The Tour of 2010 / The Hevreh Ensemble, 2012.  

Manzanita wood, Ebony wood, Cocobolo and Manzanita dust, Gold Leaf, Braided Thread

9.75" H x 30" W x 6.75" D

The Tour of 2010 tells the story of the journey The Hevreh Ensemble took from Prague to Krakow to perform concerts at the Spanish Synagogue and the Galicia Museum.  During their trip, the players visited the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp, a site of extreme suffering... the cocobolo dust surrounding the beginning of the train tracks symbolizes death at the camp. 

The balancing ebony piece depicts the synagogue itself, the gold leaf and meticulously braided black thread creating an intricate Star of David.  Laurie chose the ebony and gold because while playing their final concert, the synagogue was extremely dark-- but she looked up during the performance and noticed that the ceiling was gold-leafed, glowing and bright.  

The final detail of the work is the Native American Indian triple drone flute on the far end, carved from the same one piece of Manzanita wood as the tracks.  This instrument was used in their concerts, and makes the purest, most beautiful sounds.

This piece documents the melding of different cultures and times in history, the memories of the past blending with present experience and hope for the future.  It is the balance between something awful and something beautiful.