Emil Awad
Emil Awad's Paskt, for women's chorus, harp and string orchestra, commissioned by the Veracruz Institute of Culture, was premiered on Friday, Feb. 18th, 2011 at the State Theater, Xalapa Veracruz, Mexico. The composer led the premiere, with the Orquesta Sinfnica de Xalapa and the women's chorus Soando Hadas, to a full theater. The Orquesta Sinfnica de Xalapa, which just celebrated its 81st birthday, performed superbly, with a depth rarely heard in a premiere. Soando Hadas, directed by David Tapia, is an internationally acclaimed youth chorus, and sung with total commitment to the work.
The title and text of the work come from an anonymous poem written in Totonaca, an autochthonous language of the Veracruz region. Paskt means "woman" and it explores the infinite cycle of life as homage to the feminine.