MUSICALS, PLAYS & OTHER NEWS

APRIL, 2009 - KADDISH ON PERFORMANCE TODAY

On Tuesday, April 21, Yom Ha Shoah, Performance Today, the nationally syndicated classical music radio program, presented selections from a major new choral work: Kaddish, written and composed by Lawrence Siegel. For a limited period you may listen online at the Performance Today Archives.

Kaddish is an hour-long oratorio for chorus, soloists and chamber orchestra, whose libretto is fashioned from the testimony of survivors of the Holocaust. Kaddish tells their stories in their own words, providing a window into their lives, allowing us to share their experience directly. As the youngest of the survivors approach their eighties and nineties, this window is beginning to close. Kaddish will allow us to hear their voices forever.

The world premiere of Kaddish took place in Minneapolis, MN, on November 15th, 2008, given by VocalEssence, under Philip Brunelle. On November 18th, 2010, a full symphonic version will be premiered by the Houston Symphony and Houston Symphony Chorus. In the period leading up to that performance, a series of significant workshops and presentations will feature the composer and Holocaust survivors. These activities will be produced by Holocaust Museum Houston in partnership with the Houston Symphony.

Performance Today features live concerts by famous artists in concert halls around the globe, and is one of America's most popular classical music radio programs, with more than 1.2 million weekly listeners on 237 stations around the country. To find your local station and airtime, go to: http://performancetoday.publicradio.org/stations/

Of the premiere performance of Kaddish, the Minneapolis Star Tribune said: "... In its lyrical simplicity, the music created an emotional connection to the story. Kaddish had a gravitas and an emotional immediacy that made even the familiar story of the Holocaust fresh and compelling." The Minnesota Pioneer Press said: "... Joy of a kind born in resiliency emerges like a glow of white light in the final section of Lawrence Siegel's oratorio ... the impact of the conclusion is thrilling."

Kaddish was commissioned by the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies at Keene State College, Keene, NH, one of the nation's oldest Holocaust Resource Centers, in honor of its 25th anniversary. The Center has been recognized as a "Center of Excellence" by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous. It boasts a strong collection of print and media resources and supports a minor in Holocaust Studies at Keene State College.

Kaddish is bringing together a growing group of supporters, friends, and ambassadors, whose common purpose is to use this work of music to raise awareness of the issue of genocide; to take part in an act of tikkun olam (repairing the world). Kaddish hopes to accomplish this work by engendering empathy, not only for survivors of the Holocaust, but for survivors of genocide and oppression everywhere.

For more information about Kaddish please contact the publisher: Larilea 128 Paine Rd. Westmoreland, NH 03467 603-355-8353
larry@tricinium.com

HOUSTON SYMPHONY AND HOUSTON SYMPHONY
CHORUS TO PERFORM KADDISH

On November 18th, 2010, a full symphonic version of Kaddish will be premiered by the Houston Symphony and Houston Symphony Chorus. In the period leading up to that performance, a series of significant workshops and presentations will feature the composer and Holocaust survivors. These activities will be produced by Holocaust Museum Houston in partnership with the Houston Symphony.

DECEMBER, 2008 - MONADNOCK TALES CD RELEASED

Monadnock Tales and the world premier of The Light Staccato of Souls

Recorded in October 2007 at Peterborough Players, Peterborough, NH. Monadnock Tales features an extraordinary, book length poem by Edie Clark. The combined work for chamber ensemble and narrator is a symphonic poem unique in the intricacy of its dialogue between words and music. This chamber version, narrated by Tom Putnam, is performed by a wonderful group of instrumentalists who have made it their own.

The Light Staccato of Souls was commissioned by Tom Putnam in memory of his father, David F. Putnam, a visionary and global citizen committed to his communities. Encompassing three winning entries from Tricinium's poetry contest on the theme of community, these songs emerged as love songs demonstrating the passion of people for the personal, local and everyday: our families, friends, partners, associates and neighbors.

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NOVEMBER 15, 2008 - KADDISH WORLD PREMIERE

VocalEssence, conducted by Philip Brunelle,
Lawrence Siegel, Composer
Minneapolis, MN – The World Premiere of "Kaddish", took place November 15, 2008 as part of the 40th anniversary season of VocalEssence, conducted by Philip Brunelle, featuring soprano Maria Jette, mezzo Krista J. Palmquist, tenor Anders Eckman and bass-baritone James Bohn.

Interest is building around the world- in Houston, Texas, Toronto, Canada, Copenhagen, Denmark, Jerusalem, Israel, and many other places- in hosting performances of "Kaddish."

As Ambassador Richard Swett offered, after the May 3 debut: "I am so impressed and proud of what you have done. The breadth of the impact it will have I predict will be global, but the piece itself possesses a humility and optimism that is unlike any other piece on the holocaust....[T]his piece was one of the most impacting pieces I have ever heard. The libretto was so real it was palpable."