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When Sept. 11 happened, distinguished local composer Craig Bohmler had already been commissioned by the Mission Chamber Orchestra to write a cantata in honor of San Jose's sister cities. Suddenly, what had begun as a celebration of international friendship deepened into an exploration of the common ties that all humanity shares and what different cultures bring to those bonds. "It is a piece that asks a lot of questions and does not give a lot of answers," says Bohmler of the cantata. "I think it's a responsibility of artists today to respond to Sept. 11. I think one must respond to that for a very long time. We had actually been given the commission, and then Sept. 11 came, and we altered our tack on it."
Whatever the angle of the piece, the versatility and international reputation of Los Gatosbased composer, musician and teacher Bohmler made him a natural choice to write such a multinational tribute. Bohmler's works, which include musicals, operas and art songs, have been produced--and garnered acclaim--throughout Europe and North America.
Bohmler's cantata for San Jose's sister cities, called Sisters, was written for the Mission Chamber Orchestra, the San Jose Symphonic Choir and the Cantabile Children's Chorus. These groups will perform the world premiere of Sisters on Feb. 8 in downtown San Jose at Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph.
San Jose has seven sister cities around the world: Veracruz, Mexico; Ekaterinburg, Russia; Dublin, Ireland; San Jose, Costa Rica; Okayama, Japan; Tainan, Taiwan; and Pune, India. Initially, Bohmler says, "it was actually difficult to link them and find out why they were sisters at all. So what we did is we represented the city of San Jose, Calif., with the children's chorus, because it's the youngest of the cities. At the beginning of the piece, its shores have been attacked. The opening bars of the piece are the attack." The attack is a figurative representation of Sept. 11.
Incorporating all the cities into the cantata, with the incredibly diverse musical styles they represent, was a formidable challenge that Bohmler and his librettist, Mary Carol Warwick, met by delving into the history and culture of each city. After the attack, Bohmler says, "San Jose asks its sisters what to do and each in turn talks about itself."
Each city tells a story of suffering or celebration--sometimes both. For example, Dublin, a city that has been invaded more than 500 times, at once joyfully revels in its culture and deplores its history of occupation. Ekaterinburg, the city where the Russian czar and his family were assassinated in 1917, laments that it will always be known for that event, while San Jose, Costa Rica, offers an uplifting celebration of its country's pacifist and ecologically aware inclinations. Pune, the oldest of the sister cities, ends the cantata with a healing message. However, says Bohmler, "None of them answer the question of the little one [San Jose], about how she can be helped. But basically all of them encourage her to celebrate her history and tell her that destiny will be what it is."
To tell the cities' stories and evoke their individual identities, Bohmler drew upon everything from Chinese, Japanese and Indian scales to salsa rhythms to Irish jigs. Not surprisingly for such a wide-ranging work, Sisters, a 30-minute musical piece, took about a year and a half to write. Bohmler emphasizes Warwick's contributions to this intensive work. "Mary Carol did a huge amount of research. We talked about what this piece should be, but many of the ideas are hers and I think she must be credited with that."
Sisters spans the world in music and history, but Bohmler's next works will have a more regional scope. Among his upcoming projects are a local outreach piece commissioned by American Musical Theatre of San Jose, funded by an NEA grant, and The Haunting of Winchester, a musical commissioned by the San José Repertory Theatre about Sarah Winchester and the Winchester Mystery House.
The Mission Chamber Orchestra, San Jose Symphonic Choir and Cantabile Children's Chorus present the world premiere of 'Sisters' on Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. at Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, 80 S. Market St., San Jose. The program also features works by Beethoven and Mozart. Tickets are $5$15. For more information, call 408.293.6060.
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