American Composer Lisa Bielawa & American Artist Sherly Oring Create Series of Pop-Up Choral Performances for the 30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Bielawa and Oring Team Up to Create Mauer Broadcast, A Series of Choral Performances in Berlin, Germany Hosted by Kulturprojekte Berlin 

American composer Lisa Bielawa and American artist Sheryl Oring have teamed up to create a series of pop-up choral performances set to premiere in early November. 

The performance series, called the Mauer Broadcast, is part of a 30th-anniversary celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall and is being hosted by the Kultureprojekte Berlin.

The musical piece—which is about 16 minutes long—will be performed four times (November 4 and 5, and then twice on November 10) during Berlin Festival Week. 

The piece was crafted for an unlimited number of voices and the program was designed with this as its intent. As the piece takes place, listeners will be able to walk among the performs. 

Anyone—and everyone—may join the performance. The music was purposely designed to be singable by the public and will include many “call and response” sections to encourage public interaction. 

The performances will change venues several times—twice at the open-air Brandenburg Gate (November 4 and November 5), once at the Alexanderplatz (the first performance on November 10), and once at the Marx-Engels Forum (the second performance on November 10). 

Additionally, a “sing in” rehearsal of the performance will take place at the Brandenburg Gate on November 4. 

The texts for the program are selected from Oring’s Maueramt project from autumn 2014, produced in conjunction with the 25th anniversary celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall—in this series, Oring set up typewriter as various locations along the former wall with questions such as, “what do you think about the Berlin Wall?”—and encouraged the public to type their answers on the manual typewriter there. 

The collected answers were used at an exhibition at the Museum THE KENNEDYS in Berlin.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to commemorate this event by composing a work that sings out a whole city’s memories of the Wall and its ultimate end, right on the sites where its presence was most felt,” said Bielawa. 

“Over sixteen minutes, the piece evolves through five sections: ‘Erinnerung’ (Memory); ‘Ich denke an…’ (I Think About…); ‘Est ist lange her’ (It was a long time ago); ‘Wieso?’ (How so?); and finally, ‘Herzenswunch” (Heart’s Wish). The music is composed so that anyone who wishes to raise their voice can participate, guided by four instruments and singing leaders.”

Bielawa’s work on Mauer Broadcast follows her largescale piece, Airfield Broadcasts, a massive 60-minute work for hundreds of musicians that premiered on the tarmac of the former Tempelhof Airport in Berlin (Tempelhof Broadcast, May 2013) and Crissy Field in San Francisco (Crissy Broadcast, October 2013). 

Oring, too, is moved by the work she was able to create with Bielawa. 

“With this work, we’re taking the words of the people back to the streets of Berlin,” said Oring. “The memories that I typed will take on new life through this collaboration. Lisa has created a powerful work of music that will bring people together as we recall this important time in history.”