The Seattle Symphony marks the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 with a weeklong digital broadcast of its EO9066 program. The broadcast will be on Seattle Symphony Live, during Feb 17 – Feb 24. On Feb 19, the 80th anniversary date, the performance will be available to stream for free. In this powerful concert, the orchestra showcases two works inspired by the executive order. First, there is the world premiere performance of Paul Chihara’s “Beyond the Hills,” a Seattle Symphony commission. Then the musicians are joined on stage by Seattle-born Kishi Bashi for his own “Improvisations on EO9066.” Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 rounds out the program.
To listen, click “Watch & Listen” at the Seattle Symphony website (seattlesymphony.org), then on “Seattle Symphony Live.”
Paul Chihara was born and raised in Seattle, and received a BA in English Literature from the UW, before eventually becoming a music professor and composer. Until WWII, his father ran Chihara Jewelry next door to Higo’s Ten-Cent Store at Sixth and Jackson.
Kishi Bashi is the pseudonym of singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter/composer Kaoru Ishibashi. He was born in Seattle and raised in Norfolk, Virginia. His “Omoiyari Songfest” reveals his thinking (YouTube, 4 min.).
