Giorgio Poma is a 12-year-old cellist who passes his sunny afternoons busking in New York City's central park. I interviewed him and his mom early this month and this is the final produced segment.

This segment originally aired on Cityscape with George Bodarky on 90.7FM and wfuv.org. The episode was titled "Buskers" and aired Saturday, May 17.

Giorgio Poma

Comédie chantée in tre atti, libretto Francis de Croisset e Henri Cain
(Opéra de Monte Carlo, 14 febbraio 1905)
Chérubin: Frederica Von Stade
L'Ensoleillad: Ashley Putnam
Nina:Valerie Masterson
La Comtesse: Lorraine Nubar
La Baronne:Judith Christin
Le Philosophe: Samuel Ramey
Le Comte: William Stone
Le Duc:Nico Castel
Le Baron: Joseph McKee
Le Capitaine: Peter Kazaras
L'Aubergiste: John Fiorito
Un Officier: Wilbur Pauley
Orchestra, Coro Orpheon Chorale
Direttore: Henry Lewis
New York, Carnegie Hall, 19 febbraio 1984

Jules Massenet:"Cherubin"

Emilia Poma sings Skogen Sover for her beloved Sweden!

Skogen Sover

I wrote this piece in honor of the work of the PaceFuturo Refugee Resettlement Program.
My dad is Italian, and my grandparents live in a small town in northern Italy, called Biella. This
past summer I had the opportunity to volunteer in a small village near my grandparents home in
Pettinengo, Italy. I volunteered for a Non-Profit Association called PaceFuturo (Peace in the Future),
with Nigerian and Pakistani refugees. PaceFuturo not only provides food and shelter but
also seeks to integrate the refugees into the local community by creating many common work
projects that the locals and refugees can collaborate on; such as road work, harvesting and
growing local food, etc. PaceFuturo's goal is to help in reducing the fear that so many people in
Italy feel because of the arrival of thousands of refugees in need, from the many humanitarian
crises throughout the Middle East and Africa. PaceFuturo understands that the more the local
community and the newly settled refugees get to know each other the less they will be afraid of
each other and in turn, the locals will see that the refugees can make a positive contribution to
the village and the refugees will feel welcomed and not frightened by the local people. PaceFuturo's
program reduces the level of fear that different cultures might feel towards one another if
they had never had the opportunity meet each other face-to-face.
I was lucky to meet a young Nigerian refugee named Olori Bolatito. Olori loved music, and it is
there that I thought I could be of help, sharing what I have been fortunate enough to study my
entire life, piano. I noticed, Olori playing piano at the shelter where I was volunteering. I saw
him watching YouTube videos on how to play the piano. Olori barely spoke English, but I knew
music would connect us. I asked him if he would like to take lessons from me. He said, with a
big smile, "yes."
I worked with Olori every day for a month. He had such a natural talent, but he didn't have the
opportunity to study music in his home country. He asked me to help him learn to read music, I
thought that it would take a long time, but he insisted, and we started the work. I was amazed at
his musical curiosity, his thirst to learn as much as he could in the short time we would have to
work together.
That evening, when I returned to my grandparents home, I felt that I had to express my feelings.
I felt overwhelmed with emotion. I sat down at the keyboard and started to play. Setting to music,
my thoughts about what it must've felt like for Olori to come to Italy from Nigeria. What his
journey must have been like and that even with his experiences, I saw his spirit still shining and
hopeful, even after making an unspeakable voyage to what he hoped would be a life with more
freedom.
I was not sure how to tell my story so that my experience might help others to understand a bit
more about why we must care for the refugees. Why we must not fear refugees, and why we
should strive to understand the terrible horrors that they have survived. I believe it is our responsibility
to help them recover their dignity and a sense of purpose. I did this through writing
and orchestrating Beyond Words.

"Beyond Words"  Orchestration

I wrote Generations thinking about how important it must have been for the people in the concentration camps to remain calm, I believed their calmness could help them to survive, even when so much terrible danger surrounded them. I have dedicated my composition to all those who perished in the holocaust.
#neverforget

"Beyond Words" Orchestration

Michele Anenberg Poma

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