Granite State Stuff : Holocaust

"Kaddish" Performed To Sold-Out Audience

AskLisa — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:28:00 GMT

Keene, NH --- The Redfern Arts Center at Keene State College was sold out May 3, 2008 for debut performance of "Kaddish," a major new work for chorus, soloists and chamber orchestra by New Hampshire composer Lawrence Siegel. Over five hundred guests, including Holocaust survivors from around the country, Holocaust scholars, and numerous dignitaries – including the widow of U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos, (CA) the only Holocaust survivor to serve in the United States Congress – attended the debut. Other dignitaries included former New Hampshire Governor Walter Peterson; U.S. Congressman Paul Hodes (NH); David Caruso, Antioch University New England President. The performance drew such interest that a public "simulcast" of the May 3 performance was added, with seating in the art center's Recital Hall. Following several standing ovations for the composer, the soloists, the orchestra and chorus, two hundred audience members attended a post-performance reception where they met the composer, the performers and Holocaust survivors. Keene State College President, Helen Giles-Gee called the evening "nothing short of remarkable."

The performance was preceded by a dinner at the Spaulding Gym at the College, attended by over five hundred guests, and included an in-absentia tribute to the founder of the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies, Dr. Charles Hildebrandt.

"Kaddish: Music of Remembrance and Hope" will be performed next at the Ted Mann Concert Hall in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in its professional world premiere with the vocal ensemble VocalEssence, under the direction of maestro Philip Brunelle. That performance is November 15, 2008, as part of the 40th anniversary season of VocalEssence, with ticket sales beginning July 1. VocalEssence is internationally recognized for the innovative exploration of music for voices and instruments and the world premiere of Kaddish continues that tradition.

"Kaddish" was commissioned by The Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies in Keene to mark its 25th anniversary. The composition was intended to use the power of music to teach about the Holocaust and to emphasize the responsibility we share in preventing future tragedies, according to Jan Cohen, executive producer. "Genocide is an ongoing global crisis," Cohen said. " The fact that the intentional and systematic destruction of entire cultures continues makes 'Kaddish' relevant to people of all backgrounds."

Siegel traveled to Poland and the Czech Republic and met with Holocaust survivors in North America to prepare his composition. The stories he collected were adapted, set to music and eventually became the 15-movement piece now known as "Kaddish." A "Kaddish" is a traditional Jewish prayer for the dead, yet it celebrates life.

The performance in Keene included soloists Peggo Horstmann-Hodes, soprano; Pamela Stevens, mezzo-soprano; Ryan Turner, tenor; and David Ripley, baritone, plus a chorus of 50 voices and a chamber orchestra.

The American Composers Forum awarded one of about 150 Continental Harmony grants to the composer to help underwrite the creation of Kaddish. Kaddish was also funded in part by a grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

More information may be found at http://www.kaddishproject.org or call 603-358-2300 To purchase tickets for November 15, 2008 performance, more information may be found at http://www.vocalessence.org.

New opportunities to experience "Kaddish" announced

AskLisa — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:18:00 GMT

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.

Celebrating Our Shared Humanity: "Kaddish" to Debut in Keene

AskLisa — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:19:00 GMT

Keene, NH --- On May 3, the voices and lives of those touched by the Holocaust will be transformed into a compelling musical experience in the debut performance of the "Kaddish," a new work by New Hampshire composer Lawrence Siegel.

Commissioned by the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies at Keene State College, "Kaddish," will be performed for the first time on Saturday May 3, 2008 at 8:00 P.M. at the Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond in Keene, New Hampshire.

The Cohen Center, one of the nation's oldest Holocaust resource centers, commissioned Siegel to create "Kaddish" in honor of the Center's 25th anniversary. A chorus of 50 voices, professional soloists and a chamber orchestra will perform the work at this debut performance.

The word "Kaddish" refers to the traditional Jewish prayer for the dead, recited as part of the mourning rituals at funerals and on the anniversary of the death of a loved one. A Kaddish focuses on the sanctity of life.

The personal nature of "Kaddish" inspires more than just empathy. "It's a unique opportunity to use the power of music to teach about the Holocaust," says Jan Cohen, executive producer of the "Kaddish" Project. "It emphasizes the Jewish principle of 'tikkun olam' – healing, or repairing the world, and expresses our collective responsibility to make the world a better place."

According to Cohen, "Kaddish" is not merely a tribute to the victims of the Holocaust, but about lifting our voices to prevent tragedies like it in the future.

"We're hoping to enlighten people about the genocides that are occurring today," she says. "Genocide is an ongoing global crisis. In places such as Rwanda, Darfur, Congo, Kenya and the former Yugoslavia, communities have been devastated by ethnic violence. The fact that the intentional and systematic destruction of entire cultures continues makes 'Kaddish' relevant to people of all backgrounds."

In his two-year quest to develop this new work of music, 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 come through the music are the core of "Kaddish." The evening length concert work is a cycle of songs in fifteen movements, each conveying a distinct facet of the survivors' experiences before, during, or after the Holocaust.

Siegel wrote "Kaddish" to include elements of folk music, weaving in themes and melodies suggestive of klezmer and other traditions. "As a musical composition for chorus and chamber ensemble, 'Kaddish' is quite distinctive," he says. "It can bridge cultural, racial and religious boundaries—to move, awaken, inform, warn, heal, unite and inspires to acceptance of differences."

Siegel is a composer, artist, scholar and performer with a national reputation. As artistic director and founder of Tricinium, Ltd., and director of The Verbatim Project, he has facilitated participatory, interdisciplinary residencies in the creation and performance of original works of music-theater for more than sixteen years. A three-time Fellow at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, NH, Siegel's grants and awards include a Continental Harmony grant from the American Composers Forum for the production of Kaddish. He has also received three New Works Grants and an Artist Fellowship in Composition from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.

Jan Cohen, an advisory board member of the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies at Keene State College since 1999, considers this an opportunity to reach new audiences. "'Kaddish' is a reminder of our shared responsibility as humans to respond with empathy and understanding, and to confront intolerance, injustice and hatred," she says. "The 'Kaddish Project' transcends Jewish issues—going beyond even the Holocaust itself—to capture the value of remembrance: in recognition of human tragedy, the responsibility to create beauty in the world and celebrate our shared humanity."

The "Kaddish Project" was conceived and launched in partnership with the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies at Keene State College in Keene, NH. It will go on to make its professional world premiere with the renowned vocal ensemble VocalEssence, under the direction of maestro Philip Brunelle, in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 15, 2008, as part of the 40th season of VocalEssence. The Minneapolis performance will be dedicated to the memory of Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress; Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who took action by rescuing Tom, his wife Annette, and many others during the Nazi reign of terror; and Stephen Feinstein, the director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota.

The American Composers Forum has awarded a Continental Harmony grant to help underwrite the making of Kaddish. It was funded in part by a grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

More information may be found at http://www.kaddishproject.org