prohibido (prohibited) (2024)
(scenes from an imaginary ballet)

Composer note
prohibido (prohibited in Spanish) was written in the summer of 2024 for the strings of the New World Symphony Orchestra. The work is a reimagining of my third string quartet, “I never saw another butterfly,” written in memory of the children at Terezin. The new work, created at the suggestion of my mentor and friend, Chinary Ung, includes references to the material from the string quartet but is an entirely new piece with text to be recited by the performers. The text by me, in both English and Spanish, refers to what the refrain and title of the work, prohibido/prohibited, allude to. Namely, the repression found around the world currently and in the past in the service of power and based on human aspects such as race, religion, beliefs, sexual orientation, among others. The subtitle refers to the fact that the premiere performance will include choreography by dancer/choreographer Ariel Rose for two dancers from the Miami City Ballet. As with much of my work the slow evolution of material and the exploration of the resulting change in the perception of time are aesthetic concerns.

— Orlando Jacinto Garcia