social truths | Laura Siersema

Aberfan (7 pianos, voice and tools of rescue) is an elegy not only for the people of a village who suffered the loss of a generation and the wounded soul of the Welsh who saw their beautiful country destroyed when the coal mines came to the valleys, but for our world, besieged by unbridled industry pillaging the land and its people, exploiting riches for a few. Aberfan is our entire structure under collapse — the condemnation of a corrupted capitalism and the truth of our entrapment in a world that reduces to rubble all that is sacred.

Laura Siersema is composer of Aberfan (7 pianos, voice and tools of rescue), a sponsored project of New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax deductible. Your contribution ensures we can return to the studio to complete its recording.

Photo courtesy of Alan George

(Originally posted October 2016)

“The poet, the artist, the musician, continues the quiet work of centuries, building bridges of experience between peoples…reminding man of the universality of his feelings, desires and despairs… thus, art is political in the most profound sense, not as a weapon in the struggle, but an instrument of understanding of the futility of struggle…” President John F. Kennedy

Remarks on Behalf of the National Cultural Center, 29 November 1962: https://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHA-145-008.aspx

Words of such insight and beauty for anyone, yet especially to those of us who happen to be creative artists, and of necessity, work alone.

My deep appreciation to Kelly Bennett and Dan Blask at Massachusetts Cultural Council for posting this link.

Laura Siersema is composer of Aberfan (7 pianos, voice and tools of rescue), a sponsored project of New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax deductible. Your contribution ensures we can return to the studio to complete its recording.