Gotta love the life of a gigging musician!

As a performer, you hardly do the same job twice. This week's performance of "Annelies" with the Academy Chamber Society is the American premier of the James Whitbourn piece. The work was only performed once before, three years ago in London.

Although this ensemble is a community group, the musicians are incredible. This choir is great and the piece is absolutely incredible. Much of the text is taken from The Diary of Anne Frank. Chronicaling the life of a young Jewish girl in Amsterdam during the Nazi Reign, Anne's family goes into hiding where Anne is forced to be silent during the day and "singing is permissible, but very softly, and only after 6 pm!"

Anne's family and the other families seeking shelter in the quiet annex are eventually found and deported to the concentration camps, where the Frank family is broken up and Anne and her sister and mother eventually die from the terrible conditions in the camps.

We constantly hear of all the stories of how music saved the lives of many concentration camp victims. This musical representation of one of the most well-known stories of the Holocaust is a chilling memoir to those who had their humanity stripped and their lives cut mercilessly short.

Be sure to catch a performance of "Annelies" this weekend! Check the Appearances page for full info!