Sunday, June 7 @ 2pm
Alberta Rose Theatre
“We really saw that this was like being a musical ambassador.”
ABOUT THE CONCERT
The season closes in June with A Grain of Sand, Revisited—a poignant reflection on Asian American political formation through music and storytelling.
In collaboration with A Thousand Tongues—a Minneapolis-based arts organization dedicated to uplifting Asian American voices—this concert blends past and present, featuring selections from the seminal 1973 protest album A Grain of Sand, alongside choral works by contemporary Asian and Asian American composers including Shruthi Rajasekar, Tracy Wong, and Saunder Choi.
A concert examining Asian American activism, solidarity, and identity formation, A Grain of Sand, Revisited traces the roots of the now-familiar term “Asian American,” coined in the late 1960s to foster unity among pan-Asian activists engaged in the broader, multi-ethnic struggle for self-determination. Through music and reflection, this program explores that radical legacy and the enduring lessons it offers today.
The program is co-curated and conducted by ATT Artistic Director Paolo Debuque, Adrianna Tam, and Resonance Associate Conductor Shohei Kobayashi.
PROGRAM
Stay Tuned!
PRESS & MEDIA
Smithsonian Folkways — A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle by Asians in America
Densho Encyclopedia — A Grain of Sand (album)
ResearchGate — The Construction of Asian American Identity in A Grain of Sand’s Music for the Struggle by Asians in America (1973)
Pitchfork — What Is Asian American Music, Really?
THIS PERFORMANCE IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY The Dinah Dodds Fund for New Art, Ronni Lacroute, The Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Cultural Trust, Regional Arts & Culture Council, The City of Portland– the Office of Arts & Culture, and the Oregon Community Foundation