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A DC-BASED COMPANY, and at our core:
DEVELOPING AND PRODUCING ORIGINAL WORKS OF MUSIC-THEATRE,
FOSTERING THE GROWTH OF ARTISTS,
AND ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY IN PARTNERSHIP
Changing the Conversation Through the Arts
OUR Mothly NewsLetter - May 2023
What’s Ahead for Alliance for New Music-Theatre in 2023?
As we continue to develop major productions of new works in 2023, we work to amplify our commitment to foster professional development and collaborative opportunities of artists across cultures and to engage audiences in the creative process across all our programs to promote a deeper understanding of the transformative power of music-theatre in its many forms.
We are also embarking on a series of monthly community workshops and a Composer-Librettist Studio that can advance our projects and bring the greater community into the excitement of process and the art of collaboration.
Ukrainian Play Readings
Alliance for New Music-Theatre
Joins The Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings Project
Featuring Music by Ken Burns’ collaborator Pianist Jacqueline Schwab
Directed by Susan Galbraith and Matty Griffiths
We are launching a series of public readings of selected works by Ukrainian playwrights in solidarity with the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD). We applaud their efforts to support playwrights in war-torn Ukraine.
The first reading will be hosted on Thursday, May 25th at 7 p.m. with our friends and partners at Dumbarton United Methodist Church, 3133 Dumbarton Street, N.W. in the heart of Georgetown.
The readings are offered to support Ukrainian artists, and we invite everyone who comes to consider a generous donation. All proceeds will go directly through CITD to support Ukrainian artists directly.
In this project, we are joined by pianist Jacqueline Schwab, who is best known for her spacious, contemplative arrangements featured in so many of Ken Burns’ historical TV documentaries.
Read more HERE.
Subsequent readings to follow in June and July. All readings will be followed by a conversation to keep our Ukrainian friends and allies in our thoughts and their struggle foremost in our minds more than a year into this war of Russian aggression.
The project is part of New Music-Theatre’s commitment to cross-cultural collaboration and the telling of stories with music as catalyst for discussion of issues of relevance to our community and the world: changing the conversation through the arts.
To learn more about the project, including how you can support Ukrainian artists and to host an additional Ukrainian Play Readings event, contact us at info@newmusictheatre.org
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Workshop for On the Road to Arivaca
From May 1-5 in DC, we conducted a weeklong intensive workshop of our On the Road to Arivaca, an original chamber opera by composer Rosino Serrano, based in Mexico City, and librettist Susan Galbraith.
On May 5, we shared selections from the opera at the DC Scottish Rite Center in the heart of Columbia Heights in beautiful auditorium.
The presentation featured Javier Arrey as The Samaritan, Israel Lozano as The Sojourner, Darcy Monsalve as Maria, and Melisa Bonetti as Consuelo, and our Youth Chorus - coro de la comunidad, as well as Leo Herrera, Director of the Youth Chorus, Ernesto Lima Parets, Conductor and Andre Leonard, Coach / Accompanist.
More details are on our On the Road to Arivaca webpage HERE.
We are very proud of these young singers. We are committed to supporting their development and are delighted to be “on the Road” with them. We will continue weekly rehearsals for the Youth Chorus until June and start again in September.
If you know any youth from 4th grade through High School, please let us know. We have a registration form HERE.
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The Afghan Women’s Project continues with
Afghan Women: In Our Own Voices
A Workshop and Video Series in Celebration of Afghan Women and their Arts
On April 25, we launched the first of our planned series of workshops where we offer the opportunity to our community to learn more about Afghan arts and culture. This first workshop on Afghan Vocal Techniques was conducted at the George Mason University TheatreSpace by Afghan singer, musician and educator Humayun Khan.
We were most grateful to be joined by Afghan artists and their allies this April launch and we thank Nicholas Kfoury Horner and the Theater Department of George Mason University for hosting this event. This is some of the feedback we received:
- "It was an amazing experience...This was amazing."
- "I liked best that it was interactive."
- "Master Humayun is such a great singer and musician. Special thanks to Humayun Jan.’"
I think we all agree, we want more! In future music workshops, more Afghan songs. More tabla. More harmonium. More programs. More chances to be together and to participate in other workshops, focusing on other art forms including poetry, calligraphy, dance, traditional embroidery and weaving, and fashion design.
For many, practicing and preserving these art forms seem out of reach, certainly for women in Afghanistan who are forbidden to attend school and many even to go out of their homes. New Music-Theatre wishes to support Afghan women and here, in the diaspora, to give a platform for their voices and stories to be celebrated and shared. These workshops are specifically designed as a cross-cultural experience for Afghan women and local female artists who wish to support and learn more about the traditional music of Afghanistan.
We invite Afghan women living in the DMV, who want to reconnect with their cultural roots to join us as we support keeping the music alive in this series of free workshops.
Some of our company dancers will be performing as part of One Journey Festival at the Washington Cathedral on Saturday, June 24. We hope to see some of you there.
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COMING UP
Ukrainian Play Reading - Thursday, May 25 @ 7pm at Dumbarton UMC
Opera America Conference May 17 - 20 in Pittsburgh - More to follow