Music of Remembrance Presents Resiliance

Soprano Vanessa Isiguen stars in the world premiere of Afghan-born composer Milad Yousufi’s new work that blends storytelling and music to give voice to the lived experiences of Afghan women. "Boy and a Makeshift Toy," part of Armenian American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian‘s "Children of Conflict" series, is a poignant portrait that captures the realities of children growing up amid the devastation of war. Spectrum Dance Theater’s award-winning Donald Byrd returns with his phenomenal dancers in premiere choreography of dances to Erwin Schulhoff’s "Five Pieces for String Quartet." Schulhoff, whose iconoclastic challenges to stylistic convention gained him a broad following between the two world wars, faced his end in a Nazi labor camp. Plus, a timeless favorite: selections from "The Three-Penny Opera" by Kurt Weill, in a jaunty arrangement for saxophone quartet! Weill’s music would go on to openly challenge and mock the Nazi regime.