Music Celebrates Democracy: Three Bs and One E
Saturday, April 27, 2:00 P.M. at Benaroya Hall in Seattle
Kirkland Choral Society & Philharmonia Northwest are partnering with voting rights groups to stage the Seattle-area premier of a stunning new Voting-Rights Cantata at Benaroya Hall.
Kirkland Choral Society & Philharmonia Northwest close their season with a long-awaited return to Benaroya Hall. The afternoon program opens with musical gems by the “Three Bs:” J.S. Bach, Brahms and Beethoven. The concert finale features the Puget Sound premiere of Say Your Name, a new cantata by Reena Esmail, familiar to Seattle audiences since her 2020-2021 season as Composer-in-Residence at Seattle Symphony.
Say Your Name was composed in 2020 and has only been performed once, that we know of, in 2022. It’s “the resilient story of a woman named Democracy, a woman battered by gaslighting and confusion. As she finds the courage to remember who she is, she learns what we all must: that to guard our thoughts is to guard our nation.”
In the words of composer Reena Esmail at the world premiere: “If you get one thing out of our work we hope it’s this: we’re voting out of love for each other…to protect and care for one another.”
Because the performance includes a powerful call to defend democracy, Seattle-area voting rights groups will have a presence in the lobby at the event, staffed by members who can provide information about how to expand voter education and voter mobilization across the country in 2024. King and Snohomish County League of Women Voters, Movement Voter Project, and Common Power will be at the event. The King County League is managing our tabling and will be coordinating volunteers. Snohomish County materials will be shared at the League table.
Members from Leagues across the Puget Sound are invited to attend the premier at a reduced price of $15/person. Use this link to purchase your tickets. (In the field for “Discount Code” type “GKCS25” to get a discounted ticket.)
We send heartfelt gratitude to the Kirkland Chorale Society for thinking of the League and our members – and for joining in our work to empower voters and defend democracy.