Looking Back on the May 3^rd and 4^th 2018 Performances at Strathmore 

In about December of 2017, director Joe Cerutti got a request from the staff at the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD, to provide the major choir for an original work called “Iron and Coal. – Survivor, and Son.”

The rock music work was created by composer and lyricist Jeremy Schonfeld as a multimedia event to pay tribute to his father’s experiences leading up to and including his time in Auschwitz.

About 70 Harmonizers and about 40 women who auditioned with Joe to sing with us formed the choir.  The chapter members thanked the women for the serious efforts to help make the music great, and their dedication to attend rehearsals.

These singers met over the weeks leading up to the Thursday and Friday nite performances – including dress rehearsals and work sessions with the musical director and arranger David Bloom, show director Kevin Newbury, production choreographer Natalie Lomonte; as well as with all the other choir groups, including a youth choir is based at Strathmore, and an orchestra.

Schonfeld and Bloom both came to Alexandria for initial sessions with the choir on April 24^th.

For the performance, choir members wore grays and blacks of their choice and used music scores for the performances. Many of the songs were sung in Hebrew.

The work was inspired by the memoir of Schonfeld’s late father, Gustav.  He had been imprisoned at age 10 in Auschwitz. Many emotional moments were part of the performance including the “family” groupings of the singers, and the tender and honest story to share the memoirs of the father, Gustav, in his book and the son, Jeremy, in his musical work. Regardless of heritage, the singers and audience could not help but be moved by the performance.

The chorus received positive mentions in the theatrical reviews in the media. Joe was recognized during curtain calls as director of the choir.

This 90-minute world premier production was attended by many Harmonizer family and friends.

Until next time – editorjack! 

(This message is prepared for your review if you were there, for your information if you had to miss, and as a historical record of the great things going on each week during the 70^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd