San Francisco Spring Concert: Mirror of Memory
May 24, 2017 - 12:00 pm
After 3:30 pm on May 24, tickets will only be available at the door, starting at 6:30 pm.
In 2015, MOR introduced itself to San Francisco with a program combining music from the time of the Holocaust with two of our recent major commissions. That concert paved the path for last year’s breakthrough production of Out of Darkness, and we’re excited to announce a return to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in May 2017.
The varied program will bring our next large commission: a new work about the experience of Europe’s Roma during the Holocaust by Armenian-American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian. Kouyoumdjian’s work, to open myself, to scream, shares the story of Romani artist Ceija Stojka, who survived three concentration camps to become a noted painter and writer. The multi-media piece combines electronic music with live chamber music and incorporates compelling visual imagery from the Syrian-Armenian artist Kevork Mourad.
The program also features San Francisco Opera favorite Catherine Cook in a performance of songs from the Vilna Ghetto. Vilna’s Jews held out in proud struggle to defend a unique heritage, and within the ghetto’s walls poetry and music took on special importance. These songs in Yiddish take us on an inspiring journey that spans heartbreak, hope, defiance and even humor. Cook will also perform contemporary American composer Lori Laitman’s moving song cycle The Seed of Dream, based on poetry by Vilna Ghetto survivor and resistance fighter Abraham Sutzkever.
MOR’s instrumental ensemble, featuring musicians from the Seattle Symphony, will also perform Israeli composer Betty Olivero’s klezmer-infused music created for the 1920 silent film The Golem.
