The program for this concert was initially conceived when thoughts on resilience paired with imaginative storytelling. The thread in between is the power of love and its life-saving qualities.

FIDELIO: a woman dresses as a man and risks her life to save her lover. The strength of her love empowers her journey and helps her overcome the obstacles of “becoming” someone else in order to rescue him. Love prevails and triumphs. Both of them remain alive - a living relationship.

TABAKOVA: a woman moves from Bulgaria to another country at a young age. A new people, a new language, a new everything. It certainly takes a lot of resilience to survive, pursue, and achieve one’s dreams in the face of such challenges. Being a female composer - like being a female conductor - requires an intensely high level of love for what one does, a huge amount of resilience and determination, and a lot of faith in one’s personal story and the construction of it. We will be exploring Tabakova’s Concerto for Cello and Strings - a dialogue, a conversation, a togetherness of what lies in between - a living relationship.

SCHEHERAZADE: a woman destined to die. She becomes deeply and enduringly creative in order to live and help others do the same. The result of her storytelling is the accomplishment of love. She is resilient and strong for the unimaginable duration of one thousand nights. She saves herself, she saves womanhood, she saves her lover from a metaphoric death, and she saves love itself - a living relationship.

I believe we are all here because of a relationship: the one that created us, the ones that connect us to life, the ones that develop us, the ones that define us, the ones that teach us to live and love. I believe in love, humanity, and our storytelling. Their force is what makes us surpass difficulties, be resilient, continue our journey on this planet, and fulfill our personal missions. This program includes all of these beautiful humans, who are ready for love and connection through storytelling. Love makes them human. Love gives them strength and resilience. Love makes them creative. One dresses up as a man, the other composes an amazing piece of music, and the last becomes a storyteller for one thousand nights… If this isn’t love and life, then what is?

- Zoe Zeniodi