CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (Oct. 6, 2022) — Thomas More University partners with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (CCO) to present Healing & Understanding: We Are One, a five-day festival featuring lectures and concerts that takes place Oct. 22-26, 2022, at locations throughout the greater Cincinnati area along with several virtual options. The festival is funded through a generous grant provided by ArtsWave.

Festival programming features a strong Thomas More University presence with the Thomas More choruses, Daniel Parsley, DMA, assistant professor of music in the department of creative media, Jillian Harrison-Jones, DMA, adjunct professor of music, and local artist Michael Thompson who graduated from the University in 2021, all taking part in events. As Visual Artist-in-residence, Thompson will create a piece of art over the five-day festival to be revealed at the final event. Parsley, who is also the CCO’s assistant conductor, leads the festival.

“At the most basic level, Healing & Understanding seeks to offer a platform for conversations to highlight both the strengths and shortcomings of our community,” says Parsley. “The festival is the product of nearly two years of visioning, planning, partnering, and seeking understanding. Both Thomas More University and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra found common passion in creating a platform for equity in our community. We are thankful for our collaborators, venues, sponsors, and artists for making this festival possible.”

The festival utilizes music and artistic expression as a method to explore race and justice in America and invites open conversation and exploration of these issues through conversation and significant community partnerships. Highlights include free admission to the National Underground Railroad Center on Sunday, Oct. 23 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. with pop-up performances by several local performing arts groups as well as a culminating concert at Christ Church Cathedral on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. with more than 150 musicians preforming together. All events are free to attend, although reservations are required to ensure venue attendance limitations are not surpassed. Additional artistic collaborators include the Cincinnati Youth Choir, Cincinnati Boychoir, MUSE, Cincinnati Men’s Chorus, Voices of Hartford, Classical Roots, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, ArtsWave, and more.

For additional information on the festival and to register for events, visit: www.ccocincinnati.org/healingunderstanding/.

For more information about Thomas More University, visit www.thomasmore.edu.

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About Thomas More University

For 100 years, Thomas More has created a university for the student who wants to Be More, Do More, Seek More, Win More, Achieve More, and Create More. Since its founding in 1921, Thomas More has provided a mission-driven, liberal arts education that is based in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. Students learn to harness the power of human reason to solve problems and discover truth, which allows them to begin the journey to become the person they were created to be. Entering into the second century, it’s time for More. Serving more than 2,000 students, Thomas More aspires to be the premier Catholic university in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region, build upon its excellent return on investment (ranked #1 among private universities/colleges in Kentucky by MSN Money in 2021 and ranked #2 for long term gain in Kentucky by a 2022 Georgetown University study) and share with this generation the transformative power of the Thomas More experience. To find out more, visit thomasmore.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lyna Kelley, director of communications and PR, [email protected], 859.344.3309