Bridges
community engagement program

Minnesota Chorale
   Kathy Saltzman Romey, Conductor
Gaia Philharmonic Choir and Yokohama Chamber Choir "kai"
   Ko Matsushita, Conductor
Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
   William Schrickel, Conductor
Minneapolis Youth Chorus
   Patrice Arasim, Conductor
Mu Daiko
   Rick Shiomi, Director

This October, the Chorale and partnering artists, all under the direction of Kathy Saltzman Romey, will present the world premiere of Ah Nagasaki in St. Paul, which since 1955 has maintained an active sister-city relationship with Nagasaki (the first of its kind in the United States). Joining the Chorale will be the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Chorale's own Minneapolis Youth Chorus, taiko (traditional Japanese) drummers from Mu Daiko, and vocal soloists. Members of the Gaia Philharmonic Choir and Yokohama Chamber Choir "kai" and their conductor, Ko Matsushita, will travel from Japan to take part in both the performance and the educational programs surrounding the event.

The performance and education programs are presented by The O'Shaughnessy and Planet Ordway as part of their 2008-09 series, and will be held at The O'Shaughnessy at the College of St. Catherine. In addition to the premiere performance of Ah Nagasaki, the concert will feature individual presentations by each of the participating ensembles.

Sub-titled “Ashes into Light,” the centerpiece of the program is a three-movement, half-hour cantata for chorus, vocal soloists, and orchestra by the American composer Robert Kyr. The work was commissioned by the Nagasaki Peace Museum to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city; the text, in both Japanese and English, is a collaboration between Mr. Kyr and the Japanese writer Kazuaki Tanahashi. The musical forces called for are large: four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone), boy and girl soprano, mixed (adult) chorus, children's chorus, chanter, and orchestra (with a percussion section that includes Japanese taiko drums as well as Western instruments). The work aims to connect its listeners to the suffering caused by the use of the atomic bomb and to remind them that further use of such weapons is still possible: the threat of nuclear catastrophe, which had seemed to recede when the Cold War ended, remains one of humankind's gravest challenges.

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