On May 30th, 2019, Geeta performed the monodrama, RUCKSACK, composed by Russell Steinberg with the chamber sextet Brightwork Newmusic at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica. This stunning contemporary piece draws on Julie Heyman's autobiography "From Rucksack to Backpack", detailing her harrowing escape from the Nazis, her subsequent joy beholding the Statue of Liberty when she and her family immigrated to the USA, and then her somewhat comical run-in just a year later with American police when she was arrested while hiking in the Pocono mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Russell's dramatic musical adaptation is a cultural expression that mirrors our current social climate on immigration.
For more details on the entire concert which also includes the incredible Los Angeles Youth Orchestra alumni and members playing works by Villa Lobos, Shostakovich, and Copland, click here!
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