Kishi Bashi Shines Light On Dark Chapter of U.S. History
WDCB’s Gary Zidek catches up with acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer Kishi Bashi, as well as members of Chicago Philharmonic to talk about his Improvisations on EO 9066.
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“I want people to be shocked, obviously, that this happened (Executive Order 9066). But also hopeful, that we have the ability to resolve these conflicts and these problems, that we have just through being empathetic and compassionate to each other.” - Kishi Bashi talking about what he hopes audiences take away from IMPROVISATIONS ON EO 9066,
Kishi Bashi
An orchestral program, making its Chicago premiere, shines some light on a dark chapter of American history. IMPROVISATIONS ON EO 9066 puts a spotlight on the incarceration of over 120,000 people of Japanese descent that took place in aftermath of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The program comes from acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer Kaoru Ishibashi, more commonly known as Kishi Bashi. He’ll be performing IMPROVISATIONS OF EO 9066 with the Chicago Philharmonic at the Harris Theatre on Saturday April 15. EO 9066 is a reference to President Franklin Roosevelt’s executive order that authorized the relocation of all persons deemed a threat to national security. Over a period of six months in 1942, approximately 122,000 men, women and children were forcibly moved to "internment camps" which were located in remote areas of six western states and Arkansas.
President Roosevelt suspended Executive Order 9066 in December of 1944 because of a Supreme Court decision that stated the U.S. government couldn’t continue to detain citizens loyal to America. The detainees were released, often to resettlement facilities and the camps were shut down by 1946.
Kishi Bashi says the idea for the project was born 2017 when the former President signed an Executive Order that banned foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries. He traveled with a group of PhD students to some of the sites where these incarceration camps were located. Bashi would play his violin at these sites, improvising new music. He took the recordings from those improvisations and orchestrated them creating IMPROVISATIONS ON EO 9066.
Chicago Philharmonic
