Christ Church, Los Altos, invites the public to explore a moving chapter of the Chinese American experience in California through “Echoes of Eureka,” a program of opera and film.
Eric Tuan’s opera “Echoes of Eureka” tells the true story of the 1885 expulsion of the Chinese community from the Humboldt County town of Eureka and their subsequent fight for justice and dignity.
Performed by the 40 voices of the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, the choral work is paired with Chisato Hughes’ documentary film “Many Moons,” in which Chinese community members search for those who may have survived the expulsion and 60 years of enforced exclusion. The only known survivor was Charlie Moon, whose descendants are Native tribal members.
The multimedia program is offered in collaboration with the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project and the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir. A panel discussion with Tuan and Hughes will follow the performance.
The church is using funding from its Vital + Thriving focus grant to support the free event.
“We see this program as an extension of the work our Vital + Thriving team did last year supporting a local young immigration activist,” said the Rev. Claire Dietrich Ranna, rector. “With the detention and forced removal of immigrants ongoing and intensifying across the country, there was interest in continuing and deepening our public conversations about not only what is happening now but how hidden histories inform our current moment.”
Tuan is artistic director and conductor of the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir and director of the Stanford Early Music Singers. He also served for 12 years as founding artistic director of the chamber chorus Convivium and as director of music at Christ Church, Los Altos. His choral compositions have been performed throughout the United States and Europe.
Hughes is a filmmaker who grew up in Humboldt County. Her work has been shown at CAAMFest, SFMOMA and UCLA’s Film and Television Archive.
“Echoes of Eureka” will be offered free of charge at 4:00 p.m. Sunday, April 19 at Christ Church, Los Altos, 1040 Border Road, Los Altos.
Photo credits:
- Courtesy of Clarke Historical Museum
- Courtesy of Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir
