Smoke

This choral composition was written in memory of the Holocaust attrocities and its many Jewish victims. One experiences the horrors of the Holocaust through the eyes of an innocent child, not comprehending the rapidly transpiring scenes. This hauntingly beautiful choral piece follows a child through an atrocious deportation process. The child does not understand what is happening, so in an attempt to decipher and cope with the unknown around him/her, the child somehow finds semblance in a constant symbol: the eerily omnipresent smoke. At first, the smoke represents positive memories and associations. The smoke always transpires from something (relatively) positive to something sinister, yet the child's mind naively returns the sinister smoke back to something positive. However, this smoke gradually represents increasingly ominous events: the family campfire, the train exhaust, the recently fired rifles, and finally the dreaded chimney. However, the music pulls no punches: the story ends tragically for the child despite the child's best efforts. The child is left alone, and he/she does the only thing that he or she knows how to do: recite the Jewish Shema, which the choir does at the end of this piece. * *This music is perfect for a small ensemble or larger choir: Each voice part has its own chance to express itself in its unique way, and the instrumental parts can make the experience even more special.