Esther Kaiser (voc.) & Rüdiger Krause (git.)
"A tribute to Charlie Haden and Abbey Lincoln"
“Courage is a matter of the heart, of the core of a person, therefore on can use courageous as a synonym for brave (the French and English word courage is derived from coeur).”
(From: Paul Tillich “The Courage to Be”)
“I was looking for ways to express social issues through my medium, the music. And to open my mouth – in the truest sense of the word. This is important to me, right now, with the current issues, the mood in our society and this sometimes irreconcilable split between people and opinions. Nina Simone once said “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times” – I see it very similar “- Esther Kaiser replies to the question about the motivation for the new album.
"Esther Kaiser’s artistry lies in her ability to make something grave sound light and playful."
(Nürnberger Nachrichten)
"As soon as she enters the stage, the sun comes up. Vocalist Esther Kaiser has the kind of charisma that can brighten gloomy days."
(Hessische Niedersächsische Allgemeine Zeitung)
Esther Kaiser, born in Freiburg i. Br. (Germany) in 1975, has been one of the country’s most versatile and genre-bending representatives of contemporary German vocal jazz for several years. As a recording artist, jazz professor at the „HfM Dresden“ and live performer who is involved in a variety of projects, she constantly seeks to merge jazz and improvisation with different musical styles.
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The Rev. Dr. Robert Moore
The Christian faith came to Robert in the context of the Baptist tradition. His curiosity about liturgical worship and exposure to the sacred texts and music of the church propelled him toward the Lutheran Church. He earned the Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Rice University with his dissertation entitled The Gospel and Narrative Performance: The Critical Assessment of Meaning-as-Correspondence in D. F. Strauss and R. Bultmann (May 1992). He completed training in clinical pastoral education at Memorial Hermann Hospital and St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in the Texas Medical Center and served as a chaplain in both institutions for a combined three years.
Dr. Moore served on the Faith Community Work Group of the Mental Health Association. He also serves on the Professional Advisory Group for the Department of Spiritual Care and Education at The Methodist Hospital. He serves on the board of directors of Bach Society Houston and is a past president of the Houston-Leipzig Sister City Association. He has served on the board directors of Holocaust Museum Houston and of Southampton Civic Club. He has served as adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas. He serves on the Board of Regents at Texas Lutheran University and was elected in 2011 to the church council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
He is married to Kathryn Wattenburger Moore. Together they have acquired facility with the German language and have lived for extended periods in Germany and Switzerland. They have organized numerous tours to German-speaking regions of Europe. In 2005 Dr. Moore served for four months as guest pastor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany with support of a grant from the National Clergy Renewal Program of Lilly Endowment, Inc. and since then he fostered numerous connections between Leipzig and cities and citizens in the US. In 2013 the president of the German Federal Republic, Joachim Gauck, conferred upon Pastor Moore the Order of Merit (Verdienstorden), the highest honor that the Republic of Germany bestows on citizens and foreigners. Pastor Moore received the Federal Cross of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande) on January 14, 2013. The Mayor of Leipzig, Burkhard Jung, awarded Pastor Moore with the “Golden Honor Pin” (Goldene Ehrennadel) of the City of Leipzig in June 2013.
From 2016 - 2019 Robert and Kathy begin a three-year call from the Global Mission unit of the ELCA to serve in Leipzig and Wittenberg, Germany during the years around the 500th Anniversary observance of the Reformation in 2017, He serves at present as Director of the ELCA Wittenberg Center and Guest Pastor at St. Thomas Church Leipzig.
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