Category: Community Photos

World Premier Composition Performed at Gloucester Meetinghouse

Posted on by Donna Ardizzoni

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                            MAY 5, 2022

WORLD PREMIERE COMPOSITION PERFORMED AT GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE

The highlight of a program on the international remembrance day of the Holocaust called Yom HaShoah, that was presented in the historic Gloucester Meetinghouse on Middle Street last Sunday, May 1st, was the world premiere of a composition by Leslie Steinweiss called “The Grip of Evil: The Endurance of Hope.  It was performed with narration by Judith Black by an ensemble including strings, flute, clarinet, piano and two vocal soloists, conducted by the composer.  The event was co-hosted by Temple Ahavat Achim and the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation.

Composer and Lyricist Leslie Steinweiss with the narrator and ensemble after the performance

The program had to be postponed two years due to the pandemic.  A group of donors from the Temple, led by Eve and Phil Cutter, commissioned the Steinweiss piece in 2019 and Sunday’s performance was the long-anticipated premiere.

Donor Phil Cutter chatting with Stephen Bates, who played the clarinet and flute

Two other original pieces were performed during the event.  Stephen Bates presented his composition called “Remembrance of Things Past and Future” for solo clarinet and Abigale Reisman presented her piece “Gedanken” for string trio.

Composer Abigale Reisman performs her piece “Gedanken” for string trio with Anna Seda, cello and Rebecca Hallowell, viola

The program included a dramatic remembrance story about the Holocaust presented by Judith Black and readings from the period by Ally Kramer, Hadassa Goldberg and Emma Quateman.

Storyteller Judith Black acts out a dramatic remembrance account of the Holocaust

The next program in the spring series at the Meetinghouse is performance of beloved Bach orchestral works including the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, played on period instruments by the Appleton Consort on Saturday, May 21, at 8:00pm.  For more information and online ticket purchases visit www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

Event photos provided by Kathleen Williams

 

 

 

 

 

Magnolia Library and Community Center renovations

Posted on by Donna Ardizzoni

Please click screen to see the renovation video, Thanks all who helped.

Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation

Posted on by Donna Ardizzoni

IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                      April 26, 2022

 

CONCERT OF ORIGINAL MUSIC

MARKS HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY,

GLOUCESTER, SUNDAY, MAY 1

 As warfare in Eastern Europe awakens memories of millions of people slaughtered for only who they were, not for what they did, observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day takes place this coming week, including in Gloucester on Sunday, May 1, starting at 3 p.m., in the historic Gloucester Meetinghouse.

There, the nonprofit Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation and Temple Ahavat Achim, Cape Ann’s Jewish congregation, will jointly present a concert of original works for the occasion. The musical centerpiece is the premiere of “The Grip of Evil: the Endurance of Hope,” an orchestral and vocal work by New York City composer and lyricist Leslie Steinweiss, who will conduct his work,

The program also includes a solo written and played by renowned clarinetist Stephen Bates of Manchester, a violin solo by Abigale Reisman, the synagogue’s music director, and narration by professional storyteller Judith Black.

Holocaust Remembrance Day (in Hebrew, Yom HaShoah), originated in Israel in 1951 as a memorial to the estimated six million Jews and other civilian peoples executed during World War II. Over the years its mission has widened to include tribute to an estimated five million others worldwide whose lives were taken with genocidal intent over the 20th Century. The date of Holocaust Remembrance Day varies; in Israel, it is observed this year on April 27.  Business and even road traffic there briefly comes to a stop when sirens sound at 11 a.m., with motorists often leaving their cars to mark the moment together.

Along with the named principals the performers are vocalists Janine Solheim, soprano, and Wes Hunter, tenor, and instrumentalists are Rebecca Hallowell, viola; Anna Seda, cello, and Kathleen Forgac, piano.

The Gloucester concert will be in the 1806 Meetinghouse, home of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, on Middle Street at Church Street in downtown Gloucester. Tickets are $45 for premium seating, $30 for general seating, and $10 for students. Full access for those who are physically disabled is at the side entrance at 10 Church Street. Tickets are available at the door or online at www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org/events.