"The darkness declares the glory of light," is how Michael Tippett titled his oratorio. Created in the wake of the November Pogroms, it confronts the fundamental question of humanity in the face of terror and displacement.

The European Union, the greatest peace project in history, is being overwhelmed by a renationalization movement among its member states. Had we not experienced these developments firsthand, they could easily be mistaken for a horror story. Under similar, though far more dire circumstances, Michael Tippett composed his oratorio "A Child of Our Time" between 1939 and 1941. In it, he processed the violence and destruction of the November Pogroms in 1938, drawing inspiration from Ödön von Horváth’s novel "A Child of Our Time."

The piece offers a unique blend of musical styles and, with its anonymous and symbolic characters, is designed for ongoing relevance. Eighty years after its premiere, the Schillerchor seeks to perform this work, countering social division, xenophobia, and war.

The oratorio will be introduced by a pre-concert talk given by the Israel-born artist Ohad Stolarz. The evening will be completed with a selection of "Sephardic Folk Songs" by this Berlin-based composer.

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Since 2019, the Neukölln Schillerchor has enriched Berlin's cultural scene. Under the direction of Paul J. Roßmann, the concert choir performs complex works, whether double-choir a cappella pieces, premieres of contemporary compositions, or choral symphonies. Following successes with Franz Schubert’s "Stabat Mater" in F minor and W. A. Mozart’s "Betulia liberata," Michael Tippett’s "A Child of Our Time" is scheduled for 2024.


OHAD STOLARZ was born in 1989 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Since 2013 he is based in Berlin. In 2014 he founded Hebräischer Chor Berlin, an amateur choir specializing in Hebrew Song, which he conducted until 2017 while contributing a multitude of original choral arrangements and compositions.
His first book of choral arrangements, "Sephardic Folk Songs" (Wiesbaden, Breitkopf & Härtel) appeared in September 2019. His second book, "A Hebrew Choral Songbook" (Breitkopf & Härtel), in two volumes, appeared in July 2022. His third book, "Hedwig, Rudi, Irmgard, Heinz: Eine jüdische Familiengeschichte in Briefen und Memoiren" (Berlin/Leipzig, Hentrich & Hentrich) appeared in August 2022.