b'The Transformative Powerof MusicMusic is essential to expressing the transformative powers of spiritual experience and the pursuit of justice, as concerts are central to the rich programmatic life of the Chapel.In July, the Songs of Justice series closed with a concert by Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited, who performed deep mbira anthems, rollicking township dance grooves, and refracted glimmers of reggae, R&B, and African jazz outside on the Chapel Plaza. Affectionately known to the world as the Lion of Zimbabwe, Mapfumo has used his revolutionary, spiritually charged music to decry injustice and highlight the historical and cultural issues that underlie Zimbabwes economic and political crises. Throughout the performance, the band shared the origins of the songs, illustrating the many forms and approaches that scholars, musicians, composers, and performers are employing to address social justice issues through music and storytelling, both historically and today.The following spring, the Chapel debuted several world premiere performances, including during the Will and Soul concert featuring Loop38 in May. Inspired by the Chapels mission to illuminate our shared humanity, Houston-based, new music group Loop38 performed contemplative works by George Lewis and Chen Yi that consider humanitys inherent creativity and life force, as well as Carolyn Chens extroverted work exploring our relationship with the environment. The performance concluded with the world premiere of Dream Shadows|Shadow Dreams (2023), a new work by composer Martha Horst featuring poetry byAn additional world premiere of chamber works occurred Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton about hope, aspiration, anda few weeks later in May with Houston Grand Operas the power of creation. culmination of the six-year multi-disciplinary initiative Seeking the Human Spirit, highlighting universal spiritual themes raised in opera. Hosted in collaboration with the Menil Collection, each site presented three new compositions during two simultaneous performances based on the identified themes. The Rothko Chapel hosted the premieres of A Stillness that Moves, composed by Shih-Hui Chen, based on text inspired by the Rothko Chapel on the theme of faith; Drives, composed by Mark Buller, with a libretto Euan Tait on the theme of character; and hela, composed by J.E. Hernndez, set to Nahuatl poems on the theme of transformation. The evening finished with a gathering at Menil Park for a labyrinth walk through an installation by Reginald Adams, performance by 2022 Houston Poet Laureate Outspoken Bean, and collecting meditation beads crafted by Eepi Chad.11'