Vom Bleiben
Komische Oper Berlin & Trickster Orchestra
“They were always told that the quotas for refugees were already exhausted.”
In this collaboration between Komische Oper Berlin and Trickster Orchestra, musicians of both ensembles join to reflect on the themes of fleeing and settling in a new place through music and spoken word.
The lineup features 16 musicians, whose very diverse family histories connect in one way or the other with the experience of forced migration, either through their grandparents, their parents, or through their own biographies. As musicians speak about the time after flight and arrival, settling in unknown places, and about their families’ expectations, hopes, and disillusionment, a composition premiers, whose instrumental lineup mirrors such displacement and migration in sound. The Japanese koto, the Arabic kanun, the European tuba all join the narration of their musician’s family histories.
In this music film performance, their sounds and melodies remind us of the globally shared realities of forced migration, seeking a new home, and inheriting such existential experiences as children and grandchildren.
Lineup
Composition & Director
Cymin Samawatie
Composition
Ketan Bhatti
Paetzold Recorders
Susanne Fröhlich
Contrabass Flute
Tilmann Dehnhard
Oboe
Tjadina Wake-Walker
Bassoon
María José García Zamora
Sheng
Wu Wei
Bass Clarinet & Electronics
Milian Vogel
Tuba
Sebastian Wagemann
Koto
Naoko Kikuchi
Kanun
Bassem Alkhouri
Percussion & Mallets
Gunter Sturm
Violin
Gabriel Adorjan
Viola
Anna Lysenko
Cello
Thomas Helms
Double Bass
Ralf Schwarz
Vocals
Cymin Samawatie
Drums
Ketan Bhatti
