Dr. Mark St. Cyr, the native New Orleanian musician and composer, will present his multidisciplinary music suite What We Carry on August 29 at the Marigny Opera House.
As Aug. 29 marks the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s second and third landfall and its devastating effects on New Orleans, it’s impossible to remove Dr. St. Cyr’s What We Carry–with the name’s reference of a communal burden–from the city’s emotional remembrance of past trauma. But, the name also seems to carry other, more personal but undoubtedly happier connotations for Dr. St. Cyr.
“Musicians would inquire now and again was I kin to Johnny St. Cyr, as the last name’s not all that common, but I had no idea I was actually related to him ‘til I hired a genealogist,” said Dr. St. Cyr, who graduated from St. Augustine High School and Xavier University. “It was pretty neat learning this, wonderful actually!” In this sense it’s just as easy to think of What We Carry in light of everyone’s invisible baggage, like Dr. St. Cyr who unknowingly carried the musical inheritance of Johnny St. Cyr–a rhythmic banjoist who helped pioneer New Orleans music in the early 20th century.
Cultural baggage plays a large role as well, but Dr. St. Cyr is adamant in focusing on where we’re going and how far we’ve come, rather than a singular focus on the often dark places we’ve been. “Although we could’ve performed it at any number of venues, our choice to use the King Center (Dr. Martin Luther King Multipurpose Center) on the north side for that first show just felt right,” said Dr. St. Cyr. “To witness all these different people, a standing-room-only audience, including the elderly (who were shown respect and themselves weren’t standing) to teenagers from the area, and then you had your jazz aficionados and artsy folks, well I think we could make Dr. King proud. That meant a lot to us, plus it was just fun!”
What We Carry is an experiment in reclaiming trauma, owning it and triumphantly becoming stronger because of it. Dr. St. Cyr is excited to bring the show back to his birthplace, where he’ll be working with Jennifer Dove Cooper and dance choreographer Jarrell Hamilton.
Doors for the event open at 6:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m. After the show, limited merchandise and artwork will be on sale to support local artists. The Marigny Opera House is located at 725 St. Ferdinand St. General admission is $15. Student and senior pricing is $10. For more information about the show and ticket prices, visit the Marigny Opera House website, here.
