This 6-pillar curriculum teaches the basic literacy we need to be personally and financially successful and to do so in a manner in which together we evolve a culture that supports the emergence of an advanced human civilization.
“My job is to bring some beauty to the world, and people can take it or leave it. I have no more ambition than that.” ~ Samy Moussa
What a discovery! A new favorite composer. Samy Moussa is a young contemporary composer and conductor who takes classical music to an entirely new level. His music is an unusual combination of the language of the classical orchestra with modern expression, simultaneously experimental and traditional in its elements.
Born in Montreal in 1984 and now based in Berlin, Moussa has already built an international reputation. His music has been performed by major orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. Although his style is unmistakably contemporary, it often draws upon older musical traditions as well as monumental symphonic writings in the vein of Anton Bruckner.
What makes Moussa particularly interesting among contemporary composers is his refusal to separate modern music from beauty and feeling. In interviews, he has suggested that his aim is not to deliver political messages or provoke audiences through perplexity, but rather to create works of lasting expressive power. Our pick for Music of the Week reflects this philosophy clearly: it is contemporary in language, yet deep and timeless.
Adgilis Deda is one of Moussa’s most recent orchestral works, a 12-minute “hymn for orchestra” premiered in 2024 by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The title comes from the Georgian language and may be translated as the “Mother of Places.” It is the name of a benevolent goddess, the guardian of a locus, that protects and shelters travelers, and imbues the sacred sites. The piece unfolds slowly through orchestral harmonies and melodic features. Rather than relying on aggressive experimentation, its music feels ceremonial and luminous and liberating.
Hearing this piece in a live performance is an exceptional experience.
