St. Louis, MO

Alarm Will Sound, in collaboration with Arts & Faith St. Louis, will present the St. Louis premiere of The Cave by Beryl Korot and Steve Reich, on March 11th at 8pm and March 12th at 2pm at the John Burroughs School. Using audio and video from interviews, The Cave explores the connections between the Judaic culture of Israel, the Arab culture of the West Bank, and American culture in New York City, Austin, and Dallas. The work incorporates five videos screens with material gathered and organized by Korot.

The Cave is one of Steve Reich’s most important works. During the course of the documentary-like video opera Reich and Korot investigate the meaning the 4000 year old story of Abraham, his wives Sarah and Hagar, and sons Ishmael and Isaac has for Jews, Muslims, and Americans today. The same five questions are posed in recorded interviews: “Who was Abraham? Who was Sarah? Hagar? Ishmael? and Isaac?”

Alarm Will Sound is an internationally acclaimed ensemble that has a history of collaboration with Steve Reich. The composer called Steve Reich: Tehillim and The Desert Music, their first album “an absolute knockout.” Alarm Will Sound co-commissioned Radio Rewrite from Steve Reich and gave the United States premiere in Bing Concert Hall at Stanford University in 2013.

In addition to the performances of The Cave, Arts & Faith St. Louis will engage the community in discussions regarding the shared histories of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Arts & Faith will present panel discussions with faith leaders and lead a Interfaith Journey for teens. These activities will endeavor to explore the commonalities between the faiths with the goal of bringing the community together in meaningful conversation.