MOTÝL ANNOUNCES A RESIDENCY AT THE KUPFERBERG HOLOCAUST RESEARCH CENTER AT QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE

...There is no doubt that in MOTÝL the Terezin composers have found devoted, eloquent champions...and the performances, carefully researched and prepared, radiated a sense of deep commitment and identification; these young musicians act as true mediators who seek no glory for themselves.

New York Concert Review

The MOTÝL Chamber Ensemble, formed in 2003, performs music by composers whose lives were cut short or radically transformed by the Holocaust.  Some of the composers were fortunate enough to only be forced into exile while the majority lost their lives in the Holocaust.  The ensemble's name, Czech for 'butterfly,' is derived from the poem "The Butterfly" written by Pavel Friedman at the Terezín concentration camp.

The MOTÝL Chamber Ensemble consists of some of New York’s most dynamic young artists who have appeared with orchestras and in recitals throughout the world.  Venues include the Tribeca Performing Arts, the Center for Jewish History, the Museum of the City of New York, New York University, Stonybrook University and Hofstra University as part of the Joseph G. Astman International Concert Series.  MOTÝL has been featured in appearances at the Beethoven Festival at the Planting Fields Arboretum on Long Island and at numerous art galleries and libraries.  MOTÝL performed at the exhibition opening of Alfred Kantor:  An Artist's Diary of the Holocaust at the Center for Jewish History, and was featured on the show "Artscene on Long Island" hosted by Shirley Romaine.  Additionally, MOTÝL was announced as winners of the Artists International Competition and have been supported by generous grants from the New York State Concil on the Arts, the Manhattan Community Arts Fund and the Fund for Creative Communities.

In 2009 the ensemble will be featured on Leonarda Productions cd release of Kyrie for String Quintet and the chamber opera Riders from the Sea, both by Marga Richter.  MOTÝL can also be heard on ORT's Music of the Holocaust website, launching in the spring of 2009.

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