"Into Eternity" premiere — with Indianapolis Opera
Sunday, June 11, 2023 at 11:15AM On June 4, 2023, mezzo-soprano Lyndsay Moy and pianist Maria Lyapkova premiered my latest Holocaust-themed work — Into Eternity — as part of Indianapolis Opera's Concert of Art Song presented at the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation.
The song sets the last words of Vilma Grunwald, mother of Holocaust survivor Frank Grunwald. I met Frank in March 2022, when Indianapolis Opera produced Vedem, my Holocaust-themed oratorio. It was then that I learned of this extraordinary letter — and I asked Frank for permission to set it. I composed the work in the summer of 2022, as a gift for Frank and to honor his lost family.
Domenica Bongiovanni of The Indianapolis Star has written a beautiful article about the letter and the premiere.
The video of the premiere, including Frank Grunwald's opening remarks, can be found here.
Coincidentally, Dutch composer Marion von Tilzer has also composed a wonderful setting of the same letter.