Mona Majid | Songs of Longing and Persistence | Graduating Student Recital

Songs of Longing and Persistence is my humble attempt to share my experience of overcoming doubt and fear to turn my love of singing into an active dedication to the art of performing music.

Tonight’s program explores the spiritual meaning of love. The keystone of this program is the world premiere of Rúzí ke dúr níst, a new song in Persian composed by Charlotte Koonce, based on the poetry of Mahvash Sabet. Ms. Sabet is currently in prison in Iran because she is a member of the Baha’i Faith, a persecuted religious minority. I share Ms. Sabet’s faith and important aspects of heritage that run throughout my family background. The song is about hope, and her act of courage and fortitude in accepting imprisonment for her beliefs through her strong faith and her unfailing love for humanity.

Many are familiar with 1 Corinthians stating that “Love is patient, love is kind…It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Similarly, in the Hidden Words, a Baha’i scripture, Baha’u’llah states that “For everything there is a sign. The sign of love is fortitude under My decree and patience under My trials.” As a Baha’i, I believe that all religions share the same spiritual teachings at their essence, and that the true purpose of faith is to foster genuine love, unity and understanding among people.

Part One of the program deals with the familiar aspect of longing that we associate with love. Longing is universal and needs no explanation. For three of the songs in this section, I have used the moon as a symbolic image of longing and a common motif running through all of them. Part One also begins with a famous Egyptian song as a tribute to my Arabic family heritage.

Part Two is dedicated to the ways that love shows up in practice as different qualities related to strength and perseverance. Each song represents one of these qualities: Loyalty, hopefulness, devotion, faith, fortitude, and courage. Our featured world premiere takes place in Part Two and honors my Iranian family heritage, as it will be sung in Persian.

I am beyond proud and grateful to have you here to experience this with me. Please accept this program as a sincere gift from the heart.

With love,
Mona Celest Majid

Mona Celest Majid is an American soprano with Iraqi and Iranian heritage. She has loved singing since her childhood and youth, performing enthusiastically in choirs in both high school and at the University of Minnesota. After brief yet meaningful careers in molecular biology and community-focused social work, she began formal private voice training to be a classical soloist at the age of 30 and later entered Longy’s Master of Music program as a nontraditional student. A student of Dr. Dana Varga, Mona enjoys performing a variety of musical styles with a particular enjoyment of new works by living composers that tell poignant and culturally relevant stories. While at Longy, Mona performed the role of Fifth Actress in the musical revue Gertrud in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel and will be performing as Le Prince Charmant in Massenet’s Cendrillon in December 2024. Mona lives in Mission Hill with her wonderful husband and their very emotionally needy pet cat.

Liz Derstine is a pianist and composer based in Greater Boston, renowned for her dynamic collaborations with vocalists and instrumentalists across a wide range of styles, including classical, opera, art song, pop, and music theatre. Her playing and compositions are shaped by her diverse musical background and her connection to the outdoors. Liz has toured internationally as a pop keyboardist and vocalist, performing at iconic venues such as Webster Hall in NYC and the Troubadour in LA, as well as major festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza. Her original music has been featured on television shows like Awkward (MTV) and Wednesday (Netflix). Her compositions are often inspired by time spent in nature, including her thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, and more recently, Kungsleden in northern Sweden. Currently, Liz is pursuing a Master of Music dual degree in Collaborative Piano and Composition at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, studying with Eri Nakamura and Alexandra du Bois.

Marina Sartorello Gomes is a Brazilian classical guitarist and music educator. Her passion for guitar started when she was 11, when she embarked on her musical journey. Despite not coming from a musical family, she found in this instrument a strong cultural identity. Currently, Marina is pursuing her master’s degree in Performance with major in Guitar at Longy School of Music, where she was awarded with the Jo Frances Meyer Longy Fund Scholarship. Prior to this, she successfully completed her bachelor’s studies in Music Education, majoring in classical guitar, at Mozarteum University in Austria. From the onset of her educational journey, she has been teaching guitar for children and adults. Being passionate herself for music and learning new things, helping other people to learn guitar became her primary professional aspiration. She has over five years of experience in teaching classical and popular music to people from various ages, cultures and backgrounds.

Qudrat Wasefi, a visionary young Afghan musician, has harnessed the power of music to defy adversity and advocate for positive change. In 2023, he founded the Afghanistan Freeharmonic Orchestra, aiming to reunite Afghan musicians who have lost connection or hope amidst their homeland’s challenges. His music serves as a catalyst for peace and freedom.