Lifting Up Marginalized Voices Through Music

Mexican-born Jewish composer Sergio Barer was a 2019 McKnight Visiting Composer fellow. During his fellowship he created a suite of choral pieces, collectively called The Immigrants. The compositions were inspired by dozens of interviews Sergio conducted with local Mexican families whom he met throughout the Twin Cities. Initially scheduled for premieres in Minnesota in 2020, The Immigrants awaits its first performance. However, the socioeconomic disparities and political ploys that shape the lives of the immigrants who inspired the work are more poignant and pressing than ever.

The Rimon Artist Salons have been called “one of the leading series of Jewish events in the country.” Since 2007, Salons have investigated dance, photography, slam poetry, popular music, puppetry, glass arts, fiction, papercutting, multimedia installation, film, architecture, theater, painting, video, and non-fiction.

The series is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. It is also funded in part by gifts from Bruce Goodman, the Oren and Sharron Steinfeldt Foundation, and two anonymous gifts.

Rimon is an initiative of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Sergio Barer is a composer and pianist who was born in Mexico City. He studied with Cuban pianists Marcia Freyre and Marcia Freyre de Andrade in Mexico and with Mario Feninger and Ian Brooks in the United States. Sergio made his concert debut in Mexico in 1985. In the late eighties he injured his left hand and performed music for one hand for several years, recording the CD “Piano Music for One Hand.” In the 1990s Sergio studied the basics of composition with his mentor Mario Feninger. When he returned to playing in public, he did so performing his own music. Following the advice of his friend, the esteemed composer Stephen Paulus, Sergio began composing choral music in the 2010s. In 2015 the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale named him Composer-in-Residence, a position he still holds. In 2017 the Chorale premiered “Moses, an Oratorio.”

Adam Wernick is a composer, writer, and lyricist, primarily working in theater. Over the past thirty years, he has created original music and sound for many theater companies, including The Guthrie Theater, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Kennedy Center, The Old Globe, Denver Center Theater Company, Red Bull Theater, Classic Stage Company, Manhattan Theater Company, The Wilma Theater, Philadelphia Theater Company, and others. Adam has received grants and awards from The McKnight Foundation, American Composers Forum, The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Independence Foundation, The Philadelphia Music Project, The Presser Foundation and ASCAP. Adam also contributes as a freelance writer for Public Radio International and herds goats.