The Month of Moderns 2013: The Gulf (between you and me)

The Month of Moderns 2013: The Gulf (between you and me)

The Gulf (between you and me), a major project that has taken years of planning, brings together composers, a poet, an artist, and a variety of musicians from Japan and America to join The Crossing in exploring a particular theme: how we seem to hear what the earth is saying to us with the same sad inability with which we often listen to those we most love.  Luxembourg-American poet Pierre Joris has written a three-part poem that will tie the three performances and composers of this project together.  To get to know all three composers better, we offer ancillary events – a film and two concerts – that will give insight to the artists’ work.  We welcome Chris Jonas’s quartet, Sun Spits Cherries, and Gene Coleman’s ensemble of Japanese musicians playing a variety of traditional and contemporary instruments in Ensemble N_JP.

Saroyan wrote, “The intention of art has always been to deepen, extend, elevate, ennoble, strengthen, and refresh the experience of living.  It cannot begin to do these things until it accepts part of the management of the physical life of man, which is now in the hands of inferior men.” Here we make no pretensions toward having answers, we simply aim to sing beautiful, thought-provoking music that is relevant to our lives as we engage art to better understand our world.

Each concert features one new work for The Gulf (between you and me) and several interesting works on related subjects – how we perceive the natural world around us, how we love it, how it continues to defy and define us, captured by artists today, as throughout the history of art.

The Crossing Presents

Friday June 7 @ 8pm
Gene Coleman’s
Ensemble N_JP

Saturday June 15 @ 6:30pm 
Pierre Joris Reading His Poetry

Saturday, June 15, 2013 @ 8pm
Month of Moderns I
At The Philadelphia Cathedral
With special guest Toshimaru Nakamura
Gene Coleman: The Gulf (world premiere)
Santa Ratniece:  Chu Dal  (Silent Water, 2008)
Tamar Diesendruck: Other Floods (2010)

Philadelphia composer Gene Coleman’s musical language is at times experimental, at other times minimal, often drawing on Japanese influences, improvisation, extended techniques, and Gene’s interest in architecture and structure to create a rich and unique sound world.

Wednesday June 19 @ 8pm
Chris Jonas’s quartet
Sun Spits Cherries

Sunday June 23 – Monday July 1
Artist Dan Cole’s work as inspired by
The Gulf (between you and me)

Sunday, June 23, 2013 @ 4pm
Month of Moderns II
The IceBox at Crane Arts Center in Northern Liberties
Chris Jonas: The Gulf (world premiere)
Santa Ratniece:  Horo Horo Hata Hata  (2008)
Justé Janulyté: aguarelle  (Watercolor, 2007)

The Gulf (between you and me) continues with the musical world of Santa Fe composer Chris Jonas in a work that offers a musical language different from any The Crossing has yet sung.  This is a collaborative work with graphics created by Philadelphia artist Dan Coleprojected on the 100’ x 25’ foot great wall of the IceBox, intended to be heard in the magnificent acoustic of this modern secular cathedral; we celebrate this wonderful performance venue in the first of four programs to be heard over the next two seasons.

Wednesday June 26 @ 6:30pm
“Inside the Composer’s Studio:
Gabriel Jackson”

Sunday, June 30, 2013 @ 4pm
Month of Moderns III
At the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
Gabriel Jackson: The Gulf (world premiere)
Santa Ratniece: Saline (Salt Lakes, 2006)
John Cage: Four 2 (1992)

After his visit during MoM 2011, the singers of The Crossing were so enamored of British composer Gabriel Jackson  that we set about engaging this internationally-recognized composer for a very special event. Gabriel will compose the third and final installment of Pierre Joris’s poem cycle for The Gulf (between you and me); this promises to be an important evening for The Crossing, as we sing in Gabriel’s thoroughly engaging musical language..

Major Support Has Been Provided By:

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage

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