Associate Professor Omri Shimron’s recorded performance of “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!” by American composer Frederic Rzewski pays homage to his own ancestors’ Zionist aspirations.
Omri Shimron, a pianist and associate professor in the Department of Music, makes a unique contribution to the discography of “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!” by connecting classical work by American composer Frederic Rzewski to the music his ancestors heard more than a half century in pre-1948 Palestine.
Rzewski wrote “The People United” in 1976 as part of an American bicentennial celebration at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The composer was inspired by a Chilean song – “¡EI Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido!” – that espoused anti-fascism and worker solidarity during the rise of former dictator Augusto Pinochet.
As an advocate today of contemporary classical music, Shimron had interest in performing “The People United” because of its anti-fascist underpinnings. “I could show my artistry as a musician but also raise ideas about totalitarianism and authoritarianism and military juntas to encourage people to think instead of just listening to music,” he said of the idea for his first album, produced by New Focus Recordings.
It wasn’t until Shimron’s parents visited the United States from Israel that “The People United” assumed intimate significance. Upon hearing him practice the composition, his mother and father remarked on the striking similarity between Rzewski’s work and that of the mid century “Blessing of the People” song the couple knew from their childhood.
Shimron researched “Blessing of the People” and found similar tempos and march rhythms between the two songs. His discovery inspired him to introduce musical and rhetorical flourishes – what he calls his “personal stamp” – in variations of “The People United” that require the performer to improvise or shout. For Shimron, those shouts are in Hebrew.
“This is not just a cool, abstract piece of music that Rzewski composed,” Shimron said. “He’s trying to make a statement about political events and political conflicts in the 20th century. And yet it’s a very, very catchy tune when you listen to it.”
Shimron teaches music theory, piano, and group piano at Elon. Before relocating to North Carolina, Shimron taught at Hillsdale College in Michigan and Eastern Mediterranean University on the island of Cyprus. He is a member of the 2014-2016 CATL Scholar cohort, where he is researching faculty-student collaboration on course design as it connects with instructional technology.
Shimron credits Elon University, his colleagues and a former student for help with the album. Faculty research & development grants funded part of the project, which was master engineered by Clay Stevenson, a lecturer in the Department of Music. Artwork for the album, which incorporates elements of the Chilean flag in addition to authentic images from the early kibbutz movement, was created by Elon alumnus Christopher Lorch ‘11, a music technology major now working for Duke University.
“I’m proud of how it came out,” Shimron said. “It’s a really accessible piece of music for people who can also handle a bit of edgy, modernist elements.”