Portland State Magazine Winter 2012

Remembering Haiti "WHEN WE FIRST MOVED TO HAITI, Iwassixyearsold,"wrices Apricot Irving MA '04. "Haiti was an adventure, and I was mesmerized by the mud houses painted to look like cotton candy and the Kamion buses chat roared past blaring carnival music." Irving's memories are shap– ing her first book, an autobiography tided 1he Missionary's Daughter. Trips back to Haiti are also helping the writing, thanks to a prestigious $25,000 writer's award she received from the Rona Jaffe Foundation. Irving, who lives in Portland, was one of six women to win the prize in 2011. A sisterhood of voices COMMANDING FEMALE VOICES , intimate chamber-like orchestration, and the most heart-wrenching finale in all of operatic history, make Dialogues ofthe Carmelites an impressive opera. Music students and ochers will sing its demand– ing roles in Lincoln Performance Hall April 27 through May 5. Composed in 1956, the opera is based on the true story of 16 nuns martyred during the French Revolution. Renowned British stage director David Edwards is assisting as the Jeannine B. Cowles Distinguished Visiting Professor of Opera. For tickets call 503-725-3307. ■ FANFARE WINTER 2012 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 7