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Given: Women Composers Respond to Duchamp
Mar 13, 2020
CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!!
Given: Women Composers Respond to Duchamp
Philadelphia Museum of Art
2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Phila., PA 19130
Given is a musical performance conceived and produced by the Philadelphia Jazz Project, written and presented by a team of brilliant Philadelphia-area women artists as a musical response to modern art master, Marcel Duchamps' enigmatic final masterwork, Étant donnés, which is permanently installed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's, Duchamp Galleries. This pioneering work of installation art’s actual title in English is: Given: 1. The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas. The work which seems to delve into voyeurism, eroticism, courtship rituals and sexual violence was constructed in complete secrecy over a period of 20 years, from 1946 to 1966. During this time period, Marcel Duchamp publicly claimed to have given up art for chess.
Étant donnés was discovered after his death in October of 1968 and gifted to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It was then, permanently installed in July 1969, joining the world’s largest collection of his works. When it was installed, Étant donnés was that rare work of art that must actually be "experienced" in person to begin to comprehend it. To this day, it has lost none of its mystery. Pop Art icon, Jasper Johns once described it as “the strangest work of art any museum has ever had in it.” This pioneering installation art work offers an unforgettable and untranslatable experience to those who look through the two small holes in the solid wooden door, which is set into a brick archway in a roughly stuccoed wall.
In Given, nine masterful female musicians will exploit elements of sacred music, Jazz, European classical & folk music, Pop and avant-garde expressions to present four intriguing musical suites that engage, critique, challenge, celebrate, dismantle and deconstruct this master work. Encouraged by this #MeToo moment, Given asks tough questions (about sex, power, violence, gender, relationships, the past and the future) and reveals answers that are not as easy as one would assume. Hear how these artists translate a perennial source of surprise and perplexity into music:
Kendrah Butler-Waters - keyboards, violin & voice
Erica Corbo - keyboards, flute & voice
Veronica Jurkiewicz - violin & viola
Michelle Lordi - voice
Erica McElveen - drums & percussion
Alexis Simmons - voice
Evelyn Simpson-Curenton - keyboards
Monnette Sudler - guitar, bass & voice
Lynn Riley - saxophones, flute & musical direction
Performances are at 5:45 pm and 7:15 pm At intermission, enjoy Duchamp trivia inspired by the collection.
This event is part of the Friday Nights program series.
For More Information: Click Here
CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!!
Given: Women Composers Respond to Duchamp
Philadelphia Museum of Art
2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Phila., PA 19130
THE MEMBERS OF THE ENSEMBLE:
Kendrah Butler-Waters is a pianist, composer, violinist, and vocalist from the outskirts of Philadelphia. She holds a dual Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Sociology from Temple University and in Elementary Education from Drexel University. Kendrah has been a featured artist on radio station WRTI and her music is on current rotation. She has been a music director for the Philadelphia Jazz Project, a Jazz Artist in Residence (2015-2016) with the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, the pianist for the entire National Black Catholic Congress in Orlando. She has performed on both domestic and foreign soils, and most recently performed with Actor/Director LeVar Burton for his “LeVar Burton Reads” Tour.
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Erica Corbo is a pianist, vocalist, flautist and performance artist from Philadelphia. She approaches her playing from a strong melodic standpoint, while leaving room for experimentation. Extensive knowledge of the Alexander Technique empowers her playing with a physical balance and grace. Corbo leads her own small jazz ensemble on piano and voice, and also performs solo piano. She also plays with and manages the free improv ensemble, Space Whale Orchestra. She performs original music from her latest album, I, America, in her stage show, An American Odyssey Through Space and Time. She is the pianist and Minister of Music at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd in Yeadon, PA, and teaches private lessons and group classes in piano, flute, and improvisation.
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Erica McElveen is a multi-instrumentaist from Prince Georges County, Maryland. Now, living in Philadelphia, McElveen, also known as E Mack, is an educator at The Philadelphia Charter School For The Arts and Sciences where she serves as the Arts Department Co-Chair. Since graduating from Temple University in 2012, E Mack has played alongside some of Philadelphia's finest artists and musicians. She's played with recording artists Angie White and LeeMo and has worked with legendary producers, Paris Bowens and Jamar Jones. She recently opened a private event venue, Events at The Loft, located in Philadelphia where she hopes to provide musicians with a creative space to rehearse and perform.
Veronica Jurkiewicz is a violist, composer, musician, vocalist, educator, and curator based in Philadelphia. Drawn to sound involving the intersection of experimental, improvisational and traditional practice, Veronica is performs with the Bismuth String Quartet. She can also be found singing Bach as a soprano with Choral Arts Philadelphia or improvising alongside Afro-Cuban percussionists, interpreting new music as member of Arcana New Music Ensemble, or The Sonic Liberation Front. Veronica Jurkiewicz is also engaged in bringing chamber music to the people with Classical Revolution Philly and The Prometheus Chamber Orchestra
Michelle Lordi is a Philadelphia-based vocalist, songwriter and bandleader. She has performed in performance venues, jazz clubs and festivals, such as the Mann Music Center, The Kimmel Center, Chris’ Jazz Café, South, Birdland (NYC), Cornelia Street Café (NYC) Mezzrow (NYC), Minton's (NYC), DazzleJazz (Denver, CO), BluJazz (Akron, OH), Bop Stop (Cleveland, OH), Cliff Bell's (Detroit, MI) and the Pinelands Jazz Festival. Michelle Lordi was recently nominated in three categories (Best Band, Rising Star & Female Jazz Vocalist) in the Hot House New York City Readers Jazz Awards. Her original composition, “Scare The Ghost” was chosen to be included in the Philadelphia Real Book Project.
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Alexis Simmons aka Alexa Gold is a talented, Philly-based vocalist, songwriter and photographer. She was nurtured within the intensely demanding Philadelphia music scene, and honed her craft by incorporating her love, skill and versatility in music to her work as an open-mic aficionado. A highly requested background singer for a wide variety of performers, as well as a magnetic solo act, Alexa Gold brings together a reverence for Jazz, a love of Soul and R&B classics, as well as a strong dash of House and Techno flavors, all with an ear to street and the church. She has performed at The Free Library of Philadelphia, Barnes Foundation, Ardmore Music Hall, Bethlehem Steel Stacks and The Iridium in New York City.
Evelyn Simpson-Curenton is a Philadelphia bred composer, arranger, pianist, organist, vocalist, artistic director, lecturer, producer, and clinician. Her works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and U.S. Marine Corps Band, as well as by musicians like Duke Ellington, George Shirley, her late sister and Naumberg winner Joy Simpson, Hubert Laws, Denyce Graves, John Blake, Angela Brown of the Metropolitan Opera, Janice Chandler-Eteme, and David Murray have also performed her works. Evelyn Simpson-Curenton can be heard regularly at the Third Street Church of God or Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, DC.
Monnette Sudler is a legendary guitarist, bassist and composer. She built a reputation of innovation playing with artists like, Sunny Murray, David Murray, Khan Jamal/ Sound of Liberation and Byard Lancaster. Sudler has also worked with Hugh Masekela, Grover Washington Jr., Sonia Sanchez, Reggie Workman, Odean Pope, Steve Turre and Kirk Whalum among others. Monnette Sudler is a recipient of the Leeway Foundation - Transformation Award and the Clef Club - Guitarist of the Year Award. She also has received a prestigious, Pennsylvania Jazz Legacy Award and serves as the founder and producer of the Annual Philadelphia Guitar Summit.
Lynn Riley is a jazz musician, composer, and educator, whose primary instruments are saxophone and flute. Riley has been described more than once as "Superwoman" of the sax. She has performed with many great artists like Grover Washington Jr., Philly Joe Jones, Rachelle Farrell, Charles Earland, Gerald Veasley, Marian McPartland, Shirley Scott, Emily Remler, David Murray and Blossom Dearie. She has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Africa, South America and the Caribbean. Lynn Riley has released two albums as a leader, Lynn Riley & The World-Mix Say What (2014) and Too Cool (2009).
About the Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States, showcasing more than 2,000 years of exceptional human creativity in masterpieces of painting, sculpture, works on paper, decorative arts and architectural settings from Europe, Asia and the Americas. The striking neoclassical building stands on a nine-acre site above the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and houses more than 200 galleries. The Museum offers a wide variety of enriching activities, including programs for children and families, lectures, concerts and films.
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Philadelphia Jazz Project is a sponsored project of the Culture Trust | Greater Philadelphia, with funding provided by The Philadelphia Foundation.
