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  Numinous The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr.

21: 2020
Numinous at 25

21. 2020
“Annus mirabilis, annus horribilis”
#numinous25
#numinousmusic25

2020 began with the premiere of my Four Freedoms opera with the Maryland Opera Studio and ended with the beginnings of 1619 Opera Cycle —I started writing the libretto for So Far Behind Now Because of Then in May and in December had a public Zoom reading of three scenes from that first opera with Rebecca Hargrove @rebeccalhargrove and Ariadne Greif @ariadnegreif and hired actors, @arthurlazalde @stacey.linnartz @peter_rini @jeremyrishe  @amylynnavers and a discussion of future operas with @kelley_rebecca and @officialmeshell , all supported by a 2020 @bkartscouncil grant. 

In between was @thegreyland recording sessions throughout the first two months just before the pandemic and lockdown. Except for the initial mixing session, all of the post-production of The Grey Land album was done online. I started in the spring months in Brooklyn during the height of the outbreak and then finishing in Colorado, after approval for my year sabbatical from teaching at PS 321 and our move there in the summer. On November 20th the album was released on @newamrecords with many interviews, reviews and overall positive reception from many press outlets like The New York Times, BBC, The Wire, New Sounds @newsounds, and more!

But as it turned out after the recording sessions in 2020, while I would be busy with different music projects, for various reasons that year would the last time Numinous would play together for three years.

🎥: Four Freedoms, soloists @oznurtuluoglu & Katherine Kincaid; @thekingofbass_; director/piano @jk.piano 

The Grey Land trailer: @margoross.tunes 

#josephcphillipsjr #numinous #numinousmusic @numinousmusic #thegreyland #thegreylandopera #fourfreedomsopera #thefourfreedomsopera #thefourfreedoms #mixedmusic #newmusic #newopera #opera #monoopera #mixedmusic #sofarbehindnowbecauseofthen #1619opera #1619operacycle 


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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.