Mission Statement

MISSION
Music of Remembrance fills a unique role throughout the world by remembering the Holocaust through music. With concert performances, educational programs, recordings, and commissions of new works by some of today’s leading composers, MOR honors those of all backgrounds who found the strength to create even in the face of persecution, and those who had the courage to speak out against cruelty. We tell stories that communicate urgent moral lessons for today with a scope that extends beyond the Holocaust itself to the experience of others who have been excluded or persecuted for their faith, ethnicity, gender or sexuality.

HISTORY
Founded by President and Artistic Director Mina Miller in 1998, Music of Remembrance (MOR) is a Seattle-based chamber music organization.

Since our inaugural 1998-99 season, MOR has presented two mainstage concert programs annually at Seattle's Benaroya Hall, marking the anniversary of Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) each fall, and Holocaust Remembrance Day each spring. Introduced by Mina Miller, these mainstage programs combine serious vocal and chamber music with works in popular cabaret and traditional folk styles. Music from the Holocaust era is balanced with contemporary, Holocaust-inspired compositions, all performed by some of Seattle's leading chamber musicians.

As of the 2016-17 season, MOR has presented 31 commissioned music works, 6 dance commissions and produced 2 CDs and 2 documentaries (UNSILENCED and The Boys of Terezín).

Sparks of Glory, MOR's musical witness outreach series, launched in 2005-06 with a residency at the Frye Art Museum, and has been presented free to the public each season since. The series attracts an audience new to chamber music and this musical legacy. Thanks to our commitment to rediscovering forgotten works by Holocaust-era musicians and to performing contemporary pieces and commissions, Sparks of Glory has been funded, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts and Chamber Music America. These 90-minute concerts-with-commentary form the heart of an associated educational outreach program, which reaches hundreds high school and college students annually, from the greater Seattle area to central Washington.