Musicians to 'Rattle the Walls' for justice at Tree of Life UU

Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 5603 Bull Valley Road in McHenry, will host the inaugural concert of Rattle the Walls, a Chicago-based group of musical activists, at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18. The concert will benefit the American Civil Liberties Union.

Founded by Forest Ransburg, who is also Tree of Life's music director, Rattle the walls is a new organization of accomplished Midwest musicians dedicated to "bring music to a world in need of music, to give aid to those in need of aid, and to stand tall against those who need to be stood up to."

"Our first concert will feature a diverse group of musicians from around the Midwest and will feature a variety of instrumentations and genres, including contemporary art music, pop, jazz, classical masterpieces, and more," Ransburg said. "Our group is about inclusion, and our diverse programming is reflective of that goal."

Each Rattle the Walls concert will benefit an organization working for social justice.

Donations can be in the form of a personal check made out to the ACLU, a cash donation, or a printed receipt of an online donation that was made earlier in any amount.

Among the musicians performing will be Jesse Lyons and Jordan Knudson, a voice and guitar duo from Chicago; singer/songwriter Cassandra Vohs-Demann of Woodstock; vocalist Carrie McDonald of McHenry; classical soprano Dana Vetter of Milwaukee; oboist Jen Gardner of Chicago; jazz and contemporary multi-instrumentalist Devin Fanslow of Chicago; multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Mula of Chicago; Ransburg, a contemporary art music multi-instrumentalist; and the Tree of Life Choir which recently toured in Europe.

The concert is also the second in a series of special events organized by Tree of Life's Social Justice Team "responding to looming threats to American values of freedom, democracy, and justice with joy and employing the power of the arts."

The first was the "Justice for All Ball" in January. On March 10 there will be a Poets in Resistance reading and rally at the church.

There will be adult beverages, coffee, and soft drinks available and baked goods for sale to help defer expenses of the program.

For information, call (815) 322-2464, e-mail office@treeoflifeuu.org.

Visit treeoflifeuu.org or www.facebook.com/UUMcHenry/.