Sounds Current

About Sounds Current

A string quartet's quest to shine light on San Francisco's Angel Island, a site of detention and dehumanization for Chinese immigrants in the 1900s. Here, poems carved into the walls sing across time, connecting us to a shameful, hidden past. We travel with the creatives behind The Angel Island Project; the Del Sol Quartet, composer Huang Ruo, collaborators, and community. Sounds Current: Angel Island explores how we make compassionate art that builds community. delsolquartet.com

Publisher

Del Sol Quartet

Category

arts · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

28 Apr 2024

Latest episode

30 Apr 2025

Latest episodes

18 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Apr 2025

   BONUS: Holding Each Other’s Stories, Discovering Some Truth with Genny Lim and Andi Wong

   Though Angel Island began with Del Sol Quartet’s collaboration with composer Huang Ruo, poet Genny Lim and arts educator Andi Wong are essential to everything the project has become and continues to be. We are thrilled to share that since the time of this podcast, Genny has been inaugurated as San Francisco poet Laureate. She's the first Chinese American to hold this position. In this bonus conversation with Genny and Andi, we tease our upcoming collaboration, Songs of the Diaspora, a multimedia performance that will premiere late 2025 with poetry by Genny Lim, and new music by Chinese diaspora composers in the United States Theresa Wong, Vivian Fung, and Meilina Tsui. Together we discuss the components of successful collaboration, the necessity of holding each other’s stories to discover truth, and the beauty of checking your ego at the door. Mentioned in the Episode Songs of the Diaspora Genny Lim (https://gennylim.ddns.net/) Theresa Wong (https://www.theresawong.org/) Vivian Fung (https://vivianfung.ca/) Meilina Tsui (https://www.meilinatsui.com/) Andi Wong (https://artsed4all.blog/about-us/) Connect with Del Sol Quartet DelSolQuartet.com Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube This episode is a bonus from the "Angel Island" season of Sounds Current. If you haven't already, we encourage you to go back to "Part 1: A Haunting History" and listen to the full 4-part story. Sounds Current is produced and edited by The Creative Impostor Studios and hosted by Charlton Lee.

2. 

   16 Apr 2025

   BONUS: Building a Future of Inclusion and Belonging Amidst the Complexities of the Immigrant Experience with Ed Tepporn

   Immigration is a hot-button topic for many nations around the world, and especially in the United States. The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation is one organization that not only seeks to preserve the history of immigration through Angel Island, but also to steward a culture that recognizes the complexities of immigration and works to build a community of safety and belonging. Ed Tepporn is the Executive Director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, and in this conversation excerpt, he and Charlton discuss the legacy of Angel Island and the nuances of what immigration means to this country now and in the future. Mentioned in the Episode Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910-1940, Edited by Him Mark Lai, Genny Lim and Judy Yung Voices of Angel Island by Charles Egan Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (https://www.aiisf.org/) Connect with Del Sol Quartet DelSolQuartet.com Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube This episode is a bonus from the "Angel Island" season of Sounds Current. If you haven't already, we encourage you to go back to "Part 1: A Haunting History" and listen to the full 4-part story. Sounds Current is produced and edited by The Creative Impostor Studios and hosted by Charlton Lee.

3. 

   2 Apr 2025

   BONUS: Living and Working on Angel Island with Casey Dexter-Lee

   Casey Dexter-Lee is a state park interpreter who has dedicated 23+ years to Angel Island. Casey has been an invaluable resource for coordinating our world premiere on Angel Island and subsequent Angel Island Concert Series. In this bonus episode, Del Sol violinist Hyeyung Sol Yoon talks with Casey on location about what it's like to visit, live, and work on Angel Island. Casey shares why it's important to preserve the legacies of the island for future generations. Mentioned in the Episode Angel Island State Park (https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=468) Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (https://www.aiisf.org/) Immigrant Voices (https://www.aiisf.org/immigrantvoices) Connect with Del Sol Quartet DelSolQuartet.com Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube This episode is a bonus from the "Angel Island" season of Sounds Current. If you haven't already, we encourage you to go back to "Part 1: A Haunting History" and listen to the full 4-part story. Sounds Current is produced and edited by The Creative Impostor Studios (https://www.thecreativeimposter.com/) and hosted by Charlton Lee.

4. 

   12 Mar 2025

   BONUS: Transforming Place Through Performance Susan Moffat

   Del Sol’s relationship with Susan Moffat began as a chance encounter at a spontaneous street performance during the pandemic. In this bonus episode, hear how that meeting blossomed into impactful collaborations at the Albany Bulb and Angel Island, and an entire curriculum of programming at UC Berkeley, A Year on Angel Island. Susan highlights the broader educational and emotional impacts of these collaborations, including initiatives to connect students with their heritage and history through immersive art experiences (in which Charlton’s daughter participated!). Susan says the students learned that “ they can create knowledge and they can create art. And that the art can be both a way of asking questions and also of sharing the knowledge that they've gained with other people.” Enriched by Susan’s multifaceted work in creating inclusive and sustainable urban spaces, this conversation explores how art not only reflects but transforms our understanding of history, place, and human connections. Mentioned in the Episode A Year on Angel Island at UC Berkeley Love the Bulb (https://www.albanybulb.org/) Connect with Del Sol Quartet DelSolQuartet.com Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube This episode is a bonus from the "Angel Island" season of Sounds Current. If you haven't already, we encourage you to go back to "Part 1: A Haunting History" and listen to the full 4-part story. Sounds Current is produced and edited by The Creative Impostor Studios and hosted by Charlton Lee.

5. 

   26 Feb 2025

   BONUS: Following Your Own Artistic Voice with Emiko Ono, Hewlett Foundation

   This is for young artists, musicians, new ensembles, and anyone seeking to take on bigger or more complex projects in their creative work! Emiko Ono is the Director, Performing Arts Program at The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. And it is safe to say that without the Hewlett Foundation’s 50 Arts Commission, there may never have BEEN an Angel Island Oratorio. In this short excerpt, Charlton and Emiko are discussing the creative process and offering insight based on their own experiences for aspiring artists who are in pursuit of funding and resources in order to realize their vision. Visit Hewlett.org (https://hewlett.org/) to learn more about programs and grants in areas such as: gender equity and governance, climate change, strengthening democracy, advancing education for all, community-led conservation in the North American West, and meaningful artistic experiences in communities across the Bay Area. Connect with Del Sol Quartet DelSolQuartet.com Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube This episode is a bonus from the "Angel Island" season of Sounds Current. If you haven't already, we encourage you to go back to "Part 1: A Haunting History" and listen to the full 4-part story. Sounds Current is produced and edited by The Creative Impostor Studios and hosted by Charlton Lee.

6. 

   12 Feb 2025

   BONUS: Embracing the Unknown and Bringing People Together with Composer Huang Ruo

   “My hope is not to divide, but to bring people together. Because only when we know about the history, then we can see our present and can learn [from] mistakes and to do better.” So says composer and conductor Huang Ruo on his vision for Angel Island. This bonus is Charlton’s full conversation with Huang Ruo recorded in a friend’s apartment in New York, during the 2024 Next Wave Festival (https://www.bam.org/angel-island), co-presented by Brooklyn Academy of Music and Prototype Festival. Follow the evolution of our collaboration from the first time we met, through the dark times of the COVID pandemic, all the way to New York. Learn more about Huang Ruo’s work at HuangRuo.com, including the world premiere of his new opera, The Monkey King, written with David Henry Hwang at San Francisco Opera in November 2025. Also Mentioned in this Bonus A Dust In Time, written by Huang Ruo & performed by Del Sol Quartet (https://www.delsolquartet.com/adustintime) Connect with Del Sol Quartet DelSolQuartet.com Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube This episode is a bonus from the "Angel Island" season of Sounds Current. If you haven't already, we encourage you to go back to "Part 1: A Haunting History" and listen to the full 4-part story. Sounds Current is produced and edited by The Creative Impostor Studios (https://www.thecreativeimposter.com/) and hosted by Charlton Lee.

7. 

   5 Feb 2025

   BONUS: Join Del Sol on spring tour!

   We’re going on tour in March 2025! We’ll be engaging in performances and residencies in Lincoln, Nebraska; Kansas City, Missouri, and Iowa CIty, Iowa. And in April we’ll be at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Check out our calendar for more details at Calendar — Del Sol Quartet (http://delsolquartet.com/calendar)

8. 

   29 Jan 2025

   BONUS: Staging Angel Island in NYC by Engaging With the Spirits with Matthew Ozawa

   How do we learn from the past to change the future? This bonus is an excerpt of Charlton’s interview with Matthew Ozawa, stage director for the New York premiere of Angel Island at BAM produced by Beth Morrison Productions. In this clip, Matthew shares how his first experience on Angel Island and personal family history inspired the staging of the Prototype Festival staging. And Charlton describes how this project has shifted his own relationship to the energy of the Immigration Station detention barracks. As Matthew says, “This is now gonna exist for all times, for so many generations and people to experience, to think about, to learn about their history in a way that pre this piece, probably people didn't even know about... And this is why we make art.” Matthew has some exciting productions on the horizon for 2025 including Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with Pittsburgh Opera in March and with Utah Opera in May. You can follow Matthew’s work at matthewozawa.com. Connect with Del Sol Quartet DelSolQuartet.com Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube This episode is a bonus from the "Angel Island" season of Sounds Current. If you haven't already, we encourage you to go back to "Part 1: A Haunting History" and listen to the full 4-part story. Sounds Current is produced and edited by The Creative Impostor Studios and hosted by Charlton Lee.

9. 

   15 Jan 2025

   BONUS: Singing in Chinese with Sidney Chen

   One of the complexities of Angel Island by Huang Ruo is that vocal parts are alternately in English and Chinese. For American choral groups, who are familiar with practicing Italian, German, French, and Latin diction, Chinese is not a common language with which they often have experience. And for this project, it was important to get it right. This bonus is an excerpt of Charlton’s interview with Sidney Chen of Volti. Volti is the vocal ensemble that was instrumental in the development and world premiere of Angel Island. In this clip, they are discussing the nuances of Chinese language, phonetics, and coaching the ensemble through the oratorio’s text. They also share stories about both Charlton’s and Sid’s personal relationship to learning Mandarin Chinese. Volti has an exciting calendar of music events planned for 2025, including a new commission from LJ White with Left Coast Chamber Ensemble in January and February and a program dedicated to “environmentalism in music” in June. Learn more at www.voltisf.org. And see what Sid Chen is up to at sidneychenarts.com. Featured music from The Angel Island Oratorio composed by Huang Ruo. Performed by Del Sol Quartet & United States Air Force Band's Singing Sergeants / National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, recorded and edited by Suraya Mohamed. Connect with Del Sol Quartet DelSolQuartet.com Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube This episode is a bonus from the "Angel Island" season of Sounds Current. If you haven't already, we encourage you to go back to "Part 1: A Haunting History" and listen to the full 4-part story. Sounds Current is produced and edited by The Creative Impostor Studios (https://www.thecreativeimposter.com/) and hosted by Charlton Lee.

10. 

    1 Jan 2025

    BONUS: Happy New Year! Upcoming Concerts in San Francisco and Houston

    Happy New Year! We'd love to see you in 2025 and we have 3 upcoming concerts to share with you. San Francisco Performances Pivot Festival (San Francisco, CA) Wednesday, January 29, 2025 Herbst Theatre Carla Kihlstedt and Del Sol Quartet will perform Kihlstedt’s 26 Little Deaths, inspired by Edward Gorey’s macabre alphabet book, The Gashlycrumb Tinies. Moving between art song, pop song, and cabaret, this hour-long song cycle captures the pathos, humor, and wit of Gorey’s iconic images. Kendrick Scott at SF Jazz (San Francisco, CA) Saturday, February 1, 2025 Miner Auditorium Del Sol is honored to be a part of the West Coast premiere of Kendrick Scott’s multimedia project Unearthed. Combining poetry, visuals, string quartet, and a jazz ensemble, this moving work memorializes the Sugar Land 95 – the 95 unidentified Black prisoners and forced laborers found buried in the Texas town of Sugar Land in 2018. Chamber Music America National Conference (Houston, TX) Friday, February 14, 2025 Duncan Recital Hall, The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University We are excited to announce Del Sol Quartet as one of Chamber Music America’s inaugural Ensembles in Residence! The Quartet will be presenting a program (TBA) as part of CMA’s Friday Festival event. Learn more about these and other upcoming events at delsolquartet.com/calendar.

11. 

    15 Dec 2024

    BONUS: Making Magic with Del Sol Quartet from The Creative Impostor Podcast

    Hear our behind the scenes conversation about producing the award-winning season 1 of Sounds Current with our producer and editor, Andrea Klunder, from her podcast The Creative Impostor. But, wait! This episode isn’t just about creating a podcast. It’s about the joys and tension of being part of a chamber ensemble, pushing yourself to do something new in order to move society, and making art that means something valuable even when, and especially if, it doesn’t make sense economically. Oh and you will hear us mention briefly the Yampa River trip and the Pandemic Joy project, though we don’t go into detail. If you want to learn more about these and other Del Sol projects past and present, please visit DelSolQuartet.com. Connect with Del Sol Quartet DelSolQuartet.com Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube Follow Andrea Klunder & The Creative Impostor TheCreativeImpostor.com The Creative Impostor Podcast in Your Favorite Podcast App (https://bit.ly/cipodfm) Podcast Envy Exclusive (Secret Podcast About Podcasting) (https://bit.ly/pepexclusive) Instagram LinkedIn

12. 

    8 Sept 2024

    BONUS: A day of music and stories on Angel Island

    Come experience the multi-faceted experience of Angel Island in its first-ever concert series.  From within the detention barracks at the Immigration Station, we’ll be exploring music and stories of the many communities who have connections to the island and its history. A beautiful day on the island, a richness of history, an exploration of the darkness and also the hope that the island represented. September 14, 2024 @ 11:30AM & 2:00PM Kaddish: Featuring Music By Derek David If you'll be in the San Francisco Bay area, we'd love to invite you to join us! Take the ferry from Tiburon or San Francisco. Then bike, walk, or tram to the immigration station. Be sure to reserve your seat at delquartet.com/island. *** THE CONCERT We've combined music by Derek David  - his Quartet # 4 "Kaddish" and his own performances of Yiddish folk songs with short selections that give a wide view of Jewish-American music, from the Broadway standards of Jerome Kern to Ljova to Bay Area's own Gabriela Lena Frank. The concert contains a spectrum of emotions: fun Yiddish songs, the Broadway song tradition, and Derek’s personal reflecting on mourning.  “Kaddish” explores mourning through two Jewish folk melodies sourced from the Ruth Rubin Legacy Archives, indirectly reflecting on death, dying, and romance. In a previous Del Sol concert with Derek , the audience - young and old - found a fresh viewpoint on Jewish-American experience, energized around Derek's intensely personal music. Suddenly, Yiddish seemed vital, complex, vibrant, funny and sad - not a dying language at all. THE HISTORY Approximately 8,000 Jews and Russians passed through Angel Island between 1910 and 1940.. According to the Angel Island Immigration Center’s Immigrant Voices Project, “historians have explored the long and often unjust treatment of Japanese and Chinese on Angel Island, much less is known about the thousands of Russians, Eastern Europeans and Jews who came to the U.S. via Asia.” Two distinct waves included: = Large numbers of Russian, Polish, and Lithuanian Jews began arriving at Angel Island in 1915. They were mainly men who had left their homes to escape the turmoil of war and military duty. =At least 500 Jewish refugees made it to San Francisco and Yokohama in 1939 and 1940 to escape Nazi regimes.

13. 

    22 Jul 2024

    Angel Island Part 4: Dialogue and Departure

    The word “departure” generally refers to the physical act of leaving a place. However, departure also indicates a deviation from one’s traditional course of action or way of thinking. As we close out this season of Sounds Current, Charlton and esteemed collaborators reflect on their experiences related to the development and subsequent productions of Angel Island. How have the music, the conversations, and their experiences on Angel Island shaped their understanding of the current immigration debate in the US and beyond? How has being a part of the project affected their personal narratives and understanding of family history? And what does the future hold for this project as a whole? And how is the audience receiving the piece? For the first time in this series, we hear immediate reactions.. Part 4 Features: Matthew Ozawa, (https://www.matthewozawa.com/) Stage Director, New York premiere of Angel Island Andi Wong, Teaching Artist and Arts Advocate Genny Lim, (https://gennylim.ddns.net/) Poet, Playwright, Performer, and Pioneer Casey Dexter-Lee, State Park Interpreter II for Angel Island Susan Moffat, Principal, Future Histories Studio Huang Ruo, (https://huangruo.com/) Composer, Angel Island Ben Kreith, Del Sol Quartet violinist Kathryn Bates, Del Sol Quartet cellist Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Del Sol Quartet violinist Sidney Chen (https://www.sidneychenarts.com/), Singer, Volti San Francisco (https://voltisf.org/) Ed Tepporn, Executive Director, Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation And numerous audience members from the Next Wave Festival, co-presented by Brooklyn Academy of Music and Prototype Festival, Produced by Beth Morrison Projects in association with Brooklyn Academy of Music. Featured Music Provided By: Meilina Tsui (https://www.meilinatsui.com/) Byron Au Yong (https://byronauyong.com/) Theresa Wong (https://www.theresawong.org/) Timo Chen Taylor Ho Bynum (https://taylorhobynum.com/) Erika Oba (https://erikaoba.com/) Juri Seo (https://www.juriseomusic.com/) Order Huang Ruo’s A Dust in Time here, listen in Spotify or your favorite music streaming service. The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation invites you to Immigrant Voices, a growing archive of personal stories of Pacific Coast immigrants. Explore here. LEARN MORE: https://www.delsolquartet.com/podcast Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube CREDITS: Hosted by Charlton Lee Produced by Andrea Klunder, The Creative Impostor Studios, Charlton Lee, Kathryn Bates, Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Ben Kreith Story Editor: Andrea Klunder Sound Design: Andrea Klunder Technical Director & Post Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz Field Producer & Recording Engineer: Kathryn Bates Field Producer: Verena Lee Podcast Manager: Alex Riegler Show Notes: Lisa Widder Cover Art: Felicia Lee Theme Music: Charlton Lee Executive Producers: Andrea Fellows Fineberg, Don Fineberg Featured music from The Angel Island Oratorio composed by Huang Ruo. Performed by Del Sol Quartet & United States Air Force Band's Singing Sergeants / National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, recording and edited by Suraya Mohamed.

14. 

    10 Jul 2024

    Angel Island Part 3: A Pandemic and a World Premiere

    We never experience a story in the same way twice. Sure, key elements remain firmly in place, but variables like political era, maturity, staging, and even the weather permeate each telling and play a vital part in the life of the piece. Charlton invites Del Sol collaborators to elaborate on their roles in the creation, performance, and ongoing support of The Angel Island Project. What role did the COVID-19 pandemic play in the development of the piece? What was it like to play the oratorio in the place that inspired it? How has interpretation of the piece expanded outside the confines of Angel Island? What can art teach us about 20th-century immigration policies, and how can it inform 21st-century solutions? Part 3 Features: Huang Ruo, Composer, Angel Island Sidney Chen, Singer, Volti San Francisco Kathryn Bates, Del Sol Quartet Cellist Andi Wong, Teaching Artist and Arts Advocate Susan Moffat, Principal, Future Histories Studio Ben Kreith, Del Sol Quartet Violinist Casey Dexter-Lee, State Park Interpreter II for Angel Island Genny Lim, Poet, Playwright, Performer, Pioneer Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Del Sol Quartet Violinist Taylor S. Armstrong, Senior Master Sergeant, United States Air Force Band Featured Music Provided By: Erika Oba (https://erikaoba.com/) Timo Chen Byron Au Yong (https://byronauyong.com/) Theresa Wong (https://www.theresawong.org/) Jungyoon Wie (https://www.jungyoonwie.com/) Order Huang Ruo’s A Dust in Time here, listen in Spotify or your favorite music streaming service. The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation invites you to Immigrant Voices, a growing archive of personal stories of Pacific Coast immigrants. Explore here. LEARN MORE https://www.delsolquartet.com/podcast Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube CREDITS Hosted by Charlton Lee Produced by Andrea Klunder, The Creative Impostor Studios, Charlton Lee, Kathryn Bates, Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Ben Kreith Story Editor: Andrea Klunder Sound Design: Andrea Klunder Technical Director & Post Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz Field Producer & Recording Engineer: Kathryn Bates Field Producer: Verena Lee Podcast Manager: Alex Riegler Show Notes: Lisa Widder Cover Art: Felicia Lee Theme Music: Charlton Lee Executive Producers: Andrea Fellows Fineberg, Don Fineberg Featured music from A Dust in Time and The Angel Island Oratorio composed by Huang Ruo. Performed by Del Sol Quartet. Angel Island also features the United States Air Force Band's Singing Sergeants / National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, recorded and edited by Suraya Mohamed.

15. 

    24 Jun 2024

    Angel Island Part 2: A Truth To Be Told

    Much like Angel Island, the project, Angel Island, the place, is a point of entry, connecting many visitors to a history they know nothing about––and reminding some of a traumatic past they'd rather forget. Del Sol Quartet violist Charlton Lee and collaborators draw audiences into the world of Angel Island, a tranquil state park in San Francisco Bay dotted with winding trails and a campus of restored wooden buildings that once served as a processing station, interrogation hub, and detention center for mostly Asian immigrants between 1910 and 1940. What is the island like today, and what may life have been like for the 500,000 newly arrived individuals and families who landed here a century ago in search of a better life? And what is the emotional legacy of the stories that may never have been told from one generation to the next? This conversation contains brief, graphic mentions of suicide. Please take care when engaging with the episode. Part 2 Features: Casey Dexter-Lee, State Park Interpreter II for Angel Island Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Del Sol Quartet violinist Kathryn Bates, Del Sol Quartet cellist Ed Tepporn, Executive Director, Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation Emiko Ono, Director Of Performing Arts Program at The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation Andi Wong, educator and collaborator, Angel Island Project Genny Lim, poet and collaborator, Angel Island Project Music in this Episode Provided By: Theresa Wong (https://www.theresawong.org/) Ken Ueno (https://kenueno.com/) Timo Chen Taylor Ho Bynum (https://taylorhobynum.com/) Jungyoon Wie (https://www.jungyoonwie.com/) Erika Oba (https://erikaoba.com/) Byron Au Young (https://byronauyong.com/) The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundations invites you to Immigrant Voices, a growing archive of personal stories of Pacific Coast immigrants. Explore here. RESOURCES  & LINKS Huang Ruo (https://huangruo.com/) Angel Island Immigration Station (https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_ID=1309) Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (https://www.aiisf.org/) Immigrant Voices Oral History Project Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island Genny Lim (https://gennylim.ddns.net/) The Last Hoisan Poets (https://thelasthoisanpoets.ddns.net/) William & Flora Hewlett Foundation (https://hewlett.org/) The National Archives at San Francisco (San Bruno) LEARN MORE ABOUT DEL SOL https://www.delsolquartet.com/podcast Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube CREDITS Hosted by Charlton Lee Produced by Andrea Klunder, The Creative Impostor Studios, Charlton Lee, Kathryn Bates, Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Ben Kreith Story Editor: Andrea Klunder Sound Design: Andrea Klunder Technical Director & Post Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz Field Producer & Recording Engineer: Kathryn Bates Field Producer: Verena Lee Podcast Manager: Alex Riegler Show Notes: Lisa Widder Cover Art: Felicia Lee Theme Music: Charlton Lee Executive Producers: Andrea Fellows Fineberg, Don Fineberg

16. 

    10 Jun 2024

    Angel Island Part 1: A Haunting History

    Welcome to Angel Island. With stunning views of San Francisco Bay and lush hiking trails, the island is nestled between the promise of the Golden Gate Bridge and California’s sun-soaked mainland coast. But between 1910 and 1940, hundreds of thousands of Asians arriving at the Angel Island Immigration Station faced separation, interrogation, and often deportation under the longstanding Chinese Exclusion Act. The ghosts of Angel Island, however, endure. Poems carved into the soft wooden walls of the detention barracks give voice to long-remembered frustration, humiliation, and loneliness of the immigrants detained  there. These inscriptions in Chinese calligraphy link that shameful past to our present immigration debate, bringing history into the reality of our current lives. In Part One, violist and founding member of the Del Sol Quartet, Charlton Lee, introduces both Angel Island's history and the creatives behind The Angel Island Project. A collaboration between Del Sol and composer Huang Ruo, this haunting oratorio for string quartet and chamber choir weaves together poetry and music in a poignant, powerful expression of history, hope, and humanity. Part One features: Charlton Lee, Del Sol Quartet violist; Huang Ruo, Composer and conductor; Kathryn Bates, Del Sol Quartet cellist; Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Del Sol Quartet violinist; Ben Kreith, Del Sol Quartet violinist; Ed Tepporn, Executive Director, Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation; Andi Wong, Teaching Artist and Arts Advocate; and Genny Lim, Poet, Playwright, Performer, Pioneer. RESOURCES  & LINKS Huang Ruo (https://huangruo.com/) Angel Island Immigration Station (https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_ID=1309) Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (https://www.aiisf.org/) Immigrant Voices Oral History Project Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island Genny Lim (https://gennylim.ddns.net/) The Last Hoisan Poets (https://thelasthoisanpoets.ddns.net/) ArtsEd4All (https://artsed4all.blog/) The Chinese Historical Society Of America (https://chsa.org/) William & Flora Hewlett Foundation (https://hewlett.org/) UC Berkeley Global Urban Humanities Initiative LEARN MORE https://www.delsolquartet.com/podcast Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube CREDITS Hosted by Charlton Lee Produced by Andrea Klunder, The Creative Impostor Studios, Charlton Lee, Kathryn Bates, Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Ben Kreith Story Editor: Andrea Klunder Sound Design: Andrea Klunder Technical Director & Post Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz Field Producer & Recording Engineer: Kathryn Bates Field Producer: Verena Lee Podcast Manager: Alex Riegler Show Notes: Lisa Widder Cover Art: Felicia Lee Theme Music: Charlton Lee Executive Producers: Andrea Fellows Fineberg, Don Fineberg Featured music from The Angel Island Oratorio composed by Huang Ruo. Performed by Del Sol Quartet & United States Air Force Band's Singing Sergeants / National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, recording and edited by Suraya Mohamed.

17. 

    5 Jun 2024

    BONUS: You're invited to Music and Migration at the Angel Island Immigration Station

    We're excited for Season 1 of Sounds Current to premiere on Monday, June 10th during the Tribeca Audio Storytelling Festival! Meanwhile, on Saturday June 15th, 2024, Del Sol will be playing two concerts (11:30am & 2:30pm), exploring the history of Japanese picture brides on Angel Island as part of the Angel Island Immigration Station concert series. Featuring Takuma Itoh’s “American Postcards - Picture Brides” and music by Erika Oba. Artwork by Patricia Wakida. If you'll be in the San Francisco Bay area, we'd love to invite you to join us! Take the ferry from Tiburon or San Francisco. Then bike, walk, or tram to the immigration station. Be sure to reserve your seat at delquartet.com/island. Future Concerts Include: September 14, 2024 @ 11:30AM & 2PM Featuring Music By Derek David December 14, 2024 @ 11:30AM & 1:30PM Featuring Music By Jungyoon Wie

18. 

    28 Apr 2024

    Season 1: Angel Island

    How does a string quartet help build community from Chinese immigrant poetry carved into detention-center walls on Angel Island? Let their words sing out after 100 years of silence. Season 1 of Sounds Current with the Del Sol Quartet follows the quest to shine light on San Francisco’s Angel Island, a site of detention and dehumanization for Chinese immigrants in the 1900s. We travel with the creatives behind The Angel Island Project, including composer Huang Ruo, poet Genny Lim, educator Andi Wong and more. Sounds Current: Angel Island explores how we make compassionate art that builds community. *** San Francisco’s Del Sol Quartet (https://www.delsolquartet.com/) believes that music can, and should, happen anywhere - screaming out Aeryn Santillan’s “Makeshift Memorials” from a Mission District sidewalk or a rural high school, bouncing Ben Johnston’s microtonal “Americana” off the canyon walls of the Yampa River or the hallowed walls of Library of Congress, bringing Huang Ruo’s “Angel Island Oratorio” home to the island detention barracks or across the Pacific to the Singapore International Arts Festival. Since 1992, Del Sol has commissioned or premiered hundreds of works from diverse composers. Their performances provide the possibility for unexpected discovery, sparking dialogue and bringing people together. CREDITS Hosted by Charlton Lee Produced by Andrea Klunder, The Creative Impostor Studios, Charlton Lee, Kathryn Bates, Hyeyung Sol Yoon, Ben Kreith Story Editor: Andrea Klunder Sound Design: Andrea Klunder Technical Director & Post Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz Field Producer & Recording Engineer: Kathryn Bates Field Producer: Verena Lee Podcast Manager: Alex Riegler Show Notes: Lisa Widder Cover Art: Felicia Lee Theme Music: composed by Charlton Lee, performed by Del Sol Quartet Executive Producers: Andrea Fellows Fineberg, Don Fineberg LEARN MORE https://www.delsolquartet.com/podcast Del Sol Quartet on Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube Featured music from The Angel Island Oratorio composed by Huang Ruo. Performed by Del Sol Quartet & United States Air Force Band's Singing Sergeants / National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, recording and edited by Suraya Mohamed.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

56,870

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 59 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

75

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

32

Contact Sounds Current

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.