2012-13 season annual report

®
2012-13 SEASON ANNUAL REPORT
Detail: Stage design for cabaret Karussell, 1944, by Terezín artist František Zelenka. (Courtesy: National Museum, Theatre History Dept. Prague)
®
Mina Miller
President & Artistic Director
2012-13 Board
of Directors
Pamela Center Chair
David Epstein Vice Chair
Nickolas Newcombe
Secretary
Thea Fefer Treasurer
Henry Butler
Carole Ellison
Toni Freeman
Saul Gamoran
Alice Greenwood
Margaret Griffiths
Priscilla Lavry
Joyce Rivkin
Leo Sreebny
Sandra Spear
Gregory Wallace
Frederick Yudin
Stanley Zeitz
Morgan Smith
Artistic Advisor
David Sabritt
Executive Advisor
Advisory Board
Leon Botstein
Samuel Brylawski
John Corigliano
Bob Goldfarb
Richard Goode
Speight Jenkins
Gary Karr
Kurt Masur
Thomas Pasatieri
Murray Perahia
Steve Reich
Toby Saks*
Paul Schoenfield
Gerard Schwarz
David Shifrin
David Stock
Bret Werb
Pinchas Zukerman
* Music of Remembrance
mourns the loss of beloved
Advisory Board member
and friend, Toby Saks
(MOR Advisory Board,
1998-2013).
2
Mission
Music of Remembrance fills a unique cultural role in Seattle and throughout the
world by remembering Holocaust musicians and their art through musical performances,
educational programs, musical recordings, and commissions of new works.
It is well known that the Nazi regime banned performances of music by living and historical
Jewish composers, and by many others they deemed degenerate. Amid the horrors, there
were courageous musicians who dared to create even in the ghettos and camps. It is a
priceless gift that much of this music has survived as moral and artistic defiance in the face of
catastrophe. We must ensure that these voices of musical witness be heard.
The Music of Remembrance (MOR) mission is not religious, nor is its scope limited to
Jewish music. Although the Holocaust was primarily an assault on Jewish people and culture,
others suffered as well in what was history’s most potent instance of totalitarian suppression
of intellectual and creative work. Musicians’ resistance took many forms, and crossed many
national and religious boundaries. This resistance cannot have been in vain. We remember
these musicians by preserving and performing their music. From the depths of human
suffering comes the healing beauty of hope and renewal.
A Letter from the Chair of the Board
I am pleased to report that Music of Remembrance, as we enter our
16th season, is more vital and vibrant than ever. Coming off our landmark
15th birthday celebratory year, our creative team, led by the incomparable
Mina Miller — the ‘giver of life’ and guiding visionary of MOR — is fully
energized. This season MOR will present more concerts, at more venues,
David Epstein with more people in the audience, than in any prior season. Additionally,
we continue to expand our audience beyond the Seattle area. John Sharify’s
incredible documentary, The Boys of Terezín, continues to be screened at film festivals worldwide.
No longer limited to the performance hall or classroom, MOR is also going where our
future audiences are — online. With an expanding presence on social media and electronic
media, we are embracing the future as we continue to honor the past.
Mindful of the challenges facing arts organizations, MOR’s Board of Directors and staff are
fully engaged, not only in overseeing day-to-day operations, but in executing our strategic
plan to ensure a sustainable future.
None of this would be possible without you, our audience and supporters. Your
enthusiastic support enables us to continue our journey. With each new season, with each
new performance, and with every visit to the classroom, you make it possible for Music of
Remembrance to carry out our common mission: ensuring that the voices of musical witness
be heard.
Thank you so much for your continued interest and support. We look forward to a bright
future for MOR with you at our side.
David Epstein, 2013-14 Board Chair
MOR 2012-13 Season Annual Report
A Letter from the President and Artistic Director
Reflections on a Journey
On October 27, 2013, Music of Remembrance celebrated its 15th anniversary with
a party that I will remember always. Fifteen years ago, in 1998, I introduced myself
and MOR to Seattle, my new home and adopted city. Since then MOR has grown in
ways that I could scarcely imagine at the time. It’s been a journey in both “miles” and
“tones,” and I feel proud and privileged to reflect back on them.
What do we remember? Why? And how do we remember a tragedy like the Holocaust
that so many would rather forget? I still have no easy answers, but MOR’s fifteen years
leave me more strongly convinced than ever that music can help in unique ways to
deepen people’s understanding of the Holocaust’s many dimensions.
There have been special highlights, of course. Who could ever forget our 2006
production of Hans Krása’s Brundibár, when Ela Stein Weissberger joined our cast in the
final Victory Chorus? As a child prisoner in Terezín, Ela sang the role of the Cat in
all 55 performances of Brundibár. When she crossed the Benaroya Hall stage and clasped
hands with our “cat,” it was a transcendent moment that brought generations together
across time and history. And then there was our 2012 realization of Viktor Ullmann’s The
Emperor of Atlantis. Ullmann created this daring opera in Terezín, where it could never be
performed because its mocking allegory of Hitler and his war machine was far too dangerous.
When we began fifteen years ago, we were among a small group of pioneers performing
music of Terezín-imprisoned composers such as Krása, Ullmann and Gideon Klein, and
we were among the first to illuminate the extraordinary chamber works of the innovative
Erwin Schulhoff. Since then, our commissioning program has become a core part of our
mission. It is unique in the world, having produced 17 new Holocaust-inspired works by
today’s leading composers. Who could forget Jake Heggie’s musical drama For a Look or a Touch,
depicting the Nazi persecution of homosexuals, or his Another Sunrise and Farewell, Auschwitz,
about Polish resister and poet Krystyna Zywulska and the unimaginable decisions she was
forced to make in order to remain alive? And who could forget Lori Laitman’s oratorio
Vedem, based on the words and lives of a group of about 100 teenaged boys and the secret
magazine they created every week for almost two years in Terezín’s “Home One”? Six of
those boys are still alive, and four of them — now men in their 80s — traveled to our 2010
premiere in Seattle, where they were reunited after almost 70 years. Survivor George Brady
remarked: “Who would have thought in Auschwitz 65 years ago that we would be sitting
together in Seattle? We would have thought we had died and gone to heaven. But the good
thing is that we didn’t have to die to go to heaven.”
It would be easy to bask in the glow of headline events like these, but what makes me proudest
of all is our dedication over the last fifteen years to exploring the full scope of a precious
legacy. We’ve brought new life to music created amid the horrific circumstances of ghettos
and camps across Europe: Warsaw, Vilna, Kovno, Lodz, Sachsenhausen and others. We’ve
performed daring works of protest and satire. We’ve featured the music of composers whose
lives were extinguished and whose potential we’ll never know, and the works of artists who
escaped and built creative careers in exile. We’ve discovered and told new stories that the
whole world needs to hear, and featured works reflecting the diversity of the Holocaust’s
victims, non-Jewish as well as Jewish. As you’ll see in this report, MOR has performed over
120 works by 62 composers. Some of these works were already known, but many others
MOR 2012-13 Season Annual Report
Mina Miller
3
awaited rescue from undeserved neglect. Without exception, though, all of these works are
far more than history lessons, but musical creations with beauty that speaks for itself.
MOR is not music about death. It’s music about courage and heroism, about celebrating
life. It’s about everybody who has faced oppression and stood up to it. We’ve played music
about courageous free-thinking people who dared to stand up for what’s right. About the
experience of gay people who endured persecution. About gypsies. About women. About
children. About people who made a difference with their lives. And about how all of this
matters for us today.
As we embark on new journeys with our MOR friends and family, I thank you for helping
MOR to reach this point, for helping us to make a difference. Your belief in our mission
remains an inspiration to me, and you have my gratitude, always.
Mina Miller
Artistic Director
A REPORT ON MOR’S 2012-13 SEASON
Mainstage Programming: Fall and Spring Concerts
“Ludovic Morlot, in
his first appearance
for MOR, conducted
a 13-piece chamber
orchestra drawn
from the ranks of his
Seattle Symphony with
obvious enthusiasm.
The singing, too, was
excellent, with strong
performances by
Victor Benedetti as the
Emperor, Ross Hauck
as Harlequin/Pierrot,
and especially Jonathan
Silvia as Death.”
–Bernard Jacobson
The Seattle Times
Every year, MOR presents two major programs at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall: a fall concert near the anniversary
of Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass), and a spring concert commemorating Holocaust Remembrance
Day. Programming these concerts is a more complex task than many might imagine. We always strive for a
balance between Holocaust-era music and contemporary compositions inspired by those events. We also try to
combine music that engages serious chamber music followers with works having appeal for general audiences.
The responses of concertgoers and critics alike point to our success in meeting this challenge.
November 16 & 18, 2012: The Emperor of Atlantis
Opera is an ambitious undertaking
for MOR, but Viktor Ullmann’s The
Emperor of Atlantis is a unique work that
our audiences deserved to experience.
It is hauntingly beautiful, and rich with
paradox and irony in both its music and
its origins. A stinging mockery of war
and passionate affirmation of life, the
opera was created in a Nazi concentration camp where it couldn’t be performed because its
mocking allegory of Hitler and his war machine made it far too dangerous. Our new fullystaged and costumed production was directed by the gifted Erich Parce, and conducted by
Seattle Symphony Music Director Ludovic Morlot.
The program also included works by two composers who left Europe in the 1930s to escape
4
MOR 2012-13 Season Annual Report
the Nazi threat. Swiss-born Ernest Bloch
settled in the United States, and Latvianborn Marc Lavry immigrated to Palestine.
Both were deeply influenced by their roots
in Jewish musical traditions that, Bloch
said, give voice to a “complex, glowing,
agitated soul.” Bloch’s Prayer was performed
by young cellist Benjamin Shmidt,
recipient of the 2012 David Tonkonogui
Memorial Award. Lavry had a central influence on the development of distinctively Israeli
musical styles, showcased in his Three Jewish Dances. As a composer and conductor, Lavry went
on to become one of the most important figures in Israel’s musical life.
May 14, 2013: Farewell, Auschwitz
Our spring concert featured the world premiere of our third commission from composer
Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer: Farewell, Auschwitz. A companion piece to Heggie &
Scheer’s Another Sunrise (2012), Farewell, Auschwitz returns to the incredible-but-true life of
Polish resistance member and poet Krystyna Zywulska, putting music to her poems and
offering a kaleidoscopic view of existence in Auschwitz through the eyes of someone whose
survival depended on making unimaginable choices. In their program notes, Heggie and
Scheer described Zywulska’s writing: “Her subjects range from
whimsical gossip in the barracks to profound fears as well as dreams
of rescue, survival and triumph. These lyrics are a window into
the torturous psychological strain the prisoners faced as they tried
desperately to hold onto their humanity while being forced to live in
a place that defined the most inhuman behavior. Mostly, Krystyna’s
songs speak to the power of music and the imagination to liberate
one from even the darkest despair.” The piece featured a brilliant
trio of singers: soprano Caitlin Lynch, mezzo soprano Sarah
Larsen, and baritone Morgan Smith.
The program also included a new a song cycle version that Heggie and Scheer created from
their pathbreaking musical drama For a Look or a Touch (MOR commission, 2007), featuring
baritone Morgan Smith. Drawing on the diary of the young Manfred Lewin, murdered
in Auschwitz, the song cycle speaks with beauty and eloquence to profound questions of
love, loss and remembrance. We also presented a suite from Kurt Weill’s Three Penny Opera
and a string trio by László Weiner. The Three Penny Opera premiered in Berlin in August 1928
and took Europe by storm. In its first year
alone, it was performed about 4,200 times
in 46 productions. Banned by the Nazis
as “degenerate,” the piece was seen as an
ideological statement that directly challenged
the regime’s legitimacy. Weiner, a Hungarian
composer, died at age 28 in a concentration
camp. The lyrical String Trio – Serenade is thought
to be Weiner’s earliest surviving composition.
MOR 2012-13 Season Annual Report
“Erich Parce directs
MOR’s production with
skill and imagination.
With a minimal set
and brilliant costume
choices—notably the
all-in-one white satin
corset and suspenderhung clocked stockings
worn under her plain
wraparound dress by
the Drummer, voice
and girlfriend of the
Emperor (aka Hitler’s
girlfriend Eva Braun);
and the uniform worn
by Death under his
long black cloak which
outdoes in splendor the
Emperor’s—and a fine
cast of voices, Parce has
made a considerable
achievement.”
– Philippa Kiraly
The Sun Break
“Farewell, Auschwitz,'
the third work to have
been commissioned
from Jake Heggie and
Gene Scheer by Mina
Miller’s remarkable
Seattle organization, is
surely the finest thing
the composer-librettist
team — or anyone,
for that matter — has
created for MOR in
the eight seasons of
my acquaintance with
its Holocaust-related
programs.”
– Bernard Jacobson
The Seattle Times
5
Our first fifteen years – Do you remember?
“The entire concert was worth hearing on two levels: for its
artistic content and for its capacity to make us remember what
must never be forgotten.”
-Melinda Bargreen, The Seattle Times (Inaugural concert,November 1998)
“Now in its fourth
year, the Music
of Remembrance
concert series
has amassed an
impressive record of
performances with
some of the region’s
finest musicians
and repertoire that
is always thoughtprovoking.”
2004: Thomas Pasatieri, Letter to Warsaw, world premiere
Composers
Performed
- Melinda Bargreen
The Seattle Times
(April 2002)
2007: Jake Heggie, For a Look or a
Touch, world premiere
“The organization unearths
old works from the period,
commissions new ones, records
as much as it can (four CDs are
out) and, perhaps most significant,
doesn't confine itself to any one
victimized group's experience.
– Richard Ginell
Los Angeles Times
(December 2008)
Music of Rembrance California debut
2009: Paul Schoenfield, Sparks of Glory
2008: The Golem, silent film screening
“After 10 years, the
group continues to
remind us of one
of the most severe
lessons in human
history, preserving
vital works of music
while sparking new
ones.”
-John Sutherland
The Seattle Times
(November 2008)
6
Joseph Achron
Daniel Asia
Ofer Ben-Amots
David Beigelman
Herman Berlinski
Allan Blank
Ernest Bloch
Mario CastelnuovoTedesco
Robert Dauber
Frantisek Domazlicky
Joel Engel
Hans Gál
Edwin Geist
Mikhail Gnessin
Osvaldo Golijov
David Grünfeld
Pavel Haas
Fromenthal Halévy
Aharon Harlap
Jake Heggie
Friedrich Hollaender
Gideon Klein
Erich Korngold
Jonathan D. Kramer
Alexander Krein
Hans Krása
Lori Laitman
Szymon Laks
Marc Lavry
Egon Ledecˇ
Eugene Levitas
Documentary of
MOR’s first decade
2010: Donald Byrd, The Dybbuk, dance world premiere
2011: Betty Olivero: Kolo’t, world premiere
MOR 2012-13 Season Annual Report
2001: Steve Reich Different Trains
2000: David Stock, A Vanished
World, world premiere
Lior Navok
Marc Neikrug
Betty Olivero
Thomas Pasatieri
Steve Reich
Sid Robinovitch
Solomon Rosowsky
Simon Sargon
David Schiff
Paul Schoenfield
Franz Schreker
Zikmund Schul
Erwin Schulhoff
Gerard Schwarz
Dmitri Shostakovich
Robert Stern
David Stock
Karel Svenk
Carlo S. Taube
Vilem Tausky
Marcel Tyberg
Viktor Ullmann
Sándor Vándor
Franz Waxman
Ilse Weber
Lazar Weiner
Lázló Weiner
Kurt Weill
Leo Zeitlin
Alexander Zemlinsky
Vilem Zrzavy
2005: Lori Laitman, The Seed of Dream,
world premiere
“When ‘Brundibár’ cast
members led Ela Stein
Weissberger out of the
Nordstrom Recital Hall
audience to join in the
joyous onstage finale of
the children's opera, it was
impossible not to feel moved
by this brush with history.”
-Melinda Bargreen
The Seattle Times (May 2006)
2006: Brundibár
2007: Gerard Schwarz, Rudolf & Jeanette,
world premiere
2007: Guest artist Gary Karr
“This brief work [Another Sunrise] goes
to the essence of what it takes to survive.
Heggie’s music is transparent, often
luminous, and at the climax, shockingly
intense, but not doom-laden.”
-Philippa Kiraly (May 2012)
2012: Jake Heggie, Another Sunrise, world premiere
MOR 2012-13 Season Annual Report
2010: Lori Laitman, Vedem, world premiere
2012: Gene Sheer and Jake Heggie
pre-concert talk
7
Financial Summary
$600,000
Figure 1: Total Expenses by Year
$500,000
n Cash n In-kind
$400,000
$300,000
$200,000
FY201
2-13
FY201
1-12
FY 201
0-11
FY 200
9-10
FY 200
8-09
FY 200
7-08
FY 200
6-07
FY 200
5-06
FY 200
4-05
FY 200
3-04
FY 200
2-03
FY 200
1-02
FY 200
0-01
FY 199
9-200
0
$0
FY 199
8-99
$100,000
$700,000
$600,000
$500,000
Figure 2: Total Revenues by Year
Figure
2: Total Revenue by Year
n Income n In-kind contributions
n Income n In-kind contributions
$400,000
$300,000
$200,000
FY201
2-13
FY201
1-12
FY 201
0-11
FY 200
9-10
FY 200
8-09
FY 200
7-08
FY 200
6-07
FY 200
5-06
FY 200
4-05
FY 200
3-04
FY 200
2-03
FY 200
1-02
FY 200
0-01
$0
FY 199
8-99
FY 199
9-200
0
$100,000
Figure 3 : Cash Reserves and Total Net Assets by Year
$500,000
$450,000
Total net assets
$400,000
Cash reserves
$350,000
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
FY201
2-13
FY201
1-12
FY 201
0-11
FY 200
9-10
FY 200
8-09
FY 200
7-08
FY 200
6-07
FY 200
5-06
FY 200
4-05
FY 200
3-04
FY 200
2-03
FY 200
1-02
FY 200
0-01
FY 199
8-99
FY 199
9-200
0
$50,000
$0
Music of Remembrance’s fifteen-year history of
growth from a start-up concert producer to an established
professional arts organization has been nothing short
of remarkable. The organization’s unique mission and
musical excellence are admired not only in Seattle but,
increasingly, across the nation and throughout the
world. MOR’s 1998-99 inaugural season consisted of
two major concerts at Seattle’s Illsley Ball Nordstrom
Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, with total expenses of
about $16,000 (excluding in-kind contributions of
professional services). By the end of the 2012-13 season,
MOR’s accomplishments have grown to include the
commissioning and premiere of sixteen important new
Holocaust-inspired works, 20 world premieres, six
CDs (five released on the world-leading Naxos label),
an annual series of free concerts-with-commentary
in partnership with the Seattle Art Museum and other
community organizations, an extensive educational
outreach program in local schools and colleges, and
two documentary films. With this expanded scope,
the organization’s total expenses (excluding in-kind
equivalents) for FY 2012-13 were $305,913 (Figure 1).
MOR’s base of supporters continues to grow, and to
embrace the organization’s mission and its musical and
educational programming. From its inception, the
organization’s revenues (excluding in-kind contributed
services) grew from about $20,000 for MOR’s first
season to $282,950 in FY 2012-13 (Figure 2). Knowing
that MOR entered the recent 2012-13 fiscal year
facing the end of a major multi-year award from an
anonymous trust, its Board approved a deficit of $45,250
for the recent fiscal year, with the requirement that
the organization find ways of replacing that source of
funding. With careful management that held costs under
budget, the actual end-of-year shortfall was contained by
about half to $22,963. Recent funding initiatives, such
as the successful launch of a campaign to secure restricted
gifts to underwrite future commissions and recordings,
have given the board confidence to approve a non-deficit
budget of $393,580 for FY 2013-14.
Throughout these years of growth, and response to new
opportunities, MOR has remained a careful steward of its
resources. At the end of FY 2012-13, it held cash reserves
of $285,064 and total net assets of $336,060 (Figure 3).
Figure 4 illustrates the diversity of MOR’s revenue
8
MOR 2012-13 Season Annual Report
sources. Ticket sales can never account for a major portion of
MOR’s budget, and the organization depends on the support
of donors who believe in its mission. MOR’s Sostenuto
Society, whose members pledge a minimum annual gift of at
least $1,200 for three years, adds to the organization’s ability
to anticipate resources that will be available for long-term
projects. From FY 2011-12 to FY 2012-13, Sostenuto Society
contributions increased by 83% to $75,200. Sostenuto
contributions, combined with restricted individual gifts to the
new Commissioning and Recording Circle ($41,600) and
other individual donations ($38,497), together accounted for
about 56% of MOR’s revenue excluding in-kind contributed
services and receivables.
Although government funding provides a small fraction of the
organization’s total cash revenue, it is an important reflection
of the role that MOR plays in the cultural life of our city, our
state and our nation. At a time of sharply reduced government
spending, MOR maintained its levels of support from the
Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, 4Culture, and the
Washington State Arts Commission. We were also awarded an
Art Works grant of $15,000 from the National Endowment of
the Arts to help support our Sparks of Glory outreach series.
MOR takes very seriously its responsibility to control its costs,
and to focus its resources on its musical programming. In FY
2012-13, about a third of cash expenditures went for artist
fees, commissions and other artistic production expenses
(Figure 5). This number does not include the considerable
portion of the Artistic Director’s effort devoted directly to
the programming and management of performance events,
and it does not reflect her involvement as a performer
without receiving a separate artist fee. MOR’s personnel
includes the Artistic Director (compensated at 40% of a
normal professional salary) whose creative vision forms the
core of MOR, a full-time Director of Advancement whose
role is essential for addressing the organization’s immediate
and long-term needs, and a highly-valued Administrative
Specialist.
The approved FY 2013-14 budget of $393,580 (excluding
in-kind contributed services) allows us to continue offering
the innovative programming, superior performances and
meaningful community involvement that have distinguished
Music of Remembrance. In building for the future, we
are focused on MOR’s long-term sustainability, and to
extending our reach to all sectors of the community and to
all generations everywhere. MOR and its growing family of
supporters continue to create and preserve memories for the
future.
MOR 2012-13 Season Annual Report
Figure 4: FY 2012-13 Revenue,
Excluding in-kind and net receivables
(Total $282,950)
Foundations
1%
Corporate
donations 1%
Other individual
donations 14%
Government
9%
Commissioning/
Recording Circle
15%
Ticket Sales
10%
Fundraising
events
23%
CD Sales
<1%
Film license
fees <1%
Sostenuto Society
27%
Interest <1%
Figure 5: FY 2012-13 Cash Expenses
(Total $305,913)
Fundraising
Contracted professional expenses 4%
services 5%
Facilities and
equipment 6%
Personnel 48%
Other operating
expenses 6%
Artistic
production
14%
Artist fees 12%
Commissions
6%
9
The Sostenuto Society
Sostenuto
a musical term
meaning
“to sustain”
Preserve a precious cultural legacy • Create new music through commissions • Educate our children and grandchildren
Since its inception in 2002, the Sostenuto* Society has formed the core of MOR’s fiscal
stability. The Sostenuto Society welcomes as members those farsighted and generous donors
who make a three-year gift commitment to Music of Remembrance. Through their dedication to MOR’s mission, Sostenuto Society members provide sustained support for MOR
programming. This enables us to plan and undertake long-range projects such as the commission of new works by some of today’s most important composers, our educational programs, and special initiatives like our documentary film The Boys of Terezín.
Crescendo
($7,500 and above)
Carole Ellison
Pat & Marcus Meier
Lori Laitman & Bruce
Rosenblum
Mina Miller & David Sabritt
Beth Ann Segal
Lynn & Howard Behar
Jan & Kenneth Block
Barbara & Dr. Joseph Buchman
Olga & Henry Butler
Pamela & Dr. Robert Center
David Epstein
The Honorable John Erlick
Thea Fefer
Toni Freeman
Devorah & Saul Gamoran
Eileen Gilman
2012–13 Season
Sostenuto Platinum
Sostenuto Gold
($2,500 to $4,999)
Kathleen Devon & Bob
Alexander
Judy & Krijn DeJonge
Priscilla & Dan Lavry
The Purple Lady/Barbara J.
Meislin Fund
($5,000 to $7,499)
Rickie Crown
Sostenuto Silver
($1,200 to $2,499)
Martha Kongsgaard &
Peter Goldman
Alice & Howard Greenwood
Dr. M. Elizabeth Halloran
H. David Kaplan
Julie & Rabbi James Mirel
Nickolas Newcombe
Lucy & Herb Pruzan
Joyce & Dr. Saul Rivkin
Lin & Dr. Murray Robinovitch
Pat & Jon Rosen
Drs. Katherine Hanson &
Michael Schick
Andrea Selig
Sonia Spear
Craig Sheppard & Gregory
Wallace
Dr. Leo Sreebny
Lauren Ward
Frederick Yudin
Nancy & Dr. Stanley Zeitz
Education & Outreach Report: Serving our Communities
“By presenting pieces
written by composers
who perished in
the Holocaust, as
well as new pieces
commissioned to
reinforce its moral
complexities, MOR
honors the past while
instilling hope for the
future.”
–SOG audience
member
10
MOR’s constant challenge is to help people explore both personal and universal meanings of the Holocaust, and examine
their understanding of the Holocaust in light of the evocative music they hear. Only a limited number of people are able
to come to the concert hall, however, and our outreach program is designed to bring MOR’s music and mission to people
of all ages and backgrounds across our community and beyond.
Sparks of Glory: Our Eighth Season of Free Performances Beyond the Concert Hall
The Sparks of Glory series continues to be a core element of MOR’s service to the community.
In 2012-13, we continued this series of free public concerts-with-commentary with three
programs at the downtown Seattle Art Museum (SAM). MOR also made its debut on
Bainbridge Island with a concert at the Waterfront Park Community Center. These concerts
were attended by nearly a thousand people.
Internationally recognized as an authority on the music of the Holocaust, MOR Artistic
Director Mina Miller discusses the works and the composers behind them. Describing the
social and historical context, Miller builds a framework for pieces that express deep and
often complex emotions. The concerts at SAM also give Miller the opportunity to link
the musical program with the museum’s current exhibits. For example, the October 2012
concert complemented SAM’s “Elles” exhibit—a landmark exhibition organized by the
MOR 2012-13 Season Annual Report
Centre Pompidou in Paris to explore how pioneering women artists have helped shape the
major movements of modern and contemporary art. Our musical program featured Thomas
Pasatieri’s Letter to Warsaw, a musical portrait commissioned by MOR to depict one woman’s
intimate first-hand account of life in the grip of the Holocaust. January’s concert coincided
with SAM’s exhibit “Morality Tales,” featuring works by socially-engaged American artists who
channeled their moral outrage into artistic protests against cruelty, suffering and war. MOR
presented Steve Reich’s acclaimed Different Trains and Lori Laitman’s The Seed of Dream—music
from two important contemporary American composers addressing the same challenge. Our
June concert featured Jake Heggie’s Another Sunrise.
Our Sparks of Glory programs were made possible, in part, by support from the National
Endowment for the Arts and the generosity of our individual donors.
In the Schools
The Sparks of Glory program is also adapted for our in-school educational outreach. MOR
brings performances to our educational partners at the high school, community college
and university levels. These visits typically include a multimedia presentation examining the
history of the Holocaust era and its music and a Q&A session connecting the students and
musicians. Many students become motivated to attend our Sparks of Glory concerts in Seattle,
and, when possible, we subsidize travel for students from outlying areas. In 2012-13, Sparks of
Glory reached nearly 1,000 people.
DONORS 2012-13 SEASON
Pillar ($10,000 and above)
Sponsor ($1,000 to $2,499)
Adina & Jack Almo
Boeing Company Charitable Trust
Matching Gift Program
Barbara & Dr. Joseph Buchman
Olga & Henry Butler
Pamela & Dr. Robert Center
David Epstein
The Honorable John Erlick
Thea Fefer
Founder ($5,000 to $9,999)
Toni Freeman
4Culture
Eileen Gilman
Clovis Foundation
Martha Kongsgaard & Peter Goldman
Janet & Lloyd Cluff
H. David Kaplan
Rebecca Crown
Eva & Jon LaFollette
Lavry Engineering /Priscilla & Dan
Frederick McDonald
Lavry
Julie & Rabbi James Mirel
Bernice & John Lindstrom
Nickolas Newcombe
Sherry & James Raisbeck
Lucy & Herb Pruzan
Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural
Quil Ceda Village
Affairs
Joyce & Dr. Saul Rivkin
Washington State Arts Commission
Lin & Dr. Murray Robinovitch
Pat & Jon Rosen
Benefactor ($2,500 to $4,999) Lars Saetre
Kathleen Devon & Bob Alexander
Samis Foundation
Ike Alhadeff Foundation
The Seattle Foundation
Andrea Selig
Jan & Kenneth Block
Sonia Spear
Judy & Krijn DeJonge
Dr. Leo Sreebny
Alice & Howard Greenwood
Moya Vazquez
Dr. M. Elizabeth Halloran
Lauren Ward
The Purple Lady/Barbara J. Meislin
Nancy & Dr. Stanley Zeitz
Ursula Rychter
Craig Sheppard & Gregory Wallace
Frederick Yudin
Patron ($500 to $999)
Rosalie Alhadeff
Anonymous
Carole Ellison
Brenda Berry & Jonathan Green
Pat & Marcus Meier
National Endowment for the Arts
Lori Laitman & Bruce Rosenblum
Mina Miller & David Sabritt
Beth Ann Segal
MOR 2012-13 Season Annual Report
Mara Finkelstein & Carl Applebaum
Barbara & Jim Barnyak
Lynn & Howard Behar
Anne & Dr. John Cahn
Wendee & Joseph Crnko
Helene Behar & Noah Friedland
Marilyn Brockman & David Friedt
Ann Frothingham
Marcia Wagoner & David Hewitt
Laura & Bernard Jacobson
Camille & David Jassny
Paris Kallas
Dr. Erika Michael
C. Louise & Stafford Miller
Nancy Nickles
Heidi Sachs
Barbara & Dr. Richard Shikiar
Rosalind Singer
Sandra Spear
Helen & Thomas Spiro
Petra Walker, Honorary Consul of Germany
In-kind Supporters
Jan & Kenneth Block
Carole Ellison
Jon LaFollette
Mayflower Park Hotel
Maestro Ludovic Morlot
Mina Miller
Perkins Coie, LLP
Sabritt Solutions, LLC
Leo V. Santiago Photography, LLC
Seattle Art Museum
Spear Studios
11
Testimonies For Tomorrow Commissions and Recordings
The commissioning of new music forms a cornerstone of MOR’s
mission. Through significant new Holocaust-inspired works by major
living composers, MOR’s commissioning program builds a living
bridge between Holocaust musicians and a new generation of artists and
audiences. The 2012-13 season brought two major new works by composer
Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. Farewell, Auschwitz continued their
exploration of Polish resistance member Krystyna Zywulska’s legacy with a
set of powerful songs based on the poems she created as a prisoner in the
camp. We also unveiled an intimate new song-cycle version of Heggie and
Scheer’s For a Look or a Touch, depicting the fate of homosexuals under Nazi rule.
Our CD releases are essential for making this music permanently available to listeners around the world. We
anticipate a May 2014 CD release of Out of Darkness, a triptych of our three commissioned works from Heggie and
Scheer. This will be MOR’s sixth CD on Naxos, the world’s leading classical music label.
Music of Remembrance Commissioning & Recording Circle
Launched in August 2013, MOR’s Commissioning and Recording Circle consists of visionary donors who
enthusiastically embrace MOR’s unique Testimonies for Tomorrow — the commissioning and recording of new works by
leading contemporary composers based on Holocaust themes and stories. Through their generosity, members of the
Commissioning and Recording Circle are committed to providing MOR the resources necessary to continue these
uniquely important projects.
We express our sincere thanks to charter members:
Bernice & John Lindstrom
Janet & Lloyd Cluff
Brenda Berry & Jonathan Green
Sherry & James Raisbeck
Carole Ellison
Dr. M. Elizabeth Halloran
Mina Miller & David Sabritt
Mary Winton Green
Diane & Stephen Heiman
H. David Kaplan
Beth Ann Segal
MOR Commissions
MOR’s supporters have funded the creation of sixteen new musical works and two dance
choreographies
Jake Heggie Farewell, Auschwitz 2013
Jake Heggie For a Look or a Touch (song cycle) 2013
Jake Heggie Another Sunrise 2012
Betty Olivero Kolo’t 2011
Lori Laitman Vedem (song cycle) 2011
Donald Byrd choreography to Joel Engel’s
The Dybbuk Suite 2010
Lori Laitman Vedem (oratorio) 2010
Donald Byrd choreography to Franz Schreker’s
The Wind 2009
Aharon Harlap Pictures from the Private Collection of God 2009
Paul Schoenfield Ghetto Songs 2008
David Stock Mayn Shvester Chaya 2008
Gerard Schwarz Rudolf & Jeanette 2007
Jake Heggie For a Look or a Touch 2007
Gerard Schwarz In Memoriam 2005
Lori Laitman The Seed of Dream 2004
Thomas Pasatieri Letter to Warsaw 2003
Paul Schoenfield Camp Songs 2002
David Stock A Vanished World 1999
Support Music of Remembrance
Music of Remembrance depends on donors who, through their generosity, become partners in our mission to remember.
Every gift directly supports our concerts, education and outreach activities, allowing us to serve the community and beyond
through our unique and compelling programs. MOR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
For more information on giving, call (206) 365-7770, or email: [email protected].
Contributions can be mailed to us at: Music of Remembrance, PO Box 27500, Seattle, WA 98165-2500
You may also contribute online through our website: www.musicofremembrance.org