Media contact: Cynthia Medina, [email protected], 848-445-1940

Composer of ‘Dear Erich’ to hold Musical Performance, Talk at Rutgers

Newswise — Ted Rosenthal to perform excerpts from his jazz opera--and share its backstory--drawn from 200 personal letters between his grandmother and father during  the Holocaust.

WHAT: Rutgers–New Brunswick’s Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life on Tuesday, March 3, will host Ted Rosenthal, acclaimed jazz pianist and composer of the original jazz opera Dear Erich, for a musical performance and talk, “Letters to Erich: Family Separation and Holocaust Memory.”  

Drawing on more than 200 personal letters found in the family’s attic, the opera focuses on the relationship between Rosenthal’s grandmother, trapped in Nazi Germany, and his father Erich, who was able to immigrate to Chicago. Rosenthal will be joined by mezzo-soprano Sishel Claverie and baritone Peter Kendall Clark in a performance from his powerful new work.

The event, free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by the Mason Gross School of the ArtsThe Herbert and Leonard Littman Families Holocaust Resource Center, the New Brunswick Jazz Project, the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, and the Arts and Culture Community Grant of the Association for Jewish Studies.

Video and photography are allowed, but flash photography is not permitted. Rosenthal is available for interviews upon request.  Contact Darcy Maher to schedule.

WHEN:  7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., March 3

WHERE: Nicholas Music Center, 85 George Street, New Brunswick

PARKING: Media attending MUST register their vehicles at this link prior to attending: https://rudots.nupark.com/events/Events/Register/149d5371-99a9-49bc-b1c5-e7045ad3272b. Please use Lots 79, 79A or the Douglass Parking Deck

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Broadcast interviews: Rutgers University–New Brunswick has broadcast-quality TV and radio studios available for remote live and taped interviews with Rutgers experts. For more information, contact Cynthia Medina [email protected]

 

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