Conductor Jason Tramm And Los Angeles Opera Composer/Director Eli Villanueva Reunite For THE WHITE BIRD OF POSTON

With the opera "The White Bird of Poston" noted conductor Jason Tramm is reunited once again with Los Angeles Opera composer/director Eli Villanueva and librettist Leslie Stevens in collaboration with the Count Basie Center for the Arts, for the East Coast premiere of the opera, in association with the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts for two performances August 25th at 2:00pm and 6:00pm in Toms River, New Jersey.

"The White Bird of Poston" was inspired in part by the watercolor paintings of Chizuko Judy Sugita de Quieroz, who was imprisoned in Poston as a nine-year-old. Set during J War II in a Japanese internment camp, The White Bird of Poston tells the story of Akiko a Japanese teenage girl who forms a bond with a Native American boy while living at the Poston Internment Camp, located on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in Arizona. Facing the challenge of her false imprisonment, Akiko meets a Native American boy, encounters a talking coyote, and communicates with the spirit of her grandmother. Lessons in courage, faith and even understanding of one's own prejudice are major themes in this work.

Poston was built on the Colorado River Indian Reservation, over the objections of the Tribal Council, who refused to be a part of doing to others what had been done to their tribe. However, Army commanders and officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs overruled the Council, seeing the opportunity to improve infrastructure and agricultural development (which would remain after the war and aid the Reservation's permanent population) on the War Department budget and with thousands of "volunteers." The combined peak population of the Poston camps was over 17,000, mostly from Southern California. At the time Poston was the third largest "city" in Arizona. A single fence surrounded all three camps, and the site was so remote that authorities considered it unnecessary to build guard towers.

As with director Villanueva and Tramm's 2017 collaboration on the production of "Brundibár and Friedl" the opera "The White Bird of Poston" culminates as a fully staged and orchestrated production featuring a cast of talented young singers, students in the Basie's Performing Arts Academy second annual opera camp. The opera camp offers young performers the invaluable experience of singing in a fully staged, professional opera production guided by critically respected opera artists. The opportunity is enhanced by the fact that the Basie Performing Arts Academy opera leadership Eli Villanueva, and Tramm are well regarded educators too. Villanueva leads LA Opera's acclaimed education and community engagement department and Tramm serves as an Assistant Professor with Seton Hall University's College of Communications and the Arts where in 2017 he was awarded the distinction of Seton Hall University's 2017 Teacher of the Year.

In addition to their operatic training, addressing the art form's unique technical demands, students participate in activities designed to give them greater insight into the context of the opera and the transformative power of art. "It's been an honor working with Eli Villaneva and these young singers in bringing "The White Bird of Poston" to life - once again watching the development of the cast, many of whom performed in "Brundibár and Friedl" as they delve into the courageous characters of the men, women and children who lived through Poston with humanity.

Info http://www.grunincenter.org/ and phone 732.255. 0500

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