From Exile: Stories and Music of Hope

At a time when an unprecedented 100+ million people have been forced from their homes worldwide, the Ashland Chamber Music Society/United Church of Granville presents From Exile: Stories and Music of Hope, a string quartet program of musical stories of hope from immigrant and refugee communities. Fleeing oppression and violence, newcomers are too often scapegoated by the local population in their new homes. In response, the Crossing Borders Music String Quartet will share music of hope and solidarity from displaced people including Haitians, Palestinians, Syrians, Peruvians, and the Rohingya from Myanmar.

The program includes the International Refugees Anthem, the official Olympic anthem for refugees worldwide, by Syrian musician and refugee Arian Abbas and arranged by Rasa Mahmoudian. Tale from Haitian composer Rudy Perrault’s Exodus string quartet tells through music the story of Haitians forced from their homeland, making a dangerous journey in hopes of safety and a better life for the next generation. The melodious strands of “Champa Battambang” (“The Flower of Battambang”) by Cambodian legend Sinn Sisamouth, have become an unofficial anthem for Cambodian refugees in the US, capturing sweet nostalgia mixed with melancholy longing. The Peruvian song of reminiscence “Todos Vuelven” (“Everybody Returns”), the musical immigrant’s journey Immigrés I by Jordanian/Colombian composer Tarek Younis, Tango Al Maaboor by Ellie Kalab written after Kalab was forced to flee his Al Maaboor neighborhood in Lebanon, and brand new Crossing Borders Music arrangements of original songs by Rohingya refugees in refugee camps capture a wide variety of musical perspectives on displacement. Klap Ur Handz by Daniel Bernard Roumain reminds us that a more just world requires action from everyone.

Date: Friday, 20th February

Venue: United Presbyterian-Congregational Church, 214 Vaughn Avenue, Ashland WI