The LOTUS Project has announced its festival series “Remembrance & Resilience: Commemorating Stories Through Music & Art,” a multi-venue celebration weaving together music, visual art, and community dialogue to honor journeys of survival and solidarity. From May 7 through June 18, audiences are invited to explore self-guided exhibits, chamber and choral-orchestral concerts, gallery talks, panel discussions, and workshops — all in partnership with cultural and humanitarian organizations.

A mix of personal narratives expressed through art and music, the series features new commissions by artist-in-residence Alia Bensliman; musical works by Lori Laitman, Jake Heggie, Caroline Shaw, and Laurence Sherr; and community programs developed with I-Rise Trenton and Kennesaw State University’s Museum of History and Holocaust Education.

“We are deeply honored to partner with Kennesaw State University’s Museum of History and Holocaust Education on this concert-exhibit series. Their invitation to collaborate has allowed us to bring together powerful musical works and visual narratives in a shared space of remembrance and hope. This series is a true celebration of resilience, and we look forward to inviting our communities to experience these stories together.” said Alicia Brozovich, artistic director of The LOTUS Project.

A performing arts organization located in Trenton, The LOTUS Project’s mission is “to craft immersive musical experiences in which we can encounter the world with new eyes and a renewed sense of wonder,” reads a press release. “Inspired by the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, The LOTUS Project plans to realize its vision — to transform our community through powerful artistic encounters — through launching an annual music and arts festival in Trenton. The organization currently offers a fully professional chamber choir, fully professional chamber orchestra, and community vocal ensemble.
A self-guided exhibit will be held Wednesdays from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-7 p.m. (last entries at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m.) at 120 East State Street in Trenton. This rotating visual arts exhibit features portrait panels by Bensliman and stories of local refugee and immigrant families. All donations support I-Rise Trenton’s work with displaced families.
On May 14 from 4-7 p.m. at 120 East State Street, an exhibit and discussion, “Words, Music, Memory” is a curator-led panel on the chain of commemoration —witness, preservation, interpretation, performance — hosted with Kennesaw State University’s Museum of History and Holocaust Education. A chamber concert entitled “(Re)Presenting Voices of the Holocaust” is scheduled for May 18 at 4 p.m. at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 140 North Warren Street, Trenton. A trio with soprano, piano, and oboe will perform works that reflect on Holocaust remembrance and resilience.
On June 4 from 4-7 p.m. at 120 East State Street, a panel and reception, “Refuge or Refusal,” with I-Rise Trenton examines pivotal moments in U.S. immigration policy from 1790 to 1965, followed by an exhibit reception. On June 8 at 4 p.m. at Stone Hill Church a preview concert and composer talk, “Fugitive Footsteps” is scheduled. Composer-in-fesidence Laurence Sherr, the son of Jewish immigrants, presents his setting of Nelly Sachs’s poetry, performed by The LOTUS Project Chorale, with a discussion on refugee and Holocaust themes.
An artist talk and reception, “Courage and Compassion,” is June 11 from 4-7 p.m. at 120 East State Street. Bensliman will lead a gallery talk on her commissioned portraits of local refugee families, followed by a reception. Finally, on June 15 at 4 p.m. at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton, a choral/orchestral concert, “Membra Nostri, Hands of Hope” features the LOTUS Festival Orchestra and LOTUS Chorale, with local refugee guest musicians and youth choral singers performing works that tell uplifting stories of survival and solidarity.
For tickets and more information, visit the lotusprojectnj.org/festival-series.