AMERICAN COMPOSERS CELEBRATE, MOURN "A VANISHED WORLD"

MOR's Free Series, Sparks of Glory, Brings Pre-War Jewish Existence to Life in Chamber Music

SEATTLE, WA—January 10, 2007—While Seattle-based Music of Remembrance (MOR) is acclaimed for its rediscovery of artists whose work was stifled by censorship or ended by the Holocaust, MOR presents contemporary chamber music related to the Holocaust as well. The second program of its free Sparks of Glory concerts-with-commentary outreach series—Saturday, January 27, at 2:30 p.m. at the Frye Art Museum on Seattle's First Hill—features works by two award-winning American composers, David Schiff and Lori Laitman.

For the program titled A Vanished World, the rich, lively heritage of pre-war Europe's Jewish life is evoked by Schiff's Divertimento from Gimpel the Fool, inspired by Isaac Bashevis Singer's tale of communal life in an Eastern European Jewish shtetl. Laitman's song cycle, The Seed of Dream, is based on the poetry of Abraham Sutzkever, an escapee from the Vilna Ghetto and resistance fighter. Commissioned by MOR for baritone Erich Parce, Laitman's piece had its world premiere in Seattle, at Benaroya Hall, on May 9, 2005. This is its third Seattle performance.

"Lori Laitman possesses an amazing ability to capture the most horrific and the most beautiful of images through lyrical melody. In my opinion, she succeeds in carrying out Sutzkever's dream for healing and renewal," explains MOR Artistic Director Mina Miller, an authority on the music of the Holocaust. "David Schiff's klezmer-like chamber suite, adapted from his opera Gimpel the Fool, is equally extraordinary. It's fascinating how he replaces voices with instruments, and musically captures the essence of 19th-century shtetl life. The piece sparkles."

The performers for the January 27 program, drawn from the Seattle Symphony and Seattle's leading chamber groups, include pianist Judith Cohen, clarinetist Laura DeLuca, cellists Mara Finkelstein and Amos Yang, violinist Jeannie Wells Yablonsky, and baritone Erich Parce, with Miller also performing on piano.

MOR's Sparks of Glory outreach series is hosted by the Frye Art Museum. In each 90-minute concert, Mina Miller shares her insights on the works performed, including a brief history of the composer and context for its creation. The concerts-with-commentary are offered for free because of MOR's mission to ensure the message in this music is heard by the widest possible audience; the Frye's own free admission policy and its intimate, 140-seat auditorium make it a uniquely collaborative partner for MOR.

Free tickets are available from the museum's concierge desk, starting 1:30 p.m. on the day of the performance. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early because these concerts do fill up. The Frye Art Museum is located at 704 Terry Avenue, on First Hill. Free parking is available in the Frye's lot.

Media Contact: Mina Miller, Artistic Director
Ph: 206-365-7770
Email: info@musicofremembrance.org

Sparks of Glory: 2006-07

About Music of Remembrance:
Music of Remembrance (MOR) fills a unique spiritual and cultural role in Seattle and throughout the United States by remembering Holocaust musicians and their art through musical performances, educational activities, musical recordings and commissions of new works. Since its 1998-99 inaugural year, MOR has presented two major concerts annually at Seattle's Benaroya Hall, marking the anniversary of Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) each fall and Holocaust Remembrance Day each spring.