Who Are These Children?

Venue: ANNEX

Yarilo Contemporary Music Society presents Who Are These Children? 

“Who Are These Children?” is a musical vigil for children lost in wars and historical upheaval.

The project was inspired by a visit to the Children’s Memorial at Yad Vashem, the Memorial Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, and reflects tragic situations with children surrounding us today, including the recent discoveries of children’s unmarked graves on the grounds of Canada’s Residential Schools and the war in Ukraine where children were forcibly taken from their families. Our concept is to recreate the atmosphere of Yad Vashem Children’s Memorial with candles for every lost child.

Our choice of music comes from two giants of the 20th century—Benjamin Britten and George Crumb: Britten’s 1969 Song Cycle “Who Are These Children”, based on poems by William Soutar, and Crumb’s “Ancient Voices of Children” from 1971 based on texts of Federico Garcia Lorca. Both capture dark and disturbing images of child abuse that has taken place in history.

A very important part of the musical experience will be the new commission by Jordan Nobles whose music will infuse the concert with a palpable sense of ‘space and infinity’. In the words of the composer, “this composition will surround and immerse the audience in music, rising from the dark and disturbing to ultimately serene, uplifting, and celestial”.

Conductor: Leslie Dala
Performers: Heather Pawsey, voice; Will George, voice; Anna Levy, Jane Hayes, pianos; Ari Cohen Mann, oboe; Mark Ferris, mandolin and saw; Janelle Nadeau, harp; Gregory Samek, Amber Chen, Jade Hail and 12-year-old Kai Yee, percussions.