With music, video and words, we present the multifaceted figure of Julius Eastman (1940–1990).
Structured like a secular oratorio, this performance celebrates the African-American musician, singer and composer, whose contribution to avant-garde music is explored through a biographical program. Meredith Monk’s Turtle Dreams – the first work in which Eastman participated as a vocalist – is followed by a collage of compositions and images exploring themes that were Eastman’s focus throughout his career, including the condition of Black and queer minorities in conservative America, African-American folk singing as a response to white classical music, and improvisation as a tool for liberation and catharsis.