Resilient Sounds

Conductor, composer, and curator Christopher Rountree has distinguished himself as one of classical music’s most forward-thinking innovators. Christopher founded wild Up in 2010, and the ensemble’s mix of new music, pop, and performance art has been lauded by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Performance Today. Its success has led Christopher to collaborations with Björk, John Adams, David Lang, and Scott Walker.

This season, Christopher curates and conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s FLUXUS Festival and debuts with the Cincinnati Symphony, the Berkeley Symphony, and Ecstatic Music Festival. He also conducts the Martha Graham Dance Company and Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up; collaborates with Ted Hearne, George Lewis, Jen Hill, Weston Olencki, Nadia Sirota, Andrew Norman, and Caroline Shaw; and curates a program with Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Four Larks. Recently, Christopher made his Lincoln Center debut at the New York Philharmonic’s Biennial; conducted a David Lang world premiere at Los Angeles Opera; and premiered Annie Gosfield and Yuval Sharon’s War of the Worlds with Sigourney Weaver. Christopher lives in Los Angeles.

An “undeniably exciting composer” (Opera News) with “a brilliant command of orchestral timbres and textures” (The Dallas Morning News), and “a virtuoso mastery of the modern orchestra” (The New Yorker), Jimmy López Bellido has created works performed by the world’s leading orchestras in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Kennedy Center, Wiener Musikverein, and Konzerthaus Berlin. His works have also been featured at Nordic Music Days; the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore; and the Aspen, Tanglewood, and Grant Park music festivals.

Fiesta!, one of his most famous works, has received more than 90 performances worldwide, making it one of the most performed contemporary orchestral works. Bel Canto, a full-length opera based on Ann Patchett’s bestselling novel, and commissioned by Lyric Opera of Chicago as part of the Renée Fleming initiative, premiered in December 2015 to wide critical acclaim and was broadcast nationwide on PBS’s Great Performances.

Jimmy is the Houston Symphony’s composer-in-residence through the 2019–20 season. He recently completed Dreamers, an oratorio he wrote in collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz for Ana María Martínez, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London. A new album with Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra was released this summer on MSR Classics. He is published by Filarmonika Music Publishing.

Alejandro Basulto’s refugee partner is a self-identified transgender El Salvadoran refugee. His artistic partner is choreographer Bethany Garcia, who is performing her own choreography.

Personas Invisibles

Personas Invisibles (Spanish for “Invisible People”) is a tone poem inspired by the testimony of a Salvadorian transgender woman living in the United States as a refugee. At the opening, she attempts to express who she is, but the orchestral hit depicts the virulent response of the people around her. The next section symbolizes the first discovery of her real self with music similar to a ranchera, a waltz-like dance popular in Central America and commonly associated with the countryside. The third section evokes the bullying she experienced while embracing her identity, and the fourth reiterates the ranchera—a call for hope and acceptance—but oppressive gestures constantly interrupt it. A lonely, almost choked double bass solo represents the impossibility of speaking up and her fear of retaliation. The percussive fifth section depicts the constant threats she endured before leaving her country. The coda shows her in the present day: lonely, but dreaming that one day she will be reunited with the people she loves in her home country.

Erberk Eryılmaz’s piece is inspired by music from Syria. His artistic partner is violinist Evie Chen.

Hoppa! 3 for Solo Violin and Chamber Orchestra

Hoppa! 3 for Solo Violin and Chamber Orchestra is part of a series of works on immigration and the music that traveled as a result of migration. Hoppa! 3 particularly focuses on folk dances and songs shared by Turkey and Syria. These two cultures speak different languages, Turkish and Arabic, but when it comes to music, many characteristics are inseparable. This piece joins these cultures in music and emphasizes the unity between them. Its four connected movements are inspired by the masters of string playing from Eastern Europe to the Middle East.

The title of the work—“Hoppa!”—is an expression commonly used in Turkish and Eastern European cultures meaning “Come on! Let’s go!” Through this forward-looking, ecstatic attitude, the work brings the raw energy of folk music from local villages, street weddings, and sunflower fields to the concert stage.

Erin Graham is paired with refugee partner Salemu, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her artistic partner is creative writer Stalina Villareal, who wrote text that Graham set to music for soprano Julie Moore to sing.

Refugee Resilience

Refugee Resilience is the result of a rewarding collaboration with Interfaith Ministries Case Worker Salemu Derick Alimasi, poet Stalina Villarreal, and mezzo-soprano Julie Moore. Salemu shared his horrifying childhood experience of twice fleeing political turmoil during civil wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (conflicts more deadly than the World Wars I and II combined) as well as his subsequent work as a choir and youth group director in a Ugandan refugee camp and his current projects as a worship leader, poet, and community leader.

Stalina worked with Salemu to create a poem that captured crucial elements of his narrative, and I set it to music. During the collaboration, Salemu sang for us. I was very moved and sought to recreate elements of his song’s mood in this piece. Salemu asked us to remember the importance of listening to refugees’ stories and of asking “How can I help you?” because it demonstrates that you care. Our goal is to encourage one another to consider this question.

Kyle Rivera is paired with Congolese refugee Shinga. His artistic partner is author Brendon Stephens, whose prose will be projected during the performance.

Bella Laeta

Bella Laeta is inspired by the recollections of a Houston-settled refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is influenced by his description of his childhood in an embattled country as a “happy war time” and a story he was told as a child. The land was filled with beautiful lakes, mountains, and rivers, and the children spent their time playing games; however, the threat of war was always in the background. They were told the story of the Nyoko Wakumba, a monster that preyed upon children at night. The story served as a warning and a metaphor for the rebel factions that abducted children. Drawing on elements from the story, the music explores happiness, beauty, and youth in a world of pervading darkness.

Patrick W. Lenz is paired with Pakistani refugee partner Farhad. His artistic partner is writer Logan Butcher, who is creating narration to be delivered by Muhammad Khaerisman.

What it Takes to Thrive

What it Takes to Thrive (2019) is a piece for chamber orchestra and narrator created to share the incredible true story of Farhad Sayed and his journey to safety and freedom. Logan and I had the honor of meeting Farhad on several occasions to hear the details of his journey from Pakistan to Houston. He escaped life-threatening circumstances many times in his pursuit of a better life, including the destruction of his family’s home by the Taliban on two separate occasions. While his story is certainly shocking and amazing, Logan and I could not help but focus on a more subtle detail about Farhad’s life: regardless of how difficult the situation or how bleak the future seemed, he was always a beacon of hope for others. Because of this, we choose to present his story through a voicemail he leaves for a friend, Adil, when he most needs encouragement.

Through music, Victor Rangel tells the story of Syrian refugee Dayana. His artistic partner is filmmaker Erica Cheung.

To Dream of Jasmines

To Dream of Jasmines is an orchestral and visual exploration of the relationship between the Syria we have discovered through refugee Dayana Halawo and her family and the Syria we have seen in contemporary media and news. The work reminds us that present-day Syria exists within a history extending far beyond us in every direction; war-torn Syria is inextricable from the Syria that was—and still is—colloquially known as the land of jasmine flowers. In weaving audio interview segments, dream-like visuals, news clips, and documentary-style footage through an orchestral score, we follow the journey of a woman trying to save her family, working through what it means to be uprooted and displaced while still pushing forward into a new life.