| Numinous The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr. |
15: 2014
Numinous at 25
15. 2014
#numinous25
#numinousmusic25
In 2014 my musical energies (and finances) were spent finishing the production of our Changing Same album, so Numinous did not perform that year. I, however, had an other reason we did not perform: my wife and I had a baby on the way!
During my post-production work on the Changing Same album, the events of Ferguson, Missouri happened in that lovely summer of nesting in anticipation of our newborn. For almost 4 years before, I was already thinking and researching about an opera that would explore some of the verisimilitudes of living in contemporary America as a Black or brown person. With the events and aftermath of Ferguson, and my conflicting emotions of joy and anxiety about the world our child would inhabit, made me want to more directly address the systemic issues within the country and helped to focus and clarify my goals with the forthcoming opera, which ultimately became The Grey Land.
The Grey Land's 2nd scene, "Ferguson: Summer of 2014", with words by Isaac Butler (who was ALSO having a child that year), describes my beautiful idyllic summer, mixed with the horror of Ferguson and the realization that the ‘dream America’ in Samuel Barber’s "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" never was, and continues not to be, for many of her citizens.
#josephcphillipsjr #numinous #numinousmusic @numinousmusic #thegreyland #fergusonsummerof2014 #mixedmusic #newmusic #newopera #changingsame #thegreylandopera #monoopera
#numinous25
#numinousmusic25
In 2014 my musical energies (and finances) were spent finishing the production of our Changing Same album, so Numinous did not perform that year. I, however, had an other reason we did not perform: my wife and I had a baby on the way!
During my post-production work on the Changing Same album, the events of Ferguson, Missouri happened in that lovely summer of nesting in anticipation of our newborn. For almost 4 years before, I was already thinking and researching about an opera that would explore some of the verisimilitudes of living in contemporary America as a Black or brown person. With the events and aftermath of Ferguson, and my conflicting emotions of joy and anxiety about the world our child would inhabit, made me want to more directly address the systemic issues within the country and helped to focus and clarify my goals with the forthcoming opera, which ultimately became The Grey Land.
The Grey Land's 2nd scene, "Ferguson: Summer of 2014", with words by Isaac Butler (who was ALSO having a child that year), describes my beautiful idyllic summer, mixed with the horror of Ferguson and the realization that the ‘dream America’ in Samuel Barber’s "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" never was, and continues not to be, for many of her citizens.
#josephcphillipsjr #numinous #numinousmusic @numinousmusic #thegreyland #fergusonsummerof2014 #mixedmusic #newmusic #newopera #changingsame #thegreylandopera #monoopera
Thanks and credit to all the original photos on this website to: David Andrako, Concrete Temple Theatre, Marcy Begian, Mark Elzey, Ed Lefkowicz, Donald Martinez, Kimberly McCollum, Geoff Ogle, Joseph C. Phillips Jr., Daniel Wolf-courtesy of Roulette, Andrew Robertson, Viscena Photography, Jennifer Kang, Carolyn Wolf, Mark Elzey, Karen Wise, Numinosito. The Numinous Changing Same album design artwork by DM Stith. The Numinous The Grey Land album design and artwork by Brock Lefferts. Contact for photo credit and information on specific images.