“120,000 Stories” with Nobuko Miyamoto and guests will be performed on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 20, at 4 p.m. at the Getty Center’s Harold M. Williams Auditorium as part of Sounds of L.A.
The concert will also be live-streamed Saturday night on Getty’s YouTube channel.
This is one of several events commemorating the 80th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, signed on Feb. 19, 1942, which led to the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans without charges or trial during World War II.
Miyamoto presents a genre-bridging concert that draws from her latest album, “120,000 Stories” (Smithsonian Folkways), poignantly reflecting her experience as one of 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned during World War II. She is joined by producers Quetzal Flores, Derek Nakamoto and a stellar group of musicians who share her belief in the social power of music.
With every performance Miyamoto offers moving “songstories” — political and personal reflections that cross boundaries of race, culture, and time. Each note invites us into “Bambutsu no Tsunagari,” the space where all things are connected.
Presented in collaboration with the Japanese American National Museum and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Admission is free but reservations are required. Audience capacity has been reduced to 50% and masks are required indoors at all times. All visitors (age 12+) to the Getty Center must provide proof of full WHO-approved vaccination or a negative result from a test taken within 72 hours prior to their visit. (At-home test results are not accepted.)
Sounds of L.A. is an annual concert series that explores the city’s varied musical geography, celebrating the work of masters as well as up-and-coming musicians from around the globe. Each month features two concerts by charismatic musicians who combine global influences in unexpected and original ways.
A separate reservation is required for each concert. All performances take place in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium at the Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Dr., Los Angeles. Parking is $20 per car or motorcycle.
For more information, visit https://www.getty.edu/museum/programs/performances/sounds_la.html.
About the Artist
Miyamoto is an artist who uses music, theater and dance for her own work as well as for projects she creates with communities.
Originally a dancer on Broadway and in films such as “Flower Drum Song” and “West Side Story,” her involvement in social change movements of the ’60s galvanized her as an activist and inspired a re-conceptualization of her role as an artist. This led to her co-creation of the seminal Asian American album “A Grain of Sand” with Chris Iijima and Charlie Chin, and her founding of Great Leap in 1978.
Her later performances, musicals and albums have continued to probe themes of identity, as well as the intersections of cultures and faiths, and our connection with Earth. More recent projects include her touring lecture/performance “What Can a Song Do?”; producing, songwriting and performing in Great Leap’s series of environmental music videos, “Eco-Vids”; and “FandangObon,” a multicultural celebration combining Japanese, Mexican and African traditions.
Miyamoto has been recognized with the Ford Foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World Award, and California Arts Council Director’s Award for her contribution to the arts in California.
To learn more, visit www.nobukomiyamoto.org.