Finding art in the ashes
When the Almeda Fire tore through Southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley in September 2020, it left more than ashes behind. Thousands lost their homes, neighborhoods were erased, and an already difficult pandemic year grew heavier. For Medford theater artist Jesse Sanchez, the disaster struck close to home.
“I had many colleagues and many friends who were in the thick of the Almeda Fire,” he recalled. “They lost their homes (and) had to evacuate at a moment’s notice.”
Five years later, Sanchez is working to honor those stories through a new project: a song cycle that blends music with firsthand accounts from survivors. The idea, he said, grew out of a need to make sense of tragedy through art.
“How unique would it be to memorialize and also honor this event that happened in our backyard, through song?” Sanchez said. “Music might be a way into somebody’s soul or to help somebody who’s still really struggling with the fire.”
From concept to collaboration
Sanchez didn’t want to do it alone. He invited two longtime colleagues, both New York–based theater artists, to help shape the project. Lyricist and librettist Sami Horneff brings what Sanchez calls “the power of language,” while director Dalia Ashurina provides the broader vision to stitch together multiple voices into a single work.
“I’ve always admired her trajectory and what she’s done in such a quick time,” Sanchez said of Ashurina. “Having her perspective is going to be so incredibly special and important.”
The three artists began their work this summer in the Rogue Valley, interviewing survivors to gather raw material for the songs.
Listening to survivors
For Ashurina, the interviews quickly revealed the depth of the community’s experience.
“There’s such a richness in everybody’s experience, she said. "What really sticks out are these moments of, ‘What do I do in this situation?’ with people being faced with literally flames or the prospect of losing everything.”
Horneff added that each voice offered a distinct perspective, even when people had endured the same event.
“We have folks that lost everything, folks who almost did, and others who carry the guilt of not losing as much as their neighbors,” she said. “Even in one community, every single person has a different story of where they were that day, what it looked like for them, and who they were with.”
Remembering the pandemic layer
The interviews also reminded Horneff of something easy to forget five years later — the Almeda Fire unfolded at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Survivors were forced to evacuate and seek help during a time when people were told to keep their distance.
“At that time, we weren’t supposed to be near people,” she said. “And in these moments, what you really need are people.”
That tension, between isolation and the human need for connection, adds another layer to the story the artists hope to capture in song.
A Rogue Valley story with universal reach
Though the project is rooted in Rogue Valley experiences, Sanchez and his collaborators believe it has resonance far beyond southern Oregon.
“I think it’s very specific for the Rogue Valley, but it’s also very universal,” Sanchez said. “We all experience wildfires at some point, whether it’s smoke, pictures on the news, or having one in your backyard.”
With seed funding from a Miller Foundation Spark Artist Award and support from community members, Sanchez is developing the song cycle with hopes of future workshops and performances across the Pacific Northwest.
The goal isn’t only to remember, but also to help. By turning loss into music, the team hopes to create a space for reflection, healing and connection.
"It’s a story of human beings," Ashurina said. "And it’s an important one to tell right now.”
