Stigma: Songs of the Forgotten

June 25, 2021
Austin, Texas

Inversion Ensemble presents Stigma: Songs of the Forgotten

Pink

music by Germán Barboza
2021 Happy Composer Commission Project

james: book of ruth

Steven Sérpa, Composer
Zac Kline, Librettist

Soloists
James (baritone) — Sam Kreidenweis
Ruth (soprano) — Katrina Saporsantos 
His Mother (soprano) — Mary Kettlewell

Soloists for Scene 5, “[you put] a cool cloth on my forehead”:
Claudia Carroll
Michael Kelley Dixon

Singers

SOPRANO
Carol Brown 
Claudia Carroll
Erin Yousef 
Juli Orlandini 
Katie Gleason
Maureen Popovich 

ALTO
Adrienne Inglis 
Carmen Johnson 
Cina Crisara 
Dierdre Spainhour 
Jennifer Inglis Hudson
Rebecca Stidolph 
Wravan Godsoe 

TENOR
Garrett Gerard 
Holt Skinner 
Jonathan Riemer
Joshua Chai 
Michael Kelley Dixon 

BASS
André Trahan
Brad Fanta 
Evan Blaché
Gil Zilkha
Michael Follis
Rick Gabrillo 

Instrumental Ensemble
Austin Haller — Piano
Jaime Esposito (Spectrum Ensemble) — Percussion
Sara Nelson — Cello
Bruce Williams — Viola
Caleb Polashek — Violin
Kyle Jones — Saxophone

Transpose

Robbie LaBanca, composer
Text by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza & Meg Daá

Vocal Quartet
Mary Kettlewell
Katrina Saporsantos
Michael Kelley Dixon
Sam Kreidenweis

Instrumental Ensemble
Jaime Esposito (Spectrum Ensemble)— Percussion
Stephen Hall (Spectrum Ensemble) — Percussion
Arrow Pierce — Electronics

Join us this Pride month for a powerful concert exploring the past, present, and future of the LGBTQIA+ experience. This concert features the world premiere of Steven Sérpa's dramatic oratorio, james (book of ruth). With a libretto by Zac Kline, this allegory of the late twentieth century HIV/AIDS epidemic emphasizes strong themes of love, loss, and forgiveness still relevant today. Sam Kreidenweis (Baritone) plays James, a young male facing a new HIV diagnosis and the social, familial, and religious persecution it brings. His mother, sung by Mary Kettlewell (Soprano), denies James the love and compassion he needs as he watches his partner fall ill and pass away, but Ruth—an amalgam of activist Ruth Coker Burks and the biblical Ruth— sung by Katrina Saporsantos (Soprano), offers the kindness and understanding that those closest to James fail to show.

Additionally, Inversion explores the past and present of the LGBTQIA+ experience with Pink by Germán Barboza, inspired by the persecution and murder of LGBTQIA+ individuals during the holocaust, and Transpose by Robbie LaBanca, based on texts by transgender and gender non-conforming poets who explore the epidemic of violence against their community today.

Inversion was thrilled to safely congregate as an ensemble for this poignant program after a long year of virtual projects. Stigma was filmed and recorded in KMFA’s Draylen Mason Music Studio. We are also proud to have collaborated with various local and nationally-based instrumentalists, including Spectrum Ensemble.

The video for this performance will remain on YouTube until Monday, July 5, 2021, and can be accessed from the same link that will be provided with your ticket purchase.

This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.

Este proyecto es apoyado en parte por la División de Artes Culturales del Departamento de Desarrollo Económico de la Ciudad de Austin.

Please join us on Friday, June 25, 2021, at 7:00 pm CT for Stigma: Songs of the Forgotten. Tickets are available here.

Inversion Ensemble
Trevor Shaw, Artistic Director
Robbie LaBanca, Managing Director
Adrienne Inglis, Outreach Director

Michelle Schumann, Piano
Thomas Burritt, Marimba

Audio Production, Trevor Shaw with assistance from Adrienne Inglis
Video Production and Editing by Carol Brown
Graphic Design & Marketing by Juli Orlandini
Photography, Zachary Nash
Texas Flag Project