| Numinous The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr. |
Year 4: 2003
Numinous at 25
4. 2003
#numinous25
#numinousmusic25
The year 2003 was a nadir of my time in New York City as I was literally a starving artist with my only income (just above poverty level) was as a substitute teacher, and about 75% of that was for rent! But the year did include some highlights that in retrospect were the seeds for a brighter, future life.
First, Numinous went into Systems Two studios in February to record my first album, which I self-released and self-produced: “The Music of Joseph C Phillips Jr” Long before Kickstarter or Artist Share or any crowdfunding sources, the beginning of that year I wrote literal letters to my friends and family soliciting for money to help me go into Systems Two Studios for my first album! The album came out in September and through my own hard work of PR, I was THRILLED that I got a couple of reviews and even more so when John Schaefer personally responded to my cold-call email and featured various selections of the new CD on the program New Sounds on WNYC here in New York City (over the years John and New Sounds have been an incredible supporter of me and Numinous with many features and airings of my music; so the news of New Sounds possible ending in May 2025, while a horrible loss for the entire creative music community, would also be a very personal one for me too).
Secondly, in December 2003 I was invited to the Netherlands for the Steve Reich Festival at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Den Haag. This two-week festival celebrated the legacy of one of my musical heroes and I was honored to have some of my music performed—“To Kyoto” which was on our first album & “Into all the Valleys Evening Journeys,” a finalist that July for the BMI composers Workshop competition at Merlin Hall, and two years later would be the third movement of my composition Vipassana, which premiered in 2005 and was the second Numinous album in 2009. The two-week long celebration was inspiring and incredible as I was able to hear and see almost all of Steve Reich’s works at that time performed by various professional and student groups in Den Haag and in Amsterdam (my first and only visit so far to the renowned Concertgebouw; seeing Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker’s dance troupe performing Music for 18 Musicians). And while I had briefly met and talked with Steve Reich at the NYC debut of the ensemble Alarm Will Sound at Miller Theatre the year before (and would meet him again a few years later), this festival was where I first actually had an extensive one-on-one discussion with him!
#numinous25
#numinousmusic25
The year 2003 was a nadir of my time in New York City as I was literally a starving artist with my only income (just above poverty level) was as a substitute teacher, and about 75% of that was for rent! But the year did include some highlights that in retrospect were the seeds for a brighter, future life.
First, Numinous went into Systems Two studios in February to record my first album, which I self-released and self-produced: “The Music of Joseph C Phillips Jr” Long before Kickstarter or Artist Share or any crowdfunding sources, the beginning of that year I wrote literal letters to my friends and family soliciting for money to help me go into Systems Two Studios for my first album! The album came out in September and through my own hard work of PR, I was THRILLED that I got a couple of reviews and even more so when John Schaefer personally responded to my cold-call email and featured various selections of the new CD on the program New Sounds on WNYC here in New York City (over the years John and New Sounds have been an incredible supporter of me and Numinous with many features and airings of my music; so the news of New Sounds possible ending in May 2025, while a horrible loss for the entire creative music community, would also be a very personal one for me too).
Secondly, in December 2003 I was invited to the Netherlands for the Steve Reich Festival at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Den Haag. This two-week festival celebrated the legacy of one of my musical heroes and I was honored to have some of my music performed—“To Kyoto” which was on our first album & “Into all the Valleys Evening Journeys,” a finalist that July for the BMI composers Workshop competition at Merlin Hall, and two years later would be the third movement of my composition Vipassana, which premiered in 2005 and was the second Numinous album in 2009. The two-week long celebration was inspiring and incredible as I was able to hear and see almost all of Steve Reich’s works at that time performed by various professional and student groups in Den Haag and in Amsterdam (my first and only visit so far to the renowned Concertgebouw; seeing Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker’s dance troupe performing Music for 18 Musicians). And while I had briefly met and talked with Steve Reich at the NYC debut of the ensemble Alarm Will Sound at Miller Theatre the year before (and would meet him again a few years later), this festival was where I first actually had an extensive one-on-one discussion with him!
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.