The Takoma Ensemble to Present Concert Exploring Themes of Immigration

The Takoma Ensemble, a classical string orchestra, will offer a concert exploring the theme of immigration Saturday, January 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, 633 Sligo Ave., Silver Spring. The concert, co-sponsored by CASA, is entitled The Golden Door: Music Without Borders, and will be led by Artistic Director and Conductor Victoria Gau. The concert will feature several works by American immigrants, beginning with a solo performance by Billboard winner Lilo Gonzalez. Other selections include Divertimento for Strings by Bela Bartok, Hungarian immigrant to the United States, and the world premiere of Beside the Golden Door, by Kim and Kathryn Kluge (Kim is the son of immigrants). The concert will include Within Her Arms, composed by Grammy nominee Anna Clyne, and Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, written by Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos, the most famous South American composer of all time. Spanish commentary will be provided by Lindolfo Carballo, of CASA, and English commentary will be provided by Gau, and the performance will be followed by a Q&A and reception. Tickets are $10-$25 (kids 16 and under are free) and are available at takomaensemble.org. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to CASA. More information is available at 240-463-3695.

During the program, which takes place the day after the presidential inauguration, Carballo and Gau will read two poems that examine immigrants' struggles and hopes. Following the performances, Carballo, Gau, and Gonzalez will take part in a Q&A panel to discuss using the arts for change. During the reception, audience members will have a chance to meet and speak with the artists.

Looking for more information during the concert? Follow along with the hashtag #takomaimmigration for more information and to share your thoughts on this topic. During the concert, a designated cell phone area will encourage concertgoers to tweet on the topic of immigration as they listen to the music. The orchestra will also tweet insights on the music and poetry in an effort to inspire discussion on the topic.

"In light of the election results, Takoma Ensemble has decided to actively highlight social justice for the season we already had planned, and, quite possibly, to continue this theme for the foreseeable future" said Gau. "Immigration is not the only thing we plan to speak out on-immediate plans include addressing the value of different faith traditions, and the responsibility we all have to stand up for our convictions."

The Takoma Ensemble is one of a number of arts groups that will deal with social justice topics as our nation changes leadership. Others include the Freer Sackler Gallery and Lara Downes, a classical pianist whose new album, America Again, focuses on social justice topics. The concert's title, The Golden Door: Music Without Borders, is from a poem by Emma Lazarus that includes the line, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."

Lilo Gonzalez immigrated from El Salvador during the country's civil war in the 1980s. As an undocumented immigrant in the United States, Gonzales turned to music, singing about immigrant struggles and ultimately winning second place in the Billboard songwriting competition and five Washington Area Music Awards over the next decade. In 1994, he recorded his first CD, A Quien Corresponda. Gonzalez has performed at the Kennedy Center, the New York Lincoln Center, President Bill Clinton's Inauguration, the Levine School of Music, and the Festival Verdad in El Salvador, among other venues. He released his first children's CD earlier this year.

Bela Bartok (1881-1945), immigrated to the United States from Hungary in 1940, after an extensive musical career as a composer, pianist, and teacher. Bartok studied at the Royal Hungarian Academy of Music in Budapest, and continued his musical career in Hungary until Nazi influence in the country caused Bartok to immigrate to America. Bartok's Divertimento for Strings was composed the year before he immigrated, in 1939.

The husband and wife duo Kim and Kathryn Kluge, of Los Angeles, compose for film and live performance, and have most recently completed scoring Martin Scorsese's latest feature film, Silence. They have written for jazz musician Branford Marsalis and classical virtuoso Midori. Kim's inspiration comes from his belief that "people of different backgrounds can share the essence of their humanity through artistic expression."

London-born Anna Clyne is a Grammy-nominated composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music. Described as a "composer of uncommon gifts and unusual methods" in a New York Times profile and as "dazzlingly inventive" by Time Out New York, Clyne's work often includes collaborations with cutting-edge choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, and musicians worldwide. Within Her Arms, for string ensemble, was written in memory of Clyne's mother, and is described by The New Yorker as "a fragile lament," focusing on themes of grief and loss.

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) was a Brazilian composer and musician, whose influential music combines Western classical music with indigenous elements. A talented cellist and guitarist, Villa-Lobos studied and performed throughout Brazil before taking his first concert trip to Europe in 1923, performing his own compositions and solo pieces. Between 1944 and 1949 he traveled throughout the United States and Europe, where he wrote music for several films, received many honors, and was much in demand as a conductor. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 combines both Western and Brazilian-influenced sounds.

Conductor Victoria Gau serves as associate conductor and director of education for The National Philharmonic, artistic director for the Takoma Ensemble, and artistic director of the Capital City Symphony. She previously served as music director for local companies, including Washington Savoyards, Victorian Lyric Opera Company, and Annapolis Opera Musicales. Orchestral guest conducting includes the Alexandria Symphony, the Akron Symphony, and the Kennedy Center Messiah Sing-Along. Gau has conducted premieres of works by Jorge Martin, Charlie Barnett, Scott Pender, and Nebal Meysaud. This season, she will conduct the world premiere of works by Kim and Kathryn Kluge. Gau holds degrees in viola performance and conducting from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

The Takoma Ensemble, based in Takoma Park, Md., brings lively, professionally produced classical concerts to a diverse community. Through accessible, affordable performances of music that ranges freely across time and type, they hope to expand the local audience for orchestral music and broaden the notion of what the genre can be.

Photo Cutline #1: Billboard winner and Lilo Gonzalez will perform with the Takoma Ensemble in The Golden Door: Music Without Borders, a concert focusing music written by and about American immigrants. The concert will take place Saturday, January 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, 633 Sligo Ave., Silver Spring.

Photo Cutline #2: The Takoma Ensemble will perform The Golden Door: Music Without Borders Saturday, January 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, 633 Sligo Ave., Silver Spring. The concert, co-sponsored by CASA, will be led by Artistic Director and Conductor Victoria Gau, and explores works written by and about American immigrants.

Photo credit: Takoma Ensemble

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