Mid-Columbia Mastersingers return to historic B Reactor with composition for war survivors

For the first time in four years, the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers are returning to an iconic Tri-Cities location: the Hanford B Reactor. The historic landmark is scheduled to close a week after this performance for repairs. The process is expected to take two years at minimum.

The Mastersingers had to plan for B Reactor concerts before the repairs, or else they would go nearly a decade without performing in the landmark. The group has partnered with the Department of Energy since 2015, when the B Reactor became part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, according to Artistic Director Justin Raffa.

“B Reactor was never intended to be open to the public, let alone serve as a performance venue, so we feel honored to be able to offer concert programs there that help tell the story of its legacy,” Raffa told the Herald.

Details for performance nights

The concert experience features “The Road from Hiroshima: A Requiem” by composer Dr. Shawn Crouch. It was debuted in a performance in 2005, the 60th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in 1945.

Experience the sounds of the chorus, soloists, percussionists and both a string and wind quintet, all on display in front of the reactor.

“Besides the amazing acoustics within the main room of the building, the whole experience of being in that space and hearing music connected to what went on there is hard to capture in words — it’s powerful and transformative for both the listener and performer,” Raffa told the Herald.

There will be a performance on Friday, Nov. 10 and Saturday, Nov. 11. Tickets are $75.

Because the B Reactor is a historical landmark, you cannot just drive up to the concert location in your own vehicle. Instead, head to the visitor contact station in Richland (2000 Logston Boulevard) around 5:30 p.m. Your ticket includes the charter bus ride to and from the visitor station and B reactor.

The night should take about four hours altogether.

Performance composer visits Tri-Cities

Composer Dr. Crouch is spending the week in Tri-Cities ahead of the performance and will attend both shows. This will be the first full showing of his composition since its debut, and it has since been slightly reworked and touched up.

Crouch told the Herald that “The Road from Hiroshima: A Requiem” is from early in his career as a composer. It was commissioned by a friend of his, with the Seraphic Fire group in Miami. It was created by weaving the Latin Requiem Mass into a series of first-person poems by Marc Kaminsky. The poetry is the result of many interviews with Holocaust survivors.

Crouch said that Kaminsky lost family in the Holocaust, and was drawn to telling stories of what was happening to others around the world at the same time. He had hoped to bring Kaminsky with him to the Tri-Cities to see the performances as well, but the now-80-year-old has compromised health and could not make the trip.

“Given right now where we are in history, I think this is particularly powerful,” Crouch said in an interview with the Herald. “We don’t want to make the same mistakes.”

Before Raffa approached Crouch about performing the composition, the composer says he didn’t know anything about Richland, the B Reactor or its history in the Manhattan Project. Once he did, he was fully on board, planning his trip here. He thinks the pairing will be incredibly powerful and says he’s proud to be a part of the event.

This story was originally published November 8, 2023 at 8:12 AM.