Life of A-bombed trees sprouts forth in American composer’s symphony “Green Hope after Black Rain” inspired by Hiroshima citizens’ activity
Feb. 21, 2022
by Miho Kuwajima, Staff Writer
American composer Steve Heitzeg, 62, has recently composed “Green Hope After Black Rain,” a symphony dedicated to atomic bomb survivors and A-bombed trees. Mr. Heitzeg, based in the U.S. city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, has said he was impressed by an activity carried out by Hiroshima citizens that involved spreading around the world the seeds from trees that survived the atomic bombing. The symphony is scheduled to premiere in May at a performance by a local symphony orchestra in the United States. Mr. Heitzeg also hopes to have the symphony performed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The 16-minute symphony is composed of three movements. The first involves the theme of the Manzanar internment camp, where Japanese Americans were forced to live in harsh conditions during World War II. The second movement is titled “Wind of No Return,” which is designed to honor A-bomb survivors, and the third movement, titled “Seeds of Peace,” expresses the capacity of A-bombed trees to survive. Amidst the symphony’s somber melody, paper cranes, stones from Hiroshima, and seeds of an A-bombed ginkgo tree are used to create gentle sound effects.
Mr. Heitzeg said he imbued the symphony with a sense of loss, suffering, and sadness brought about by war, alongside hope for the future and desire for world peace. The title of the second movement derives from an inscription on the Hiroshima Monument for the A-bomb Victims, which was erected on the banks of the city’s Motoyasu River based on calls from local high school students.
Mr. Heitzeg is an Emmy Award winning composer, and his piece composed in honor of the memory of victims of a terrorist bombing that took place during the Iraq War, including the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, was performed at the UN headquarters in New York City.
The symphony composed by Mr. Heitzeg started with a request of him by a local orchestra to compose a symphony for the orchestra’s 75th anniversary in 2020. Saint Paul, Minnesota, has been Nagasaki’s sister city for more than 65 years and holds a memorial ceremony on August 9 every year. While Mr. Heitzeg was composing the symphony, he was connected with the Green Legacy Hiroshima (GLH) Initiative through the auspices of an American anti-nuclear group. GLH, a citizens’ group based in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, sends seeds and seedlings from A-bombed trees to people throughout Japan and around the world. Mr. Heitzeg was moved to learn of the activity designed for the spreading of life that survived the atomic bombing.
Nassirine Azimi and Tomoko Watanabe, 68, co-founders of GLH, decided to support Mr. Heitzeg, doing whatever they could amid the difficult circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic. Ms. Watanabe and her friends made sheets of pressed cherry blossoms from an A-bombed cherry tree located on the grounds of Ikari Shrine, located in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, and sent some of them to Mr. Heitzeg, in the hopes of providing him inspiration for his new work.
The symphony will premiere at the U.S. orchestra’s regular concert scheduled for May 8. Mr. Heitzeg also hopes it can be performed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the near future. Ms. Azimi and Ms. Watanabe rejoiced and said, “Trees that survived the atomic bombing in Hiroshima have limitless potential. This symphony has been created with wishes for each and every person throughout the world.” They have now begun exploring how the symphony can be performed in Hiroshima.
(Originally published on February 21, 2022)
American composer Steve Heitzeg, 62, has recently composed “Green Hope After Black Rain,” a symphony dedicated to atomic bomb survivors and A-bombed trees. Mr. Heitzeg, based in the U.S. city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, has said he was impressed by an activity carried out by Hiroshima citizens that involved spreading around the world the seeds from trees that survived the atomic bombing. The symphony is scheduled to premiere in May at a performance by a local symphony orchestra in the United States. Mr. Heitzeg also hopes to have the symphony performed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The 16-minute symphony is composed of three movements. The first involves the theme of the Manzanar internment camp, where Japanese Americans were forced to live in harsh conditions during World War II. The second movement is titled “Wind of No Return,” which is designed to honor A-bomb survivors, and the third movement, titled “Seeds of Peace,” expresses the capacity of A-bombed trees to survive. Amidst the symphony’s somber melody, paper cranes, stones from Hiroshima, and seeds of an A-bombed ginkgo tree are used to create gentle sound effects.
Mr. Heitzeg said he imbued the symphony with a sense of loss, suffering, and sadness brought about by war, alongside hope for the future and desire for world peace. The title of the second movement derives from an inscription on the Hiroshima Monument for the A-bomb Victims, which was erected on the banks of the city’s Motoyasu River based on calls from local high school students.
Mr. Heitzeg is an Emmy Award winning composer, and his piece composed in honor of the memory of victims of a terrorist bombing that took place during the Iraq War, including the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, was performed at the UN headquarters in New York City.
The symphony composed by Mr. Heitzeg started with a request of him by a local orchestra to compose a symphony for the orchestra’s 75th anniversary in 2020. Saint Paul, Minnesota, has been Nagasaki’s sister city for more than 65 years and holds a memorial ceremony on August 9 every year. While Mr. Heitzeg was composing the symphony, he was connected with the Green Legacy Hiroshima (GLH) Initiative through the auspices of an American anti-nuclear group. GLH, a citizens’ group based in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, sends seeds and seedlings from A-bombed trees to people throughout Japan and around the world. Mr. Heitzeg was moved to learn of the activity designed for the spreading of life that survived the atomic bombing.
Nassirine Azimi and Tomoko Watanabe, 68, co-founders of GLH, decided to support Mr. Heitzeg, doing whatever they could amid the difficult circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic. Ms. Watanabe and her friends made sheets of pressed cherry blossoms from an A-bombed cherry tree located on the grounds of Ikari Shrine, located in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, and sent some of them to Mr. Heitzeg, in the hopes of providing him inspiration for his new work.
The symphony will premiere at the U.S. orchestra’s regular concert scheduled for May 8. Mr. Heitzeg also hopes it can be performed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the near future. Ms. Azimi and Ms. Watanabe rejoiced and said, “Trees that survived the atomic bombing in Hiroshima have limitless potential. This symphony has been created with wishes for each and every person throughout the world.” They have now begun exploring how the symphony can be performed in Hiroshima.
(Originally published on February 21, 2022)
