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Echoes

San Francisco is a city where the only constant is change. Whether sudden and loud or gradual and quiet, the aftershocks are always felt and the echoes always heard by the next generation. Originally premiered in 2017 at Herbst Theatre in a co-presentation by San Francisco Performances and the Kronos Performing Arts Association, this spoken-word chamber opera explores these “Echoes” through poetry, music, dialogue, and recorded streetscapes.

“An emotionally impactful, timely, and original performance… Echoes did the important work of fostering a conversation across racial and class lines – one that rarely happens in an increasingly segregated Bay Area.” – KQED Arts

Text created by
Gabriel Cortez, A.M. Smiley, Aimee Suzara,
Michael Wayne Turner III, and Tassiana Willis
with writing from Tongo Eisen-Martin and Enrique Garcia Naranjo
and participants in San José workshops for Youth Speaks

Music composed by
Danny Clay

Performed by
Kronos Quartet
David Harrington, violin  •  John Sherba, violin
Hank Dutt, viola  •  Sunny Yang, cello

The Living Earth Show
Andy Meyerson, percussion  •  Travis Andrews, electric guitar

Youth Speaks
Ashley Smiley •  Sean San José •  Tassiana Willis •  Aimee Suzara •  Michael Wayne Turner III

The premiere performance was directed and edited by Sean San José.