| Numinous The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr. |
17: 2016
Numinous at 25
17. 2016
#numinous25
#numinousmusic25
For my music, the year 2016 turned out to be about performing works about America. At the end of June and beginning of July, we did a revival at Gibney Dance Center of one of my favorite projects: To Begin the World Over Again. This collaboration with choreographer Edisa Weeks, her dance company, Delirious Dances, Numinous, and myself began as a works-in-progress performance in 2010 and then a two-week premiere run at @irondalecenter in Brooklyn in 2012.
Inspired by Thomas Paine and his outspoken advocacy for democracy and the “rights of man,” the work we developed is a glorious blend of choreography, music, and theater. The entire Gibney performance can be seen on Edisa’s Vimeo or my website.
Then in October, pianist Lara Downes premiered the work she commissioned me for: “Never Has Been Yet.” Lara premiered an edited version, along with a video that she put together of kids reciting parts of the Langston Hughes poem that the work takes its name and inspiration. The Langston Hughes poem "Let America Be America Again" balances the love of America and the hope that it will fulfill its promise someday, with the fact that America is far from fulfilling that promise to many. Lara eventually performed and recorded the official full version of the piece in 2024 and it can be found on her album “This Land” (Pentatone Records).
#josephcphillipsjr #numinous #numinousmusic @numinousmusic #edisaweeks #deliriousdances #tobegintheworldoveragain #mixedmusic #newmusic #livemusicwithdance #livemusicanddance #thomaspaine #thepromiseofamerica #neverhasbeenyet #solopiano #pianomusic #laradownes #edisaweeks
#numinous25
#numinousmusic25
For my music, the year 2016 turned out to be about performing works about America. At the end of June and beginning of July, we did a revival at Gibney Dance Center of one of my favorite projects: To Begin the World Over Again. This collaboration with choreographer Edisa Weeks, her dance company, Delirious Dances, Numinous, and myself began as a works-in-progress performance in 2010 and then a two-week premiere run at @irondalecenter in Brooklyn in 2012.
Inspired by Thomas Paine and his outspoken advocacy for democracy and the “rights of man,” the work we developed is a glorious blend of choreography, music, and theater. The entire Gibney performance can be seen on Edisa’s Vimeo or my website.
Then in October, pianist Lara Downes premiered the work she commissioned me for: “Never Has Been Yet.” Lara premiered an edited version, along with a video that she put together of kids reciting parts of the Langston Hughes poem that the work takes its name and inspiration. The Langston Hughes poem "Let America Be America Again" balances the love of America and the hope that it will fulfill its promise someday, with the fact that America is far from fulfilling that promise to many. Lara eventually performed and recorded the official full version of the piece in 2024 and it can be found on her album “This Land” (Pentatone Records).
#josephcphillipsjr #numinous #numinousmusic @numinousmusic #edisaweeks #deliriousdances #tobegintheworldoveragain #mixedmusic #newmusic #livemusicwithdance #livemusicanddance #thomaspaine #thepromiseofamerica #neverhasbeenyet #solopiano #pianomusic #laradownes #edisaweeks
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.