songs, to newly commissioned songs by female-identifying composers.

Carla Dirlikov Canales is an internationally renowned mezzo-soprano who has also received recognition as a cultural entrepreneur and social advocate. She has been praised by Opera Magazine for a voice that “grabs the heartstrings with its dramatic force and musicality” and is known for her portrayal of Carmen, which she has played close to 100 times in over 12 countries. She is the first singer to receive a Sphinx Medal of Excellence, Michigan Alliance for the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award, University of Michigan Bicentennial Alumni Award, named a Leading Global Thinker by Foreign Policy, engaged as a Turnaround Artist on the President’s Committee for the Arts, and was named one of Musical America’s 30 Movers and Shapers of 2018. In 2016 she founded The Canales Project, a non-profit that gives voice to issues of identity through music.

This is an in-person event, open only to students, staff, and faculty in the Wellesley College testing protocol with their College ID. All others may view the livestream on the Concert Series YouTube Channel.