Interview: Terre-Blair Hamlisch of A CONCERT FOR PEACE at Union County Performing Arts Center on 2/26

The unthinkable tragedies consuming the world today have unquestionably instilled angst in humankind-enough to strip weary optimists of that glimmer of hope for a brighter future. Among them, the Covid-19 pandemic, which has to date taken nearly 6 million lives. A string of senseless deaths and suicides that have loved ones asking why. A climate in crisis. A Doomsday Clock-a metaphor for a man-made global catastrophe-whose hands remain at 100 seconds to midnight.

On a smaller scale, it being International Boost Self-Esteem Month, people are unhappy when they compare their lives to others on social media, leaving some to needlessly second-guess their worth. While it seems 2022 has gotten off on the wrong foot-if the winter blues isn't bad enough, they were briefly compounded by the miscommunications and frustrations of the now-concluded Mercury Retrograde-one group of gifted youngsters will use their angelic voices to break through the noise and sorrow and imbue promise in a better tomorrow.

On Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 pm the New Jersey Youth Symphony, a program of the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts, will stage "A Concert for Peace" at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway spotlighting the works of iconic composers Leonard Bernstein and Marvin Hamlisch. The tiered orchestral program founded in 1979 offers ensemble education for students in grades 3-12 around the Garden State. It has evolved from a single orchestra comprised of 65 students to more than 500 students in 15 different orchestras and ensembles including the NJYS Youth Symphony. NJYS ensembles have performed in prestigious venues from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center to Carnegie Hall and received awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, an award received by Hamlish himself.

Mezzo-Soprano Cierra Byrd, a Lindermann Young Artist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will be the featured soloist in the performance of Berstein's "Jeremiah Symphony." The work, drawing from the book of Lamentations and the story of the legendary weeping prophet, navigates both a loss and restoration of faith in humankind.

Also on the program is the east coast premiere of Hamilsch's "Anatomy of Peace, a Symphonic Suite in One Movement" under the baton of Principal Conductor Helen H. Cha-Pyo.

The New Jersey Youth Chorus joins the New Jersey Youth Symphony to stage what concert organizers hope will be a deeply moving tribute in which the performers will use their voices to belt out their ideals of peace and encourage attendees to be the change they wish to see in the world. Whether that's a more equitable, sustainable or harmonious one, the children will envision it, one inspirational number at a time from two of the world's biggest visionaries and proponents of world peace.

"Two celebrated American master composers are featured in what is to be an amazing and very special concert," said Peter H. Gistelinck, executive director at the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts. "We all know music is truly an international language and therefore an ideal vehicle to communicate the message of peace on a global scale."

According to Cece Smith, chair of the Dallas Symphony Association Board of Governors, Hamlisch's "Anatomy of Peace" was commissioned to celebrate the naming of a key element of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center's outdoor structure, which is the Emery Reves Arch of Peace.

"Marvin would be thrilled this is happening," said Terre-Blair Hamlisch, of her late husband who won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for "A Chorus Line," with Michael Bennett, James Kirkwood, Jr., Nicholas Dante and Edward Kleban. "He was very proud of this piece."

Based on a book by Reves that champions reconciliation and world peace and performed by the Dallas Symphony 30 years ago, "Anatomy of Peace" is an ode to Hamlisch's affinity for popular music crafted in a complex, yet delicate display of classical art. The piece holds particular significance for Mrs. Hamlisch as it resonates profoundly with the current times.

"Given the uncertainty that we all live in, and the security we want, and the peace from conflict, of financial security-or homes and families fractured with political ideology-I think it might be good to focus on what we do have in common and less on differences," she mused, "and more on humanity before the rhetoric becomes who we are. The humanity that binds us, and that's what this piece of music does."

Born to parents native of Vienna, for Hamlisch, whose father, a musician, fled the second world war, peace was something the spectacles-sporting, highly-sensitive musical genius who fellow A-list celebrity friends such as Barbara Streisand remember as humble, down-to-earth and funny, never took for granted.

"He used the music to show how we have so much dissonance, but underneath it all, there's this melody that brings us together, that connection we have as humans," explained Mrs. Hamlisch. "Marvin always believed music transcended language. He took it seriously because he didn't want it to be cliché. He wanted to be something we all felt and heard."

Millennials and Gen Zers may know Hamlisch's music from hearing "The Stinger" waft lightly through the salty air at the beach to alert delighted children of the arrival of the ice cream truck. Gen Xers may better know him from his and Marilyn and Alan Bergman's heartbreakingly nostalgic classic, "The Way We Were" the theme song they co-wrote in the namesake movie. Specifically, the scene when Streisand, who plays the role of Katie Morosky, sweeps a wisp of hair from lover Hubbell Gardiner's (Robert Redford) forehead before moving in for a time-stopping embrace. The compositions won Hamlisch, who passed away nearly a decade ago, three Oscars at the 46th Annual Academy Awards in 1974. Throughout his life, he also won three Emmys, two Golden Globes and a Grammy, among other accolades.

The 'Ultimate Chameleon Composer"

As the New Jersey Youth Symphony's upcoming performance is a show brought to the audience by the voices of the future, it's only right to return to Hamlisch's childhood to recount the extraordinary story of an artist in the making.

In the PBS documentary, "Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did for Love," Hamlisch's love for music was apparent out of the womb. His mother recalled watching her son with intrigue as he swayed to music in his crib while keeping the rhythm. The protege's most prized toy was, in fact, a piano in his childhood bedroom. Before hitting puberty, he attended Juilliard where the self-described "chameleon composer" who could play any key was bound to become the next Vladamir Horwitz.

"As a child prodigy, he heard things differently. There was music in his head 24/7," recalled Mrs. Hamilsch. "He used to say to me, 'I know I was blessed with a gift, but it's also a curse."

In describing his high sensitivity, Mrs. Hamlisch remembered her husband being acutely aware of his surroundings and his ears perking up at the slightest disturbance to which most people were otherwise oblivious.

"He heard music in everything," she recalled. "If the tire on a truck went squealing by, or popcorn was popping, he'd hear it as notes."

While a bad case of the nerves hindered a possible career path as a concert pianist, his enrapturement of musical theater was the key influence in his prolific body of work which constituted some of the best compositions of all time. Narrating the documentary, Hamlisch said he was deeply moved by the "magic" exuded by popular musicals such as "Damn Yankees" and "Hello, Dolly" and the audience's exuberance which he witnessed the actors feed off of onstage.

As a young adult, his dream of having Barbara Streisand sing his songs would become a well-deserved reality. The same man who had written songs for Liza Minnelli in high school saw that vision through when she became the voice of his co-written masterpiece, "The Way We Were." Kindred spirits, Streisand unsurprisingly made what she called an "immediate connection" with Hamlisch upon their first meeting as she remarked in the documentary as being touched by his "joyous presence." This was evident in a number of his uplifting, infectious numbers for which he is revered, namely, "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows," among countless others.

Close friends recalled something wonderful happening when he'd walk into a room with a piano, the same can be said about the New Jersey Youth Symphony, who Mrs. Hamlisch agreeds holds the power for change.

"I hope people leave thinking about things," said Mrs. Hamlisch. "Especially since it's a child's voice; they see the world that's being left to them. For me, to see this piece resonate so powerfully, it's almost like it was a visionary piece at the time it was written."

The Union County Performing Arts Center is located at 1601 Irving Street in Rahway. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. Use promo code Family Pack for five tickets for $50 at NJYS.org.

Photo courtesy of Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts.

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