I did not grow up in Pittsburgh but I really appreciate its celebration of so many cultures and ethnicities!
My father was a Latvian immigrant. He came to the United States by ship across the Atlantic around age 11, knowing only two phrases in English: “Where is the restroom?” and “I don’t speak English.”
Read MoreBaritone Lucky Rattan performs with our Festival Chorus for the first time with the national anthems. He graciously shared with us his mother’s immigration story and reflections on his cultural identity:
“I am a first-generation American of Laotian descent. Growing up, I never realized and therefore never appreciated the great sacrifices that my mother made to come to the US.
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