Yale will host the world premiere of a specially commissioned symphonic work by Ezra Laderman, professor of composition at the School of Music, on Saturday, May 2, at 9 p.m. in Woolsey Hall, corner of Grove and College streets. The concert, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, is free and open to the public.
The piece, titled "Yisrael," the Hebrew name for Israel, will be performed by the Yale Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton of Lawrence Leighton Smith. A symphony in three movements, "Yisrael" contains echoes of traditional Jewish folk and liturgical music. The work was commissioned by the family of Max M. Fisher in honor of his 90th birthday. Fisher, a Detroit-based industrialist and philanthropist, is the founding chair of the reconstituted Jewish Agency for Israel and served as the agency's head for 12 years. He was national chair of the United Jewish Appeal during the 1967 Six Day War and has served as an adviser to Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Bush. Today he still remains active in national and international Jewish affairs.
"We are delighted that the Laderman concert stands as the centerpiece of Yale's Salute to Israel at 50," says Rabbi James Ponet, Jewish chaplain at Yale. "In 4,000 years of Jewish history, three Jewish states have been established in the land of Israel. The jubilee year of this reborn Jewish state deserves our celebration and reflection. Israel says to the world, 'It is never too late to begin again.'"
Explaining that "Yisrael" reflects contemporary Israel, not the Israel of myth, Laderman says: "In spite of the obstacles which have beset the peace process, the rifts and conflicts at the heart of Israeli politics and the ravages of terrorism and counter-terrorism, Israel has persevered. Say what you will, Israel at 50 teaches the world the meaning of the will to survive. My symphonic work is a serious piece of public music."
This is the second time that Laderman has been called upon to create a composition marking a milestone in Israeli history. In 1973, CBS-TV commissioned him to write a piece to celebrate Israel's 25th anniversary. That work was premiered by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in Jerusalem and broadcast throughout the world.
Laderman was dean of the School of Music 1989-95 and has served as president of both the American Music Center and the National Music Council. In addition, he has been chair of the Composer-Librettist Program of the National Endowment for the Arts and director of its music program. A recipient of three Guggenheim fellowships as well as the Prix de Rome, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1991.
Also on the program for the May 2 concert will be Bloch's "Schelomo" performed by cellist Inbal Megiddo, a senior at Yale. Bloch wrote the piece between 1915 and 1916 and referred to it as "a Hebraic rhapsody for cello and orchestra." Megiddo, a resident of New Haven and Jerusalem, is studying at Yale with renowned cellist Aldo Parisot, professor of music. She has performed in Europe, Asia and America. Her many honors have included Yale's Seldon Memorial Prize, given to the undergraduate who shows the highest musical ability.
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