Composer Jimmy López and playwright Nilo Cruz collaborated on a new oratorio for orchestra, chorus, and soprano, entitled Dreamers. Performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra, London, under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen, featuring soprana Ana Maria Martinez. The piece will explore the human stories of the US immigrant experience, in particular that of Dreamers— undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children— and what it means for cities to provide sanctuary from prosecution and deportation. It will be presented by Cal Performances in Zellerbach Hall Sunday March 17th at 3 pm.

Award-winning composer Jimmy López Bellido has been described as "one of the most admired among the younger generation of South American composers" (Chicago Tribune) and "one of the most interesting young composers anywhere today" (Chicago Sun-Times). López earned his doctorate from the UC Berkeley Department of Music in 2012 and is the current composer-in-residence at the Houston Symphony. He is known for combining European compositional techniques with South American musical influences in his acclaimed and dramatic works. He and Cruz previously collaborated on an opera adaptation of Ann Patchett’s novel Bel Canto for Lyric Opera of Chicago which was broadcast on PBS’ Great Performances.

Course Description: Co-taught by Peter Glazer and Stan Lai, this series will explore the specific and metaphoric connections amongst Creative action—adapting Stan Lai’s concepts and training— and the possibility of personal, cultural, and social transformation. How do we understand movement, migration, and change both metaphorically and literally? How do artists working in literature, visual art, film, performance, and design explore and enact transformation? Aside from featuring insight into the works and creative methods of Asia’s Stan Lai, the series will also delve into current trends in Latino-American/Latino arts, as well as European and African art and performance.

Arts + Design Thursdays is made possible thanks to support from the Big Ideas Courses Program in the College of Letters & Science at UC Berkeley and from generous supporters of Berkeley Arts + Design. For more information, visit artsdesign.berkeley.edu/events/arts%2Bdesign-thursdays.