Collection on the Whatcom Chorale's 2019 "Lest We Forget" concert, 2019

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Whatcom Chorale
Title
Collection on the Whatcom Chorale's 2019 "Lest We Forget" concert
Dates
2019 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.5 linear feet
Collection Number
XOE_CPNWS0365
Summary
Materials created for and in response to the March 17, 2019 "Lest We Forget" concert by Whatcom Chorale. The concert featured a premiere of Sarah Mattox's "Heart Mountain Choral Suite". The suite is from Mattox's opera, based on the diaries of World War II Japanese internment camp survivor Kara Kondo.
Repository
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public for research. Advance notice is requested for access to the audio-visual recording.

Languages
Materials are in English.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Materials created for and in response to the March 17, 2019 "Lest We Forget" concert by Whatcom Chorale. The concert featured a premiere of Sarah Mattox's "Heart Mountain Choral Suite". The suite is from Mattox's opera, based on the diaries of World War II Japanese internment camp survivor Kara Kondo.

The collection includes an event poster, concert program and tickets, a Whatcom Chorale Season Brochure, brochure for the Heart Mountain World War II National Historic Landmark site, and written statement reflecting on the event by Paul Opryzek (audience and community member). Also included is a video recording of the performance, created and edited by Steve Johnson for the Whatcom Chorale. The video recording documents a performance by Debbie Arthur (flute) of "Variations on Moon over a Ruined Castle" (Kōjō no Tsuki) by Rentarō Taki (1901). This is followed by the Whatcom Chorale's performance of Mattox's "Heart Mountain Choral Suite".

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Issued on February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 resulted in the forced relocation and incarceration of approximately 120,000 individuals and families of Japanese ancestry (including U.S. citizens) living in the United States. Heart Mountain War Relocation Center in Wyoming was one of ten internment camps used for imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

"Heart Mountain Choral Suite" was written by composer and mezzo-soprano Sarah Mattox, and derived from her "Heart Mountain" chamber opera. The text of these works is based upon journals written by Kara Matsushita Kondo of Yakima Valley in Washington State, who was interned at Heart Mountain with members of her family. On March 17, 2019, Whatcom Chorale performed the world premiere of Mattox's "Heart Mountain Choral Suite at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Bellingham, Washington. Soloists were Kimberly Sogioka (mezzo-soprano) with Laura Speck Camacho (violin), and Wade Dingman on piano. Deborah Brown is Conductor and Artistic Director of the Whatcom Chorale.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are advised that some of the contents of this collection are still subject to copyright.

Preferred Citation

Collection on the Whatcom Chorale's 2019 "Lest We Forget" concert, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Washington University.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Custodial History

Textual materials were transferred by Paul Opryzek and formally donated by Sherrie Kahn on behalf of the Whatcom Chorale in July 2019. The audio-visual recording of the 2019-03-17 concert was donated by Steve Johnson (videographer) in August 2019.

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Choruses, Secular (Mixed voices) with instrumental ensemble.
  • Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation--1942-1945--Songs and music.
  • Operas--Excerpts.
  • Variations (Flute and piano)

Corporate Names

  • Heart Mountain Relocation Center (Wyo.)--Songs and music.
  • Whatcom Chorale--Archives.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Art music.
  • Concert films.
  • Excerpts.
  • Nonficition films.
  • Records (Documents)
  • Variations (Music)

Titles within the Collection

  • Lest we forget.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Container of (work):--Mattox, Sarah--Heart mountain.--Choral suite.
    • Container of (work):--Taki, Rentarō, 1879-1903.--Kōjō no tsuki.

CPNWS staff
2019

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West