Sara Jean Ford, Alex Gemignani & Drew Gehling Set for 'I BELIEVE...' at Lincoln Center, 11/9

Distinguished Concerts International New York presents a special program dedicated to the remembrance of the Holocaust on Sunday, November 9 at 8:00pm at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. Taking place over Veteran's Day weekend, November 9 also marks the 76th anniversary of Kristallnacht - "The Night of Broken Glass" - the infamous night in 1938 when Jewish institutions and business throughout Nazi Germany and Austria were destroyed, and shards of broken glass littered the streets. The concert features the American premiere of I Believe by Zane Zalis, a large-scale oratorio for choir, children's choir, orchestra, and narrator, and acclaimed Broadway singers Sara Jean Ford, Alex Gemignani and Drew Gehling with conductor Jonathan Griffith. Zalis uses a powerful contemporary musical language to capture the essence of a story of hate, despair, and hope, with words drawn directly from stories of Holocaust survivors. The evening will also feature the New York premiere of In the Shadow of the Holocaust by Donald McCullough, who also conducts. A portion of all ticket sales will go directly to the Holocaust Resource Center of Temple Judea, Manhasset, New York.

Canadian composer Zane Zalis - not himself Jewish, but a child of the Ukrainian Catholic traditions - has transformed heartbreaking stories from survivors into a powerful score with intensely moving lyrics. With a contemporary musical score, funneling the passion and directness of musical theater into the framework of a classical oratorio, I Believe tells a story both dark and triumphant in its 12 movements. Soloists include DCINY favorite Sara Jean Ford, currently reprising her role as Christine Daae in Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera; acclaimed tenor Alex Gemignani, a Drama Desk nominee for roles in LES MISERABLES and Sweeney Todd; and baritone Drew Gehling, well-known for his performances on Broadway in Jersey Boys and in the original revival cast for On A Clear Day You Can See Forever alongside Harry Connick, Jr.

For Zalis, I Believe has universal resonance - relating to many cases in which the human spirit has endured, despite intolerance and unspeakable crimes against humanity. A review following the 2011 world premiere said that the work "resonates with conviction and the need to communicate unimaginable horrors - and ultimately hope - in a contemporary idiom." (Winnipeg Free Press).

In the Shadow of the Holocaust by American composer Donald McCullough began as a work for small ensemble called Holocaust Cantata: Songs from the Camps. Drawing from music and stories housed at the Aleksander Kulisiewicz archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - the largest extant collection of music composed in the Nazi camps - the composer gives a voice to prisoners in concentration camps through a cycle of songs and spoken prose. Since 1998 the work has been heard over 300 times worldwide, including performances in Krakow, Dresden, Berlin, and at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp Memorial. The DCINY concert will mark the New York premiere of the symphonic version, which was written in 2004, and orchestrated by James Kessler. Joining the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and Singers International and Mr. McCullough as conductor are soloists Sara Jean Ford (soprano), Rachel Arky (mezzo-soprano), and Peter Kendall Clark (baritone).

Founded by Iris Derke (General Director) and Jonathan Griffith (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor) Distinguished Concerts International is driven by passion, innovative vision, a total belief in its artists, and unwavering commitment to bringing forth unforgettable audience experiences.