“What I am trying to achieve is to be what I am to the fullest—Black to the fullest, a musician to the fullest, a homosexual to the fullest…. It is important that I learn how to be, by that I mean accept everything about me.” – Julius Eastman
Julius Eastman (1940-1990) was a queer Black composer whose music and ideas went under-appreciated in his lifetime. Only recently has his work begun reaching wider audiences, and even now it remains under-listened-to and seldom discussed outside New Music and avant-garde circles.
This hour-long session (held on Eastman’s birthday) is a chance to experience Eastman's music and voice together. Drawing on archival research for context, we'll focus on listening closely, sharing impressions, and exploring his compositional ideas.
No prior experience with avant-garde music is needed. Whether this is your first encounter with the genre or you're a seasoned musician, you're welcome here. There will be plenty of room to ask questions, discuss, and learn more about Eastman along the way.
What to expect (60 minutes):
Introduction and context on Eastman and his compositions
Excerpted listening
Open floor for questions about the composer and the piece
Further excerpted listening
Mediated group discussion
About the facilitator:
Omri Riss Chbarbi is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he studied music and carried out research on the experimental composer Julius Eastman, alongside 20th-century music more broadly and its connections to philosophy. He is committed to bringing that kind of work out of academic spaces and making it accessible to all community members — which is exactly the spirit of this session.
Thumbnail photo: Julius Eastman, 1940-1990. Composer and Musician, by George Oliver