#5105, With Mary Kouyoumdjian, Presents "Adoration"
New York-based Armenian-American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian talks us through her Grammy-nominated electroacoustic chamber opera Adoration for this New Sounds.
Adapted from the film by the same name by Armenian-Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan (The Sweethereafter, Exotica), the opera Adoration’s libretto is by Royce Vavrek and was done in collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects. The work follows a high school student, Simon, whose fictional story about a terrorist plot goes viral, and “explores how grief, racism, and media distortion can twist the truth and shape public perception” (The Armenian Report).
During the course of the production, some things are sung, some things are spoken, and non-text-based vocals -“choral soundscapes” by the GRAMMY-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street - enable Simon to fill in his imagination, giving him space to think and understand. Then there are the Silvana Quartet augmented by electronics and the cast featuring Miriam Khalil, Omar Najmi, David Adam Moore, Naomi Louisa O’Connell, Marc Kudisch, Sammy Ivany, and GRAMMY Award winner Karim Sulayman – all conducted by Alan Pierson. Composer Mary Kouyoumdjian joins host John Schaefer to talk about the opera, and some of its selected musical moments. - Caryn Havlik
Program #5105, With Mary Kouyoumdjian, Presenting "Adoration" (First aired 2/6/26)
ARTIST: Alan Pierson, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Silvana Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian
WORK: Pre-Show [4:07]
RECORDING: Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration (Live)
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: www.brightshiny.ninja
ARTIST: Alan Pierson, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Silvana Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian
WORK: Innocence [6:59]
RECORDING: Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration (Live)
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: www.brightshiny.ninja
ARTIST: Alan Pierson, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Silvana Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian
WORK: Motivation [4:53]
RECORDING: Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration (Live)
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: www.brightshiny.ninja
ARTIST: Alan Pierson, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Silvana Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian
WORK: The Holy Land [2:00]
RECORDING: Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration (Live)
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: www.brightshiny.ninja
ARTIST: Alan Pierson, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Silvana Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian
WORK: Down In History [4:49]
RECORDING: Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration (Live)
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: www.brightshiny.ninja
ARTIST: Alan Pierson, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Silvana Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian
WORK: This Time of Year [11:47]
RECORDING: Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration (Live)
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: www.brightshiny.ninja
ARTIST: Alan Pierson, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Silvana Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian
WORK: How I Was Raised [1:25]
RECORDING: Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration (Live)
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: www.brightshiny.ninja
ARTIST: Alan Pierson, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Silvana Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian
WORK: I Was Married to Him [2:30]
RECORDING: Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration (Live)
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: www.brightshiny.ninja
ARTIST: Alan Pierson, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Silvana Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian
WORK: I Need to Know [1:08]
RECORDING: Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration (Live)
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: www.brightshiny.ninja
ARTIST: Alan Pierson, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Silvana Quartet, Mary Kouyoumdjian
WORK: Flames and Frames [1:40]
RECORDING: Mary Kouyoumdjian: Adoration (Live)
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: www.brightshiny.ninja
