UNACCOMPANIED
As featured in The Strad Magazine, WGBH Radio, and The Violin Channel, UNACCOMPANIED is an immigration themed solo performance project featuring eight newly commissioned works by immigrant and first generation American composers.
It is difficult to have meaningful a conversation about immigration these days. The issues have touched all of our families, yet there are entrenched obstacles to being able to speak, share, and (most importantly) listen about it. With that in mind, I asked eight composers to simply put some of their personal story into sound… essentially asking, ‘What does YOUR American-ness sound like?’ In some cases, this is about identity gained by American society, others were inspired by items left behind. The lone cello on stage will give metaphorical voice to each story of unaccompanied migration, and hopefully insights into ourselves and the humanity that we all share. Every performance of UNACCOMPANIED is meant to include community conversations about the issues and our personal stories with the audience, visiting composers, and myself.
The composers involved in this first phase of the project are:
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James Diaz - Colombian
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Frank Duarte - Mexican American
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Kareem Roustom - Syrian American
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Shaw Pong Liu - Chinese American
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Kenji Bunch - Japanese American
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Milad Yousufi - Afghan
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Earl Maneein - Chinese/Thai American
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José-Luis Hurtado - Mexican
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(…with more artists and works to be added to the project in the future)
The finished pieces are incredibly powerful, and I can’t wait to share the UNACCOMPANIED project at a venue near you soon. More info as well as composer workshop videos and interviews will be updated here as well as on my YouTube channel.
Thank you so much,
Leo
*This project is made possible (in part) by a Live Arts Boston grant from the Boston Foundation.