The Kaddish Project

Kaddish on
Performance Today

On Tuesday, April 21, Yom Ha Shoah, Performance Today, the nationally syndicated classical music radio program, presented selections from Kaddish, written and composed by Lawrence Siegel. For a limited period you may listen online at the Performance Today Archives.

Performance Today features live concerts by famous artists in concert halls around the globe, and is one of America's most popular classical music radio programs, with more than 1.2 million weekly listeners on 237 stations around the country.

Houston Symphony and Houston Symphony Chorus to Perform Kaddish

On November 23rd, 2010, a full symphonic version of Kaddish will be premiered by the Houston Symphony and Houston Symphony Chorus. In the period leading up to that performance, a series of significant workshops and presentations will feature the composer and Holocaust survivors. These activities will be produced by Holocaust Museum Houston in partnership with the Houston Symphony.

The Reviews Are In!
Kaddish World Premiere
November 15, 2008
VocalEssence, conducted by Philip Brunelle,
Lawrence Siegel, Composer

"Kaddish" connects with lyrical simplicity," — headlined the Star Tribune.

The premiere was made poignant by the presence of Naomi Warren, an 88-year-old survivor of Auschwitz, whose words both open and close KADDISH. Siegel speaks of his "verbatim" approach to the score, which he defines as "shaping song out of the actual speech of ordinary people." It brings "you-are-there" immediacy to the story. At the dress rehearsal Warren told the musicians of her 2003 return to Auschwitz, which enabled her to say, "Hineni! I am here!" — American Record Guide

"Kaddish" had a gravitas and an emotional immediacy that made even the familiar story of the Holocaust fresh and compelling. — Pioneer Press

... joy of a kind born in resiliency emerges like a glow of white light in the final section of Lawrence Siegel's oratorio – starting with a hymnlike choral setting of the words, "Nothing is as whole as a heart which has been broken," and rising to exaltation: "I am here! I survived, and look who is with me." After what has gone before, the impact of the conclusion is thrilling. — Star Tribune

media coverage

With words taken directly from interviews with survivors of the Holocaust, Kaddish is an innovative, engaging, and inspiring new work for chorus, soloists and chamber orchestra by Lawrence Siegel. Kaddish is intended to raise awareness and address the issue of genocide as an ongoing global crisis. By singing the actual words of Holocaust survivors, Kaddish creates empathy in its audience. With its passionate story of the redemptive power of the simple virtues of daily living, Kaddish motivates its audience to take a stand against genocide.

kaddish composer lawrence siegel

The Kaddish Project was created to bring attention to the intentional and systematic destruction of individuals and entire cultures throughout the world. Kaddish consists of fifteen movements for chorus, soloists and chamber orchestra based on firsthand testimonies of Holocaust survivors. It illustrates a specific moment in history while illuminating the Holocaust as a profound human tragedy - one whose implications extend beyond the Jewish experience to concern all people everywhere.

Kaddish was commissioned by the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies at Keene State College to commemorate its 25th anniversary and to follow its mission, "To remember and to teach." Through words and music, Kaddish speaks to our shared responsibility as human beings to respond to prejudice, hatred and injustice wherever we encounter it.

Your tax-deductible financial donations will make it possible to continue teaching the facts and lessons of the Holocaust, motivating successive generations to recognize an ethical responsibility to respond to prejudice and hatred.
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