Democracy Sessions: Day 1

Program

• Democracy Session 1: American Ledger

• Raven Chacon Compass

• Rachel Beetz Uninterrupted Labor

• Raven Chacon American Ledger #1

• Louis Andriessen Workers Union

• At the conclusion of election week, Democracy Sessions opens with an evening that poses questions about our civic structures and identity through a musical blend of open interpretations, historical reflections, and experimental propositions. The evening challenges the audience and participants alike to consider the balance between individual freedom and collective responsibility, creating space to reflect on our roles within any group or community.

  In American Ledger #1, 2018, composer Raven Chacon asks his audience to contemplate the symbols, iconography, history, violence, and sounds that built the United States while the harmony of chopping wood, fire, old songs, and the churning of nature fill the space. The work’s narrative score, printed on a flag, will hang above the concert space throughout the weekend as a reminder of the ancient history of this land. A new work by Wild Up member Rachel Beetz, Labor, Uninterrupted, draws on the Soviet-era concept of perpetual labor for the greater good and invites her audience to reflect on contemporary notions of rest, work, and revolution. The evening closes with a performance of Dutch composer Louis Andriessen’s seminal piece Workers Union, in which he instructs the performers to play with each part having equal importance, as one would approach political or community organizing.