PRAYER FOR PEACE: THE POWER OF ONE VOICE to Come to Life in NYC and at NJPAC
By: BWW News Desk Oct. 12, 2017
The classical concert "Prayer for Peace: The Power of One Voice" will come to life in two successive concert appearances: in New York City on October 16th and in New Jersey's NJPAC, the state's preeminent concert hall on October 27th at 8PM.
Both New York and New Jersey concert performances will be led by noted American conductor Jason Tramm who initiated the first classical peace trilogy in 2015, culminating at Carnegie Hall. Tramm' s classical peace concerts, inspired by Leonard Bernstein's artistic mandate "This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before," have been embraced by numerous classical music artists and organizations throughout the tri-state area and will figure prominently as collective celebrations of National Arts and Humanities Month and Discover Jersey Arts Month during October.
On October 16th the classical concert series "PREformances with Allison Charney" will present two selections from "Prayer for Peace: The Power of One Voice." Acclaimed violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins, recently celebrated in Bartlett Sher's Broadway production as the first female fiddler in "Fiddler on the Roof" (following in the cinematic footsteps of the legendary violinist Isaac Stern) together with PREformances host and founder, soprano Allison Charney, will play contemporary composer Moshe Knoll's exquisite Psalm 133.
PREformances October 16th concert will also feature Jason Tramm conducting the infrequently performed "A Survivor from Warsaw" with veteran actor of film, screen and stage Jordan Charney whose role is central to Arnold Schönberg's haunting cantata. In his composition the composer insists the part of the narrator is spoken rather than sung.
"Never should there be a pitch" to its solo vocal line, wrote Schönberg. Originally scored for narrator, men's chorus and orchestra, a special appearance by 15 male members of the Seton Hall University Chorus will perform alongside Mr. Charney. Shocking and moving as it was when it was composed in 1947, Schönberg's "A Survivor from Warsaw, Opus 46" was commissioned by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation and was premiered by New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in 1948.
The New Jersey premiere of the classical peace concert cycle's culmination, "Prayer for Peace: The Power of One Voice" taking place during Discover Jersey Arts Month on October 27th will feature conductor Jason Tramm behind the podium at NJPAC's majestic Prudential Hall. The concert will bring together over 200 musicians and singers from throughout the state. Over 200 Professional musicians and singers will come from New Jersey's venerable arts organizations from Bergen, Morris and Monmouth County as well as New York City.
Tramm's selection of sacred and secular masterworks for the NJPAC concert will also include contemporary composers Moshe Knoll's Psalm 133 and Latvian composer Peteris Vasks' "Dona Nobis Pacem" for choir and strings. "Our classical repertorie is a celebration of the power of music to unite and inspire" said Tramm. "Each of these varied works reflects on the power of one voice to inspire change. Vasks' Dona Nobis Pacem is a prayer for Peace in a shattered world. The Latvian composer grew up under fierce Soviet religious repression, the son of a Baptist Pastor, he was even denied entrance into the conservatory in his native country due to his religious beliefs. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe has witnessed an incredible blossoming of sacred music, this minimalist work is a fine example. Israeli born composer, Moshe Knoll's setting of the Psalm 133 is both a serene and powerful evocation of King David's call for unity, issued over three millennia ago."
In Prudential Hall's glorious setting, PRAYER FOR PEACE; THE POWER OF ONE VOICE will feature the MidAtlantic Opera Orchestra and the full Seton Hall University Chorus in Arnold Schönberg's "A Survivor from Warsaw", once again featuring actor Jordan Charney as the central narrator - followed by Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Opus 125. Regarding the pairing of both works, Maestro Tramm says "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is one of the greatest works of classical music, in this piece, Beethoven fuses the genres of symphony and cantata in a combination that would forever change the world. Beethoven had been obsessed with Schiller's "Ode to Joy," with its Enlightenment call for universal brotherhood, and had been contemplating setting it to music for over twenty years. I believe that as the composer slowly succumbed to complete deafness, the poignancy of the human connection that he lost became even deeper. Through Beethoven's desire to connect, he has become that one voice that speaks, and will continue to speak to us through the generations. I have paired this work with Arnold Schoenberg's gut-wrenching "A Survivor from Warsaw," Op. 46. Schoenberg's 12-tone technique combined with the text he modified from a Warsaw Ghetto survivor, combine to create a deeply painful work that is a tribute to all the victims of the Holocaust.
Featured soloists in Beethoven's will include soprano Allison Charney, former leading lady with the New York City Opera (and founder and host of NYC classical concert series "PREformances with Allison Charney" at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center) and Metropolitan Opera stars baritone Mark Delavan, tenor Adam Klein and mezzo soprano Karolina Pilou.
Prayer for Peace: The Power of One Voice's New Jersey premiere represents a unique joint venture produced by Seton Hall University's School of Diplomacy and International Relations and College of Communication and the Arts together with the Morristown based MidAtlantic Opera. Inspired by Leonard Bernstein's artistic mandate, the classical music concert dedicated to music's role as an instrument of peace will honor long time New Jersey arts champion Luna Kaufman as a life time Peace Messenger. Luna Kaufman, Holocaust survivor, educator, activist, author and lecturer served as the New Jersey Opera Board President and was responsible for bringing Hans Krasa's Brundibar to North American audiences in 1988 and played a crucial organizational role in the creation of the Liberation Monument, in New Jersey's Liberty Park. A trustee and chairperson emerita of the Sister Rose Thering Fund for Jewish-Christian Studies, Kaufman is the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University in 2009 as well as the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit, given to her by the president of Poland in 2011.
Of the collaboration Andrea Bartoli, Dean of the School of Diplomacy and International Relations said "Through this musical experience, and the generosity of many supporters and concert-goers, we hope to shine a light on the important role of music in diplomacy," explains Andrea Bartoli, Dean of the School of Diplomacy and International Relations. The School of Diplomacy, along with the College of Communication and the Arts, are co-sponsors of Prayer for Peace. "The power of one voice to make a change is a powerful force in art and international affairs," says Deirdre Yates, Dean of the College of Communication and the Arts. "The musical works will highlight the need for all of us to actively pursue peace and mutual understanding." The College of Communications and the Arts has been active in promoting Prayer for Peace: The Power of One Voice" as a member organization of Jersey Arts/ArtPride.
"Our goal," Bartoli adds, "is to reflect on the contribution that the arts have made to peace in conflict situations, and to raise funding for scholarships that will enable young men and women affected by conflict to attend Seton Hall." Proceeds from the concert will fund a scholarship to aid refugee students to pursue a degree from Seton Hall.
IF YOU GO:
PREformances with Allison Charney
Concert Synopsis for October 16, 2017 at 1PM
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center
129 W 67th Street, New York, NY 10036
PRAYER FOR PEACE: THE POWER OF ONE VOICE
Friday October 27 at 8PM
NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (NJPAC)
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