Performing the Jewish Archive Out of the Shadows Rediscovering Jewish music and theatre FESTIVAL PROGRAMME Cape Town & Stellenbosch September 2017 46 47 WELCOME .......................................................................................................................... 2 Out of the Shadows Exhibition ..................................................................................... 3 Festival Opening Concert ................................................................................................. 4 Singing the Songs of Zion: 150 Years of Synagogue Music in the Cape .................. 5 Sunday 10 September, 16:30, Gardens Synagogue, Cape Town A Memorial and a Celebration: Out of the Shadows opening reception .................. 6 Sunday 10 September, 19:00, Cape Town Holocaust Centre New songs from the Jewish Archive: Looking forward through the past ............... 8 Tuesday 12 September, 13:10, Fismer Hall, Stellenbosch Friday 15 September, 13:10, Baxter Concert Hall, Cape Town Looking forward through the past: A symposium ..................................................... 14 Tuesday 12 September, 15:00, Jannasch Hall, Stellenbosch Wednesday 13 September, 13:10, Kaplan Centre, University of Cape Town A Comedy of Us Jews ....................................................................................................... 16 Tuesday 12 September, 20:00, Jewish Museum, Cape Town Prinz Bettliegend ............................................................................................................ 18 Wednesday 13 September, 20:00, Theatre Arts Admin Collective, Methodist Church Hall, Cape Town Friday 15 September, 20:15, Drostdy Theatre, Stellenbosch Walter, Werner and Wilhelm’s far-distant spring: expressionist voices from Vienna, Frankfurt and Berlin ........................................................................................................ 20 Thursday 14 September, 13:10, Baxter Concert Hall, Cape Town Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Conrad van Alphen: Wilhelm Grosz “Serenade” .............................................................................................. 22 Thursday 14 September, 20:00, City Hall, Cape Town Fractured Lives: Music of the Holocaust ..................................................................... 24 Saturday 16 September, 20:00, Endler Hall, Stellenbosch Red Riding Hood ............................................................................................................. 26 Sunday 17 September, 11:00, Hugo Lambrechts Auditorium, Cape Town Journeys in Jewish Choral Music .................................................................................... 28 Sunday 17 September, 15:00, Erin Hall, Cape Town Musicians’ biographies ..................................................................................................... 31 Performing the Jewish Archive Team biographies ........................................................ 40 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... 44 1 2 CITIES, 9 VENUES, 14 PERFORMANCES, 11 WORLD PREMIERES! OUT OF THE SHADOWS EXHIBITION It’s a real privilege to introduce the international festival Out of the Shadows: Rediscovering Jewish Music Our travelling exhibition complements our Festival performances, giving an insight into The exhibition will be on display and Theatre, taking place in Cape Town and Stellenbosch from 10th to 17th September 2017. This is the last the work of our research team. It tells the stories of Jewish artists and their works of art in the Cape Town Holocaust Centre, of five major festivals spanning the globe. Performing to nearly 10,000 people in total, these have taken place brought out of the shadows of the archive. and at all the performances during in Madison (US), Leeds/York (UK), Prague, Pilsen and Terezín (Czech Republic), and Sydney (Australia). the festival. By engaging with the exhibition, you—our audiences—can become part of those stories. These festivals fall under the auspices of the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council project Performing the We challenge you to think through the questions we ask ourselves: Jewish Archive (www.ptja.leeds.ac.uk), a collaboration between the Universities of Leeds, York, Wisconsin– Madison and Sydney, alongside 25 partner organisations around the world. • How does reading stories and seeing performances help us understand the musicians and writers who created them? We’re delighted to welcome some of the leading contemporary performers in South Africa and beyond, including the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Conrad van Alphen, Aviva Pelham, Michelle Maxwell, • How does knowing these stories affect our experiences? Matthew Reid, the Cape Soloists Choir, Kensington Chorale, and many, many more besides. • What about stories never completed, artworks lost forever? We hope that you will take the opportunity to view our travelling project exhibition, which will be housed Can we understand them more through performance? at the Cape Town Holocaust Centre and also displayed at each of our performances during the festival. • How can we honour fragmented stories, mourn such human and artistic losses? The exhibition offers insight into some of the personalities and stories that underpin the researchers’ work, • Can empathy help us understand these artists’ experiences? and explains some of the background to the project and festivals. Our major partners in South Africa include the Universities of Cape Town (South African College of Music, We look forward to hearing your responses! Kaplan Centre for Jewish Music) and Stellenbosch (Konservatorium, Department of Drama); the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation and the South African Jewish Museum; Cape Town Hebrew Congregation and Green & Sea Point Hebrew Congregation. We are extremely grateful for their support and collaboration, Out of the Shadows exhibition on display at the Prague Conservatory, 22 September 2016. without which the festival simply could not take place. Photo: Steve Muir The 12-strongPerforming the Jewish Archive project team seek out and recover artefacts from the vast but largely hidden accumulation of Jewish music and theatre that was forgotten or thought lost because of the Holocaust, whether directly or indirectly. The team retell the stories of those who created these pieces, bring them to life in performance, and test how audiences and performers alike respond. Out of the Shadows promises to be a memorable, poignant and sometimes challenging week of events, celebrating the lives and achievements of Jewish artists in times of both adversity and freedom. We look forward to welcoming you throughout the festival. Dr Stephen Muir, Associate Professor of Music, University of Leeds Principal Investigator, Performing the Jewish Archive 2 3 2 CITIES, 9 VENUES, 14 PERFORMANCES, 11 WORLD PREMIERES! OUT OF THE SHADOWS EXHIBITION It’s a real privilege to introduce the international festival Out of the Shadows: Rediscovering Jewish Music Our travelling exhibition complements our Festival performances, giving an insight into The exhibition will be on display and Theatre, taking place in Cape Town and Stellenbosch from 10th to 17th September 2017. This is the last the work of our research team. It tells the stories of Jewish artists and their works of art in the Cape Town Holocaust Centre, of five major festivals spanning the globe. Performing to nearly 10,000 people in total, these have taken place brought out of the shadows of the archive. and at all the performances during in Madison (US), Leeds/York (UK), Prague, Pilsen and Terezín (Czech Republic), and Sydney (Australia). the festival. By engaging with the exhibition, you—our audiences—can become part of those stories. These festivals fall under the auspices of the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council project Performing the We challenge you to think through the questions we ask ourselves: Jewish Archive (www.ptja.leeds.ac.uk), a collaboration between the Universities of Leeds, York, Wisconsin– Madison and Sydney, alongside 25 partner organisations around the world. • How does reading stories and seeing performances help us understand the musicians and writers who created them? We’re delighted to welcome some of the leading contemporary performers in South Africa and beyond, including the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Conrad van Alphen, Aviva Pelham, Michelle Maxwell, • How does knowing these stories affect our experiences? Matthew Reid, the Cape Soloists Choir, Kensington Chorale, and many, many more besides. • What about stories never completed, artworks lost forever? We hope that you will take the opportunity to view our travelling project exhibition, which will be housed Can we understand them more through performance? at the Cape Town Holocaust Centre and also displayed at each of our performances during the festival. • How can we honour fragmented stories, mourn such human and artistic losses? The exhibition offers insight into some of the personalities and stories that underpin the researchers’ work, • Can empathy help us understand these artists’ experiences? and explains some of the background to the project and festivals. Our major partners in South Africa include the Universities of Cape Town (South African College of Music, We look forward to hearing your responses! Kaplan Centre for Jewish Music) and Stellenbosch (Konservatorium, Department of Drama); the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation