Chamber Music Society Of Lincoln Center Presents COMPOSERS IN FOCUS: MARY KOUYOUMDJIAN

On Wednesday, March 30, 2022 at 6:30pm, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presents Composers In Focus, a digital event celebrating Armenian-American composer and documentarian Mary Kouyoumdjian.

After a discussion with the composer, violinist Jesse Mills, cellist Mihai Marica, double bassist Brendan Kane, clarinetist Todd Palmer, and trumpeter Gareth Flowers will perform Kouyoumdjian's 30-minute to open myself, to scream with visuals by artist Kevork Mourad. Composers In Focus gives audiences a rare opportunity to sit in on intimate conversations between composers and musicians who know each other's work, and in some cases have known each other and worked together for years.

to open myself, to scream (2017) is a portrait piece on Romani artist, writer, musician, and Holocaust survivor Ceija Stojka. Kouyoumdjian says, "What draws me to Stojka's work are her themes of longing for the past and coping with the aftermath of unimaginable trauma. As a granddaughter of Armenian genocide survivors, such themes felt familiar to me within my own culture and family history, and these are common themes in other cultures that have and are continuing to experience mass exterminations. I am a firm believer in the arts as a medium for change, and I hope to continue the conversation about how we empathize with those who experience the unimaginable, and how we can pull from the past to move forward."

Each movement is inspired by various paintings of Stojka's - from her paintings that celebrate her free and vibrant Romani life, to those that explore the horrific experiences she endured during the Holocaust. Composed for mixed ensemble and electronic track, the music often integrates elements of folk music within a contemporary musical language. The ensemble members play amplified with pre-recorded samples of themselves - performing in the present while engaging with the past. Inspired by Stojka's fond memories of her mother, who would calm her with her singing, a distant and intangible voice presents itself throughout the work. The music alternates between polarities of bliss and tragedy, in an effort to understand Stojka's unique perspective, and draws on imagery related to family, community, nature, the seasons, fear, nakedness, and shame. The piece and movements are titled after Stojka's own words.

Learn more at www.chambermusicsociety.org/cms-front-row/online-events/online-events/composers-in-focus-mary-kouyoumdjian/.