NEW YORK--St. John the Divine, the largest Anglican cathedral in North America, has invited the nonprofit choral ensemble Ars Choralis to perform a profoundly moving concert on Saturday, March 28th. "Music In Desperate Times: Remembering The Women's Orchestra of Birkenau" is based on memoirs and histories of survivors of the only women's orchestra to play in WWII concentration camps. The concert recreates the unusual instrumentation of the orchestra: violins, mandolins, accordion, recorder, flute, cello, piano and percussion. The story is told through readings, choral music and representative orchestral music played in the camps (Schumann, Chopin, Puccini and traditional music).
Donning the lavender scarves and white blouses worn by the Birkenau musicians, Ars Choralis will recount the story of how music saved the lives of a small group of women in the Auschwitz/Birkenau concentration camp during World World II. It is also the story of a small-town chorus that managed to re-create the music, hope, grief and resilience of these incredible women.
Over one million people were murdered in Birkenau’s gas chambers. In exchange for their survival, female prisoners at Birkenau performed in an orchestra formed by the S.S. There were 54 women in the orchestra during its year-and-a-half existence, and all but the conductor survived.
Following Ars Choralis’ March 28th performance at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the organization will travel to Germany for two additional performances: the 150-year-old Heilig-Kreuz Church in Berlin on April 17th and the annual Liberation Day ceremonies at the Ravensbruck concentration camp on April 18th and 19th.
Tickets for the show are $150 (dress circle), $45 (front reserved), $35 (front unreserved), and $25 (house) and can be purchased at
http://tinyurl.com/Tickets-for-Performance or 866.811.4111
ABOUT ARS CHORALIS
Ars Choralis is a nonprofit organization composed of highly disciplined amateur singers from the Woodstock, N.Y. area dedicated to celebrating the human spirit through the performance of choral music of all periods and styles. The chorus is intergenerational, interracial and inter-religious. Though diverse in professions and backgrounds, the chorus' 42 members share a common joy of singing and are unfailing in their pledge to provide the community with the world's finest choral music. A deep social conscience imbues every performance with a special quality that distinguishes Ars Choralis and contributes to its outstanding reputation.
