Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima

Little Chamber Music Presents In Partnership With The Polygon Gallery In Association With Opus 59 Films Human Shadow Etched In Stone Livestream August 6, 2020 "Human Shadow Etched In Stone" marked the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing with a performance of Krzysztof Penderecki's landmark "Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima" and 3 new commissions, from Robyn Jacob, Jordan Nobles and Rita Ueda, that reflect on this event. The performance, with 42 distanced and masked string players, began at 8:15am on August 6, 2020 with an audience of 2: Hiroshima survivor Sachi Komura Rummel and her husband Charles. Krzysztof Penderecki: Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima (1960) Born on November 23, 1933, in Debica, Poland, Krzysztof Penderecki received violin and piano lessons as a child and studied art and literary history and philosophy at the local university while also attending the Kraków Conservatory. In 1959, three of his compositions, each submitted under pseudonyms, won first prizes in a competition sponsored by the Polish Composer's Union. One of the best known, most listened to, and most popular composers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Penderecki underwent a marked evolution in compositional style. After achieving fame with such astringent, often anguished, scores as his Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (1960) and Passion According to St. Luke (1965), both of which stretched traditional harmonic language and orchestral techniques, beginning in the mid-1970s, Penderecki followed a personal imperative in moving toward more conventional tonal music. He was also known for his film scores for Polish films, and for his music that was adapted for the soundtracks of films such as The Exorcist (1973), The Shining (1980), and Wild at Heart (1990). Conductor Janna Sailor Violin I Donovan Seidle (Concertmaster) / Andrea Siradze (Assistant Concertmaster) / Alana Lopez / Laura Chenail Houh / Brooklyn Wood (Kessler Academy) / Jiten Beairsto / Cam Wilson / Llowyn Ball / Calvin Dyck / Alicia Venables Violin II Rebecca Whitling (Principal) / Ellen Farrugia / Tina Park / Rebecca Ruthven / Jeremy Ferland / Parmela Attariwala / Christine Lin / Jessica Tovey (Kessler Academy) / Marc Destrubé / Molly MacKinnon Viola Tawnya Popoff (Principal) / Emilie Grimes / Isabelle Roland / Caroline Olsen (Kessler Academy) / Peter Ing / Sarah Kwok / Steven Lin Cello Min Jee Yoon (Principal) / Janet Steinberg / Shin Jung Nam / Peggy Lee / Isidora Nojkovic (Kessler Academy) / Rebecca Wenham / Alison Patterson / Alex Kramer Double Bass Meaghan Williams (Principal) / Mark Beaty (Orchestra Contractor / www.bringthemusic.ca) / Michael Vaughn / Laurence Mollerup / Christine Yang (Kessler Academy) / Leanna Wong For Little Chamber Music Mark Haney, Managing Artistic Director For The Polygon Gallery Krista Constantineau / Jessica Walker / Justin Ramsey / Nomi Stricker / Paul Kuranko / Reid Shier For Opus 59 Films Producer / Director - John Bolton Co-P