PORTFOLIO
Myra’s War
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About
Myra’s War
Created by the ensemble
directed by Steve Pearson
A theatre/dance piece inspired by Myra Hess, the British pianist who initiated a series of concerts in the National Gallery as bombs fell on London during WW II. The concerts ran daily without interruption from fall of 1939 to spring of 1946. The production used the timed sequence of an exploding bomb as a structural framework. The year-long development included public lectures on the artist in times of crisis by noted historians and theorists, a concert of new compositions inspired by this theme, a concert of piano music from Myra Hess’ repertoire, and a series of lunchtime performances. The final performance piece opened one week after the invasion of Iraq. Made possible by the support from the Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities.