Angel Island Part 3: A Pandemic and a World Premiere
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
We never experience a story in the same way twice. Sure, key elements remain firmly in place, but variables like political era, maturity, staging, and even the weather permeate each telling and play a vital part in the life of the piece.
Charlton invites Del Sol collaborators to elaborate on their roles in the creation, performance, and ongoing support of The Angel Island Project. What role did the COVID-19 pandemic play in the development of the piece? What was it like to play the oratorio in the place that inspired it? How has interpretation of the piece expanded outside the confines of Angel Island? What can art teach us about 20th-century immigration policies, and how can it inform 21st-century solutions?
“I always start with the large picture,” says composer Huang Ruo. “When I was reading the poems, these poems and this subject cries out to be created as something bigger, larger scale so that people could really feel it.” As imaginative as Huang Ruo is, could he have envisioned Angel Island: Oratorio transforming into the multifaceted project it has become?
Angel Island has enjoyed many memorable moments since its premiere during a torrential downpour at the Angel Island Immigration Station in October 2021. Highlights include a performance with The U.S. Air Force Band's Singing Sergeants at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, family arts nights with local elementary school children, a season of curriculum and programming with UC Berkeley, and a surreal, inventive staging at the Singapore International Festival of Arts.
Regardless of how it evolves from this point on, Angel Island will continue to encourage self-examination and conversation. “Every story is different,” says Susan Moffat, former Creative Director of UC Berkeley’s Future Histories Lab. “But there are shared elements that people can relate to in the telling of those stories. Whether it's within families or through art, it's important that the stories get remembered.”
PART 3 FEATURES
Huang Ruo, Composer, Angel Island
Sidney Chen, Singer, Volti San Francisco
Kathryn Bates, Del Sol Quartet Cellist
Andi Wong, Teaching Artist and Arts Advocate
Susan Moffat, Principal, Future Histories Studio
Ben Kreith, Del Sol Quartet Violinist
Casey Dexter-Lee, State Park Interpreter II for Angel Island
Genny Lim, Poet, Playwright, Performer, Pioneer
Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Del Sol Quartet Violinist
Taylor S. Armstrong, Senior Master Sergeant, United States Air Force Band
FEATURED MUSIC PROVIDED BY
Order Huang Ruo’s A Dust in Time here, listen in Spotify or your favorite music streaming service.
The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation invites you to Immigrant Voices, a growing archive of personal stories of Pacific Coast immigrants. Explore here.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Angel Island Immigration Station
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island
William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
Manzanar National Historic Site
California Preservation Foundation
Singapore International Festival Of Arts
QUOTES
“It was just shocking that we live in the third decade of the 21st century and here we are dealing with the same fear of the outsider, fear of the unknown.” - Kathryn Bates
“Only once you learn the act of let go, you could gain the heart of compassion.” - Huang Ruo
“The pandemic, to me, it was a great learning experience. I walk out of the pandemic––of course, I lost a lot of things as well, including my own mother, who passed away during the pandemic––but artistically, I walked out of the pandemic being a composer that has more things to say, has more angles to look at the world, has more ideas and more ways to tell my story and tell other stories.” - Huang Ruo
“How could you take a story that's so complicated and so traumatic and make it something that young people and their families might like to know more about?” - Andi Wong
“It's interesting in the poetry of the Chinese people who were incarcerated in Angel Island, the shack-like nature of the wooden buildings is always there as part of the poetry.” - Susan Moffat
“I was brought to tears at one point listening to Angel Island during the Oratorio.” - Genny Lim
“It felt like the spirits were like, yes, now you hear my story. And it felt that these voices that had been etched over a hundred years ago came to life again.” - Kathryn Bates
“There's an inventiveness that just comes with making contemporary music happen.” Sidney Chen
“We're really committed to finding ways to include the arts in the storytelling at this historic site. Performances like these draw in a visitor that maybe hasn't been to Angel Island before, inspires folks to come out and see something that maybe they wouldn't have otherwise.” - Casey Dexter-Lee
“Some of the most meaningful experiences I've had serving in the Air Force have involved making music in a language or singing in a language that's not ours.” - Sgt Taylor S. Armstrong
“We’re very excited to continue sharing this story, sharing this incredible music, and here's a lot of openness in the piece too. And I think it invites a lot of conversation about our immigration policies, about people moving from place to place.” - Susan Moffat
LEARN MORE
https://www.delsolquartet.com/podcast
CREDITS
Hosted by Charlton Lee
Produced by Andrea Klunder, The Creative Impostor Studios, Charlton Lee, Kathryn Bates, Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Ben Kreith
Story Editor: Andrea Klunder
Sound Design: Andrea Klunder
Technical Director & Post Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz
Field Producer & Recording Engineer: Kathryn Bates
Field Producer: Verena Lee
Podcast Manager: Alex Riegler
Show Notes: Lisa Widder
Cover Art: Felicia Lee
Theme Music: composed by Charlton Lee, performed by Del Sol Quartet
Executive Producers: Andrea Fellows Fineberg, Don Fineberg
Featured music from The Angel Island Oratorio composed by Huang Ruo. Performed by Del Sol Quartet & United States Air Force Band's Singing Sergeants / National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, recording and edited by Suraya Mohamed.