Art for Change

“I can’t read the text without crying,” American Composer’s Forum composer Maura Bosch says of a choral piece she wrote about family violence from the perspective of the men who commit it. The three-movement work, which is premiered this month by the male vocal ensemble Cantus, is the result of a collaboration between Bosch and men who were in a Tubman Family Alliance anger-management group, some as a condition of their parole. Bosch listened to the men’s stories and fashioned the text for a piece she titled The Turning.

Bosch describes the work as essentially lyrical, but also as an “intense emotional thing.” It represents the feelings, frustrations, and struggles of many men, but is told as though it’s one man’s story. In the first part, “Things You Don’t Know,” the man tells his history and how he ended up as an abuser. In the second, “Then and Now,” he describes the journey from violence to his current circumstance of striving to change. In the final part, “If I Could Say,” the man addresses his long-deceased mother and talks to her about trying to do the right thing and embracing the responsibility of fatherhood.

Bosch expects the piece to be controversial—“I make the men pretty sympathetic,” she says, “and the men of Cantus are extremely persuasive and draw you in.” She’s also concerned about how the women on the other side of the issue are going to react. “But,” she says, “it’s an example of what music can do to influence your way of thinking.” March 10. Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 S. 4th St., Mpls., 651-209-6689