Vom Bleiben

Komische Oper Berlin & Trickster Orchestra

“They were always told that the quotas for refugees were already exhausted.”

Gabriel Adorjan

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