Michael Gordon, composer.
The Crossing.
Maya Beiser, cello.
Stories of exile, survival, and the wonders of childhood.
The beautiful sanctuary of Congregation Rodeph Shalom.
The historic venue of Carnegie Hall.
Travel Guide to Nicaragua finally arrives.
"None of this has been easy to write.
Like my father, I put past events in a box
somewhere deep in my memory, and move on.
My father rarely spoke about his past. He never complained.
He moved through life with good humor, with an upbeat disposition.
His memories stayed in the shoe box."
–Michael Gordon on Travel Guide to Nicaragua
The shoebox is open and the photos in it tell a story called Travel Guide to Nicaragua, Michael Gordon’s new concert-length autobiographical account of his childhood and his family. Told with candor and humor, it is a series of stories to which we can all connect: the vague histories and mysteries of families, the world through the eyes of an adventurous child, the catastrophic losses of war – told in Michael’s hyper-energetic, driven, and compelling musical language that The New Yorker has called “the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz, and the intransigence of classical modernism.”
We’re excited to bring another new work to life that deals with what we deal with – memory, family, history, loss, and being – in two amazing venues and with the dynamic, renowned cellist Maya Beiser.
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World Premiere
Wednesday, November 16 @ 7pm
Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia
This co-presentation with Congregation Rodeph Shalom magnifies these stories of Jewish Europeans in exile by placing it in the beautiful sanctuary of one of Philadelphia’s important sacred spaces.
