Arts Research Institute

The event will feature the composer Iván Enrique Rodríguez in conversation with UC Santa Cruz scholar Amy Argenal. In Summer 2024, the Cabrillo Festival premiered the orchestral work “Casting the Dice,” narrated and composed by Rodríguez based on the stories of migrants around the world. The piece examines the lived experiences of people who have been displaced, delving into the connections of immigrants and refugees with their homelands, and their personal journeys as they navigate rebuilding their lives in a new country. Rodríguez will discuss his process composing this classical work with Argenal, a scholar of migration, human rights educator, and active collaborator with local immigrant and refugee rights organizations.