Omar October 25, 2026

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Where memory is preserved, legacy endures. 

MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Rhiannon Giddens and celebrated co-composer Michael Abels deliver a profoundly moving story about the strength of the human spirit.

Inspired by the memoir of 19th-century Islamic scholar Omar ibn Said, this breathtaking work spins a musical narrative of Omar’s capture in West Africa, journey across the Atlantic Ocean, and enslavement in South Carolina, where he confronts his circumstances and challenges his faith through a series of indelible writings. 

Director Kaneza Schaal’s austere, impactful presentation foregrounds Giddens and Abels’s Pulitzer Prize-winning score — a tapestry of musical traditions weaving together hymns, spirituals, and bluegrass — to tell a fundamentally American story.