Angel Island Oratorio | By Huang Ruo, Conducted by Wei Cheng, Performed by the Berkeley Chamber Chorus and the Del Sol Quartet (Excerpts, 3 min)
Abstract
Angel Island Oratorio | Performance by Huang Ruo, conducted by Wei Cheng, and performed by the Berkeley Chamber Chorus and the Del Sol Quartet (Winter 2022)
Performance excerpts, 3 min; This December 3, 2022 performance of Huang Ruo’s Angel Island Oratorio at Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, was one of two performances that were the centerpieces of a year of curriculum and public programming about immigration and incarceration called A Year on Angel Island. Along with the February 23-26, 2023 performances of Within These Walls, by Lenora Lee Dance, this oratorio for voices and strings provided UC Berkeley students a chance to perform meaningful works of art as a way to explore challenging topics.
From 1910 to 1940, the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay processed hundreds of thousands of immigrants from more than 80 countries, most from Asia. Its administration and detention facilities were built in order to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act and other discriminatory laws. Today it is a National Historic Landmark located within the Angel Island State Park.
A Year on Angel Island was a project of the UC Berkeley Future Histories Lab and Berkeley Arts+Design and was supported by the Mellon Foundation. Co-directors of the project were Susan Moffat and Lisa Wymore.
The Angel Island Oratorio was commissioned by the Del Sol Quartet with the support of the Hewlett Foundation. It premiered inside the Detention Barracks at the Angel Island Immigration Station in 2021. The 2022 UC Berkeley production was created by:
Huang Ruo, composer
Wei Cheng, music director
Olivia Ting, visual designer
Ky Frances, choreographer
Mia Chong, choreographer
The Del Sol Quartet: Kathryn Bates, Benjamin Kreith, Charlton Lee, and Sam Weiser.