My new electronic and acoustic composition, created for a concert-installation and five performers, premiered at the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews on December 19th, 2024.
This project was initiated by a friend and collaborator, Ania Karpowicz, and is based on the research and book “Lista Sugihary” (“Sugihara’s List”) by Zofia Hartman. Her book chronicles the courageous actions of a Japanese consul who, defying his superiors in 1940, collaborated with Poles and Dutch to issue thousands of transit visas to Polish and Lithuanian Jews. This daring act enabled their escape from war-torn Europe through the Japanese port of Tsuruga.
This story reminds me of the ongoing horrors of war and the many people who do not get to receive this kind of help. This stark reality underscores the urgent need for introspection, compelling us to rediscover our shared humanity through understanding and empathy. Only then can we break the vicious cycle of hatred, where people are categorized and dehumanized based on their beliefs and ethnicity. Despite our challenges, we must remember the inherent good in humanity, remaining hopeful and informed while fighting back.
The 30+ minutes performance consists of two parts, one with electronics and live video by Aleksandra Ołdak, and the second part with five performers, five-channel electronics, simple choreography, and again, an amazing, otherworldly video by Aleksandra. Most of the music is in Just Intonation, which required me to make five different click tracks as in-ear monitors. I’m grateful to my collaborators: Alicja Kieruzalska, Agata Krystek, Aleksander Wnuk, Małgorzata Walentynowicz, and especially Ania Karpowicz, who is the initiator of this project and made everything possible together with our producer, Dominika Borowiecka and Alicja Kieruzalska. Thank you to Kosma Standera for agreeing to record dozens of overtones with Alicja, Agata, and Ania; as well as Marcin Pater for working on sound during the performance. Also, many thanks to Karol Tomoki Yamazaki for the beautiful graphic design of the promo materials and the website.
This project was fully funded by the Polish Ministry of Culture, and its “National Reconstruction Plan” was partially fulfilled by the European Union NextGenerationEU.