Ensemble Télémaque commission and the extraordinary story of Mary Jayne Gold

After months of research and composing, Yu-Hui finished a new work titled “Accidental Hero”, a mini music drama based on the extraordinary story of Mary Jayne Gold (1909-1997). An heiress from Evanston, Illinois, Mary Jayne Gold was an independent-minded woman flying her own airplane around Europe who ended up involved in Varian Fry’s “Emergency Rescue Committee” in Marseille between 1940-41. Together they helped thousands of artists and intellectuals, mostly political activists and Jewish descents, escaped Nazi-occupied Europe. Commissioned by Ensemble Télémaque and its director, Raoul Lay, “Accidental Hero” is scored for flute/piccolo, clarinet, trumpet, accordion, percussion, violin, cello, soprano, and an actor. It is scheduled to receive its U.S. premiere in Spring 2026 and an European premiere in Marseille during the fall of the same year.