On Thursday, May 15, at 20.00, the Lullaby Project concert is back at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) for the eighth year running, in partnership with the musical social inclusion project El Sistema Greece and New York’s Carnegie Hall.
The Lullaby Project social music program provides an open space of expression for participants who, together with composers and songwriters, turn personal stories of their relationship with children into original music works. The pieces that are created highlight the diversity of human experience from the viewpoint of parenthood or a professional role related to children.
This year, El Sistema Greece is creating Musical Connections that go beyond the boundaries of gender or biological kinship. Original music compositions highlight stories that touch upon contemporary social issues, inviting us into a world of empathy, acceptance and meaningful contact.
Behind each piece is a true story:
A mother who decides to break the cycle of her own trauma and raise her child to be free.
Two mothers, of refugee background, who live at the Controlled Access Facility for Temporary Accommodation of Asylum Seekers in Schisto, recount their journey to Greece—and towards a future full of hope for their children.
Fathers in Korydallos prison who employ music in their effort to maintain their relationship with their children and with everything important they have left behind.
The head of the “DIMITRIO” Center for the Creative Engagement of Children (CCEC) of the NGO Mission, who has created a safe place where childhood is protected and thrives.
The director of the 133rd Primary School of Athens, which opened the doors of a school that became a community and gives opportunities, voice and space to every child.
A mother who shares the long journey of adoption and piecing together the parenting role through everyday life with her child.
And, lastly, a mother standing by her young musician son, supporting his every step towards realizing his big dreams.
These stories are conveyed on stage through original musical compositions by the following creators: Andriana, Kakia Gkoudina, Manthos Damigos, Jef Maarawi, Dimitris Maragopoulos, Simone Mongelli, and Maria Papageorgiou. Each with their own artistic imprint, they transform the personal experience into music.
These musical stories will be presented live to the public on Thursday, May 15, at 20.00, at the Alternative Stage at the SNFCC, in yet another musical celebration of parental love. The orchestra will be conducted by Zoe Zeniodi and Kyriaki Kountouri, while El Sistema Greece Youth Choir will also participate in the concert.
The innovative community program Lullaby Project was created in December 2011 in New York City by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI), bringing new mothers and pregnant women from vulnerable social environments together with musical artists, in order to write and sing lullabies to their babies. Since then, these songs have been performed at the famous concerts of The Lullaby Project, which have featured celebrated artists, including mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, Fiona Apple, Natalie Merchant, Catherine Zeta-Jones, et al.
In pursuing its effort to promote social inclusion through music, Carnegie Hall has been working together with El Sistema Greece since 2018 in the implementation of the Greek version of The Lullaby Project, with El Sistema Greece innovating and expanding the concept beyond maternity and biological ties, to include stories of parental love in all its forms, affectionately dedicated to all the children of the world. The SNFCC has joined El Sistema Greece on this beautiful musical journey since the very first year, 2018, supporting its effort to celebrate the love for children through the universal power of the lullaby.
The concert is staged with free admission thanks to a grant by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).
Conductors: Kyriaki Kountouri, Zoe Zeniodi
With the participation of: El Sistema Greece Youth Choir
Choir Director: Vagia Papagiannopoulou
