HARLEM STAGE AND NATIONAL SAWDUST PRESENT
UPTOWN NIGHTS: CONVENT TO WYTHE
yuniya edi kwon + SUN HAN GUILD
Friday, February 16, 2024, 7:30PM Harlem Stage Gatehouse Address: 150 Convent Avenue at West 135 Street, New York, NY 10031 Phone: 212.281.9240 ext. 19 | Website: www.harlemstage.org
@harlemstage 1
@myharlemstage
ABOUT THE EVENT Aligned by a mission to foster artistic experimentation and champion voices that are reshaping the landscape of new music for this century, Harlem Stage and National Sawdust band together in a cross-borough collaboration to present yuniya edi kwon and SUN HAN GUILD. For the performance at Harlem Stage, yuniya edi kwon will present an in-process performance of silver through the grass like nothing, a new interdisciplinary solo. Afterwards, SUN HAN GUILD will premiere a new work, entitled even in the shadow of a retching fog.
TONIGHT’S PROGRAM silver through the grass like nothing (in process) yuniya edi kwon is this how to live unafraid pearling in the eyes
Please note that there will be short periods of flashing lights during the evening and the first performance deals with health and medical trauma.
silver through the grass like nothing silver through the grass like nothing finds kwon stretching her capacities as a solo performer, creating an immersive world of sound, welcome & unwelcome shadows, entangled gazes, and fluid voices, within which she journeys as both messenger and message. The piece is a ritual convergence of continuums, including embodied story-singing, experimental music-theater, and emergent movement. Connecting to the history of pearl relics (sari) and their keepers, as well as the true story of yuniya’s sudden, sibylline illnesses and their reverberant medical traumas, silver through the grass like nothing is an impressionistic, bardo-like meditation on sickness, grief, and the body’s incessant pull toward transformation. The work is currently in-progress, scheduled to premiere in March 2025 as part of the Pan Asia Sounding Festival, founded & curated by Du Yun. Several work-in-progress presentations are scheduled for 2024.
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[INTERMISSION]
This program is supported, in part, by, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support is provided by the Diana King Memorial Fund presented by the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation.
even in the shadow of a retching fog (world premiere) SUN HAN GUILD even in the shadows of a retching fog, there is silence and there is the body, singing A ritual for grief and an opening for generosity, even in the shadow of a retching fog connects SUN HAN GUILD’s ecstatic compositional collectivity to the continuum of sinawi, or the improvisational music that flows through Korean shamanic rites. Drawing from the electricity that emerges when reconciling solitude and connectivity, the work features the ensemble’s masterful composer-improvisers Laura Cocks, Jessie Cox, Lester St. Louis, and Luke Stewart, with improvisational lighting designer Maggie Heath. Representing the next evolution in SUN HAN GUILD’s group practice, even in the shadow of a retching fog creates a dense and generative gravity, such that the invitation and transformation of grief can be liquid, embodied, and deeply enjoyed.
PERSONNEL silver through the grass like nothing yuniya edi kwon Violin, Voice, Small Percussion, Body Maggie Heath Lighting Design Du Yun & James Egelhofer Project Support Leo Chang & gamin Translation Support even in the shadow of a retching fog yuniya edi kwon Violin, Voice, Small Percussion, Body Laura Cocks Flutes, Voice, Small Percussion Jessie Cox Percussion, Voice Luke Stewart Bass, Voice, Small Percussion Lester St. Louis Cello, Voice, Small Percussion Maggie Heath Lighting Design
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BIOGRAPHIES yuniya edi kwon
VIOLINIST, VOCALIST, SMALL PERCUSSIONIST, PERFORMANCE ARTIST
yuniya edi kwon (b. 1989 – also known as eddy kwon) is a violinist, vocalist, poet, and interdisciplinary performance artist based in Lenapehoking, or New York City. Her practice connects composition, improvisation, movement, and ceremony to explore transformation & transgression, ritual practice as a tool to queer space & lineage, and the use of mythology to connect, obscure, and reveal. As a composer-performer and improviser, she is inspired by Korean folk timbres & inflections, textures & movement from natural environments, and American experimentalism as shaped by the AACM. Her work as a choreographer and movement artist embodies an expressive release and reclamation of colonialism’s spiritual imprints, connecting to both Japanese Butoh and a lineage of queer trans practitioners of Korean shamanic ritual. In addition to an evolving, interdisciplinary solo practice, she performs and collaborates with artists of diverse disciplines, including The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Senga Nengudi, Du Yun, Tomeka Reid, Holland Andrews, International Contemporary Ensemble, Kenneth Tam, Isabel Crespo Pardo, Moor Mother, and Degenerate Art Ensemble. She has performed alongside Roscoe Mitchell, Mary Halvorson, Nicole Mitchell, Cory Smythe, Henry Threadgill, Susan Alcorn, Carla Kihlstedt, Jessika Kenney, Lesley Mok, Satomi Matsuzaki, and others. In 2023, she founded SUN HAN GUILD, a sound and performance collective. She is a recipient of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Robert Rauschenberg Award in Music/Sound, an Arts Fellow at Princeton University’s Lewis Centerfor the Arts, a Civitella Ranieri Fellow, a Johnson Fellow at Americans for the Arts, and a United States Artists Ford Fellow. www.eddykwon.net
SUN HAN GUILD SUN HAN GUILD is a performance collective led by yuniya edi kwon. Inspired by the Spirit Worshipers’ Guild of early 20th century Korea, SUN HAN GUILD uses sound, improvisation, movement, and ritual performance to create spaces of intense presence and transformation. SUN HAN GUILD is composer-improvisers yuniya edi kwon, Laura Cocks, Jessie Cox, Lester St. Louis, and Luke Stewart, with lighting designer Maggie Heath. 5
BIOGRAPHIES
JESSIE COX
PERCUSSIONIST, VOCALIST
Described by VAN Magazine as “A multifaceted Black Swiss composer, performer, and scholar,” Jessie Cox makes music about the universe and our future in it. Through avant-garde classical, experimental jazz, and sound art, he has devised his own strand of musical science fiction, one that asks where we go next. Cox’s music goes forward. A dedicated collaborator Cox has worked as a composer and drummer with ensembles and institutions such as the Sun Ra Arkestra, LA Phil, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Modern, and the International Contemporary Ensemble; at Festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, MaerzMusik, and Opera Omaha. For his work as a composer, he has been recognized with a Fromm Foundation commission, and his commissions have been funded by the Ernst von Siemens Foundation, Pro Helvetia, New Music USA, and others. Currently completing his doctorate at Columbia University, Cox’ scholar writing asks new questions about our world through music. Recently, he has published in (and co-translated) the book Composing While Black, 6
published as a bilingual edition in German and English by Wolke Verlag in 2023. Further texts appear in liquid blackness, Critical Studies in Improvisation, Positionen Texte zur Aktuellen Musik, Sound American, the American Music Review, and others.
LAURA COCKS
FLUTIST, VOCALIST, SMALL PERCUSSIONIST
Laura Cocks is a flutist with “febrile instrumental prowess” (The New York Times), who works in a wide array of environments as a performer of experimental music and “creates intricate, spellbinding works that have a visceral physicality to them” (Foxy Digitalis). Laura is the executive director and flutist of TAK ensemble, “one of the most prominent ensembles in the United States practicing truly experimental music” (I Care If You Listen) with whom Laura makes musics “that combine crystalline clarity with the disorienting turbulence of a sonic vortex.” (WIRE Magazine). They perform regularly as a soloist, an improviser, and with ensembles such as Talea Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, Wet Ink Ensemble, and many others in NYC and abroad.
LESTER ST. LOUIS
CELLIST, VOCALIST, SMALL PERCUSSIONIST Lester St. Louis (b.1993) is a New York born and based Composer, Improviser, Cellist, Sound Designer and Curator. His work traverses through performance, installation, curation, artistic research, and recording. His works are rooted in dynamic environments of improvisation both sonically and socially, ecstatic sound worlds. flow and interaction. He has performed internationally throughout the U.S, The E.U, Canada, China, and South America. He collaborates with artists such as Chris Williams [under the moniker HxH], Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die, Ben Lamar Gay, Yaeji, Tortoise, Yo La Tengo, Miho Hatori, Dré A. Hočevar, Charmaine Lee, Isabel Crespo Pardo, TAK Ensemble, Random International, Irreversible Entanglements, Pheroan Aklaff, Superblue, Terence Nance, Found Sound Nation, Wet Ink Ensemble and many more. As a composer, Lester has been commissioned by artists such as The JACK Quartet, RAGE THORMBONES, Jennifer Koh, String noise and Ghost Ensemble among others. 7
BIOGRAPHIES LUKE STEWART
BASSIST, VOCALIST, SMALL PERCUSSIONIST
Luke Stewart is a musician, performer, improviser-composer, organizer, and writer-researcher whose work represents a deep reverence for the history and tradition of Creative Music: a tradition which encompasses the diverse styles of expression within the body of Black Music in the United States, Africa, and throughout the world. Stewart’s regular ensembles include Irreversible Entanglements, SILT Trio, Exposure Quintet, and the experimental rock duo Blacks’ Myths; he also performs regularly in numerous collaborations. He holds a B.A. from American University and an M.A. from The New School, where he is also an adjunct professor in the College of Performing Arts. Stewart is a co-founder and artistic director of CapitalBop, a Washington, D.C.-based jazz nonprofit.
MAGGIE HEATH LIGHTING DESIGNER
Maggie Heath is a production designer and manger located in NYC. They received a BFA from Portland State University, focusing in sculpture, though found a creative home in theaters and with dancers. Recent design credits include Will Rawls, [siccer] (2023, Lighting + Scenic); Marcel Dzama, To Live on the Moon (For Lorca) (2023, Lighting); Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble, Cardiac Organ (2023, Props + Scenic dressing); SUN HAN GUILD, EARTH IRIDESCENCE / SORROW CHURN (2023, Lighting); Linda Austin + Allie Hankins, || /ə ˈsɪŋgəl pɪŋk klɑʊd/ (2022, Props + Scenic).
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HARLEM STAGE & NATIONAL SAWDUST PRESENT
UPTOWN NIGHTS: CONVENT TO WYTHE
BORA YOON & R. LUKE DUBOIS Saturday, March 9, 2024 | 8PM National Sawdust (80 N 6th St, Brooklyn, NY, 11249) Harlem Stage and National Sawdust present (( ( PHONATION ) )) a work of sound and visuals by Bora Yoon and R. Luke DuBois. Learn more at harlemstage.org. 9
OUR SUPPORTERS
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council. Harlem Stage’s Programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. 10
CREATE FEARLESSLY ABDULLAH IBRAHIM · ADAM W. SADBERRY ALEXANDER DAVIS · AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE BERTHA HOPE · BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE COMPANY BOBBY MORGAN · BORA YOON · CAMILLE A. BROWN CARL HANCOCK RUX · CHLOE DAVIS · CRAIG HARRIS DAFNIS PRIETO · DANIEL FETECUA · DAVID VALBUENA DJ SABINE BLAIZIN (OYASOUND) · FEI-FEI FLOR DE TOLOACHE · GEORGE EMILIO SANCHEZ HANNAH LEMMONS AKA LEMMONS · IAN ISIAH JAMES BLASZKO · JASON MORAN · JOANNE BRACKEEN JOSÉ JAMES · JOYA POWELL · JUEL D. LANE KALÍ RODRÍGUEZ-PEÑA · KIMBERLY NICHOLE LUCIANA SOUZA · MALEEK WASHINGTON MARY PRESCOTT · MATTHEW WHITAKER MAYTE NATALIO · MICAH THOMAS · NORA CHIPAUMIRE PABLO MAYOR’S FOLKLORE URBANO ORCHESTRA PATTY ORTIZ · RICKEY TRIPP RONALD K. BROWN/EVIDENCE SHANTELLE COURVOISIER JACKSON · STEW SUN HAN GUILD · TAMAR-KALI · URBAN BUSH WOMEN VIJAY IYER · YASSER TEJEDA · YUNIYA EDI KWON
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LESTER ST. LOUIS
CELLIST, VOCALIST, SMALL PERCUSSIONIST Lester St. Louis (b.1993) is a New York born and based Composer, Improviser, Cellist, Sound Designer and Curator. His work traverses through performance, installation, curation, artistic research, and recording. His works are rooted in dynamic environments of improvisation both sonically and socially, ecstatic sound worlds. flow and interaction. He has performed internationally throughout the U.S, The E.U, Canada, China, and South America. He collaborates with artists such as Chris Williams [under the moniker HxH], Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die, Ben Lamar Gay, Yaeji, Tortoise, Yo La Tengo, Miho Hatori, Dré A. Hočevar, Charmaine Lee, Isabel Crespo Pardo, TAK Ensemble, Random International, Irreversible Entanglements, Pheroan Aklaff, Superblue, Terence Nance, Found Sound Nation, Wet Ink Ensemble and many more. As a composer, Lester has been commissioned by artists such as The JACK Quartet, RAGE THORMBONES, Jennifer Koh, String noise and Ghost Ensemble among others.
MAGGIE HEATH LIGHTING DESIGNER
WaterWorks Established Artist Commission
Maggie Heath is a production designer and manger located in NYC. They received a BFA from Portland State University, focusing in sculpture, though found a creative home in theaters and with dancers. Recent design credits include Will Rawls, [siccer] (2023, Lighting + Scenic); Marcel Dzama, To Live on the Moon (For Lorca) (2023, Lighting); Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble, Cardiac Organ (2023, Props + Scenic dressing); SUN HAN GUILD, EARTH IRIDESCENCE CHURN (2023, Linda Austin + Friday, May /3SORROW – Saturday, May 4 |Lighting); 7:30PM Allie Hankins, || /ə ˈsɪŋgəl pɪŋk klɑʊd/ (2022, Props + Scenic).
Tamar-kali—The Swann Carl Hancock Rux, Libretto Composer, vocalist, and performing and recording artist Tamar-kali presents performance excerpts from The Swann — an opera she is developing about the life and times of William Dorsey Swann, the first known person to identify as a “queen of drag.”
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On the occasion of Harlem Stage’s 40th Anniversary milestone season, we are pleased to offer a series of livestream performances this Winter/Spring 2024, available to our donors. As part of our $40 for 40 campaign, your donation of at least $40 to Harlem Stage will give you access to livestream these amazing performances. Learn more at harlemstage.org/40for40 Uptown Nights An Evening of Chamber Music presented with Sugar Hill Salon & Concert Artists Guild Friday, February 23 | 7:30PM Eternal Spirit: Vijay Iyer & Friends Celebrate the Music of Andrew Hill Saturday, March 2 | 7:30PM E-Moves Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company Saturday, April 20 | 7:30PM
WaterWorks Established Artist Commission Tamar-kali—The Swann Carl Hancock Rux, Libretto Saturday, May 4 | 7:30PM 13
CALENDAR SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
ON & ON: JOSÉ JAMES SINGS BADU
DECEMBER 1, 2023
UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES PABLO MAYOR’S FOLKLORE URBANO ORCHESTRA
UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES YASSER TEJEDA & DJ SABINE BLAIZIN (OYASOUND)
OCTOBER 13 – 14, 2023
DECEMBER 9, 2023
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023
CRAIG HARRIS TONGUES OF FIRE (in a harlem state of mind)
WATERWORKS EMERGING ARTISTS SHOWCASE FEATURING SHANTELLE COURVOISIER JACKSON, HANNAH LEMMONS AKA LEMMONS, BOBBY MORGAN, MARY PRESCOTT & KALÍ RODRÍGUEZ-PEÑA
OCTOBER 27, 2023
JANUARY 11–13, 2024
E-MOVES RONALD K. BROWN/ EVIDENCE
OCTOBER 20 – 21, 2023
UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES DAFNIS PRIETO FEATURING LUCIANA SOUZA CANTAR NOVEMBER 3, 2023
IN THE COURT OF THE CONQUEROR BY GEORGE EMILIO SANCHEZ IN COLLABORATION WITH VISUAL ARTIST PATTY ORTIZ
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NOVEMBER 10, 2023
UPTOWN NIGHTS LATIN MUSIC SERIES + CARNEGIE HALL CITYWIDE FLOR DE TOLOACHE
E-MOVES URBAN BUSH WOMEN’S HAINT BLU
JANUARY 26, 2024
UPTOWN NIGHTS IAN ISIAH + KIMBERLY NICHOLE FEBRUARY 16, 2024
UPTOWN NIGHTS: CONVENT TO WYTHE yuniya edi kwon + SUN HAN GUILD
*Note: All presentations subject to change as COVID-19 conditions evolve.
FEBRUARY 23, 2024
APRIL 26, 2024
UPTOWN NIGHTS AN EVENING OF CHAMBER MUSIC PRESENTED WITH SUGAR HILL SALON & CONCERT ARTISTS GUILD
PIANOS FOR DUKE REIMAGINED: FEATURING JASON MORAN, ABDULLAH IBRAHIM & FRIENDS
MARCH 1 – 2, 2024
ETERNAL SPIRIT: VIJAY IYER & FRIENDS CELEBRATE THE MUSIC OF ANDREW HILL
PIANOS FOR DUKE REIMAGINED: FEATURING JASON MORAN, ABDULLAH IBRAHIM & FRIENDS BENEFIT CONCERT
MARCH 9, 2024
MAY 3 – 4, 2024
APRIL 27, 2024
UPTOWN NIGHTS: CONVENT TO WYTHE BORA YOON & R. LUKE DUBOIS AT NATIONAL SAWDUST
WATERWORKS ESTABLISHED ARTIST COMMISSION TAMAR-KALI THE SWANN
MARCH 22 – 23, 2024
E-MOVES nora chipaumire ShebeenDUB
STEW HIGH SUBSTITUTE FOR THE DREAD LECTURER: BARAKA JONES IN DUB MARCH 29 – 30, 2024
WATERWORKS ESTABLISHED ARTIST COMMISSION AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE banyan seed APRIL 19 – 20, 2024
E-MOVES BILL T. JONES/ ARNIE ZANE COMPANY
MAY 17 – 18, 2024
JUNE 3, 2024
HARLEM STAGE 40TH ANNIVERSARY GALA
JUNE 14 – 15, 2024
E-MOVES CAMILLE A. BROWN & GUESTS: BLACK JOY FEATURING WORKS BY CAMILLE A. BROWN, CHLOE DAVIS, JUEL D. LANE, MAYTE NATALIO, RICKEY TRIPP & MALEEK WASHINGTON Lead support for Harlem Stage’s 40th Anniversary Season is provided by the Mellon Foundation.
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ABOUT HARLEM STAGE Harlem Stage is the performing arts center that bridges Harlem’s cultural legacy to contemporary artists of color and dares to provide the artistic freedom that gives birth to new ideas. For 40 years our singular mission has been to perpetuate and celebrate the unique and diverse artistic legacy of Harlem and the indelible impression it has made on American culture. We provide opportunity, commissioning, and support for artists of color, make performances easily accessible to all audiences, and introduce children to the rich diversity, excitement, and inspiration of the performing arts. We fulfill our mission through commissioning, incubating, and presenting innovative and vital work that responds to the historical and contemporary conditions that shape our lives and the communities we serve.
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Board of Directors Courtney F. Lee-Mitchell, President Jamie Cannon, Vice President Michael Young, Secretary Mark Thomas, Treasurer Angela Glover Blackwell Jenna Bond Jamila Ponton Bragg
JoAnn K. Chase LaChanze Patricia Cruz Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes Jenette Kahn Rebecca Robertson Tamara Tunie
Staff MANAGEMENT Eric Oberstein, Managing Director
OPERATIONS Rodney Bissessar, Director of Operations Lamont Askins, Operations Associate Acey Anderson Sr., Maintenance
DEVELOPMENT Shamar Hill, Director of Development Shanté Skyers, Associate Director of Development Julianna Friedman, Development Manager
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION NCheng LLC, Accountants/Advisors Jake Lee, Partner Aaron Lam, Supervising Senior Accountant
PROGRAMMING Carl Hancock Rux, Associate Artistic Director/ Curator-in-Residence Sarah McCaffery, Programming Manager and Associate Curator Maurice Ivy, Programming Associate
CONSULTANTS Aon/Albert G. Ruben Company (NY)/ Claudia Kaufman, Insurance Arts Education Consultants: Sobha Kavanakudiyil, Sierra Ray & Wendy Rojas Blake Zidell & Associates, Public Relations Briguel, Digital Video Services DAS, IT Consultant Derrick Saint Pierre/Snugg Studios, Digital Video Services Intrepid Digital, SEO Services JCA, Inc.: Database Consulting Jess Medenbach, Digital Video Services LCM/247, Digital Video Services Lutz & Carr/Chris Bellando, Accountants Madison Consulting Group, Matthew Laurence Manchester Benefits, Greg Martin Marc Millman, Photography Robyn L. Stein, Rl Stein Group, Development Consultant Charles Whelan, The Whelan Group Incorporated
Patricia Cruz, Artistic Director & CEO
MARKETING Deirdre May, Senior Director of Digital Content and Marketing Andre Padayhag, Marketing Manager and Graphic Designer Adrienne Gomez, Box Office Manager EDUCATION Jordan Carter, Education & Community Engagement Manager Bethany Cintron, Education & Community Engagement Associate PRODUCTION Amanda K. Ringger, Director of Production Anna Adams Stark, Stage Manager Clarence Taylor, Lighting Operator Orlando Alvarado, Audio Engineer Gabriel Fequiere, Video Operator David Barrett, Julio Collado, Audio, Lighting, & Deck Crew
USHERS Toma Carthens, Andy Garcia, Marlon Moncrieffe, Nobar De Leon, Miriam Hernandez, Fabian Franco