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American composers aren’t the only artists who find inspiration from stateside life. Immigrant composers drawn on their own multicultural experiences in the U.S. to musically interpret the events around them, including those of September 11. American tenor Jerry Hadley, who has based his career on very untraditional operatic roles, performs live in the studio and discusses the ways in which one Chinese-American composer has created music in the wake of last year’s terrorist attacks. And just in time for the Jewish high holidays, composer Raphael Mostel demonstrates some music composed for an instrument from Biblical times, the shofar.
Best known for his performances as the romantic male lead in such contemporary works as John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, tenor Jerry Hadley has also recorded Italian folk songs and the tunes of Stephen Sondheim.
More about Jerry Hadley

This December, the composer/director for the Tibetan Singing Bowl Ensemble will present a multimedia theater work based on the beloved children’s tales of Babar the elephant.
More about Raphael Mostel

More about the shofar

"The Call of the Shofar," comprised of “Part 1: History, Lore & Traditional Uses,” and “Part 2: Composers Inspired by the Shofar,” was originally co-produced in 1992 with WNYC Radio, with engineering by Edward Haber.