Founded in Seattle in 1998 by artistic director Mina Miller, Music of Remembrance presents acclaimed performances dedicated to remembering and understanding the Holocaust through music. In addition to its two major annual concerts at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, the nonprofit organization presents outreach programs, commissions new works, and produces musical recordings. In addition, it presents a popular Sparks of Glory concert-with-commentary series throughout the year at the Seattle Art Museum. These free, 90-minute programs illuminate the historical and cultural background of the Holocaust’s extraordinary musical legacy for everyone from children, high school and college students, to senior citizens.
In addition to its repertoire of Holocaust-era music, MOR commissions and performs new Holocaust-inspired works by some of the world’s leading composers of today. In 2011 MOR released its sixth CD on Naxos, the world’s leading classical music label. It features composer Lori Laitman’s MOR-commissioned oratorio “Vedem,” based on the poetry, stories and lives of a group of courageous teenage boys imprisoned at the Terezín concentration camp. MOR’s second documentary film, “The Boys of Terezín,” received its world premiere in Seattle in late 2011, and is now being screened at film festivals around the world. An educational version of the film, “The Boys of Home One,” is available for educational use, and is accompanied by an online teacher’s resource guide.