OAKLAND SYMPHONY PREMIERES SONGS OF PROTEST

The Oakland Symphony presents the world premiere of a new work by Martin Rokeach this Friday (May 19) at The Paramount.

Rokeach’s new work, Bodies on the Line, was inspired by the great Flint Sit-Down strike of 1936, when, for 44 days, workers occupied the General Motors Flint plant, but refused to work, effectively forcing GM to recognize the UAW.

This strike was a flashpoint in U.S. labor relations. The work was commissioned by the Oakland Symphony. The libretto is by Rebecca Engle.

Bodies on the Line commemorates the collective action of the laborers, draws us into the standoff, and celebrates a heroic, pivotal victory. Composer Rokeach was, for 33 years, Artistic Co-Director of San Francisco’s contemporary music concert series, Composers, Inc. Currently, he is Professor Emeritus at Saint Mary’s College of California. 

Also on the program, Beethoven’s defiant Third Leonore Overture, and Samuel Barber’s bracing Second Essay for Orchestra. The program is titled SONGS OF PROTEST.

Tickets start at just $25. Slipped Disc readers can enjoy a 25% discount on all
other priced tickets with this discount code: DISC0519.

OAKLAND SYMPHONY
Tito Muñoz, conductor 
Melody Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Marc Molomot, tenor
Morgan Smith, baritone
Oakland Symphony Chorus
Pacific Edge Voices
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overture No. 3
SAMUEL BARBER: Second Essay for Orchestra
MARTIN ROKEACH / REBECCA ENGLE (librettist & dramaturge): Bodies on the Line: The Great Flint Sit-
Down Strike

Songs of Protest