Keene, NH --- An unprecedented rush of sales for the debut performance of "Kaddish," a new work by New Hampshire composer Lawrence Siegel, has led to two additional opportunities to hear the work.   Siegel, who is conducting the performances, has opened the "Kaddish" dress rehearsal for public viewing at 7 p.m., Friday, May 2, with free admission at the Main Theater of the Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond at Keene State College in Keene, NH. (The public is requested to enter quietly as this will be an actual working rehearsal.) 

In addition, a simulcast of the live performance on Saturday, May 3 at 8 p.m, will be played in the Recital Hall at the Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond. Tickets for the simulcast are $5 for students and $10 for adults, with an opportunity to meet the composer and Holocaust survivors at a post-performance reception.   The Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies, one of the nation's oldest Holocaust resource centers, commissioned Siegel to create "Kaddish" in honor of the Center's 25th anniversary. Well-known professional soloists in the production are Peggo Horstmann-Hodes, soprano; Pamela Stevens, mezzo-soprano; Ryan Turner, tenor; and David Ripley, baritone, plus a 50-voice chorus and a chamber orchestra.   In his four-year quest to develop "Kaddish," composer Lawrence Siegel traveled to sites in Poland and the Czech Republic and met with Holocaust survivors around North America. What has emerged is a celebration of the human spirit through the beauty of song and the power of individual testimony. 

The stories that he heard, adapted, and set to music are the core of "Kaddish." The evening-length concert work comprises fifteen movements, each conveying a distinct facet of the survivors' experiences before, during, and after the Holocaust.  For more information about the open dress rehearsal contact the Kaddish Project at 603-358-2300. Tickets for the simulcast are available through the Redfern Box Office at 603-358-2168 or on line at http://www.keene.edu/racbp.