Radical Kinship
Created by Ensemble Pi
Wednesday, March 2
Performance: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Symposium: 8:30 PM - 9:00 PM
In-Person Tickets: $15 - $20
Live Stream Tickets: $15
“If kinship was our goal, we would no longer be promoting justice. We would be celebrating it. Because here is the truth: No kinship, no justice. No kinship, no equality.”
Radical Kinship is Ensemble Pi’s new concert project, inspired by the work of global champion of social justice, Father Greg Boyle, and his belief in the power of radical kinship to heal society’s inequalities. For Boyle, founder of the LA-based Homeboy Industries, the solution to an unfair criminal justice system begins with the recognition that we belong to each other, and the necessity to give voice to marginalized people.
In the spirit of Boyle’s radical kinship, Ensemble Pi has commissioned a diverse group of composers including Orlando Jacinto Garcia; Ralph Mendoza and rapper AJ Peoples; and Gregg Welcher to create works addressing systemic poverty and over-criminalization with narratives told by (ex-)incarcerated people and other oppressed populations.
Radical Kinship also includes vocalist Damian Norfleet and dancer Maura Gahan performing an improvised piece on prisons’ sociological structures; and formerly incarcerated people, Charles Grosso and Alberto Duque, narrating their own stories live with music accompaniment.
COVID-19 SAFTEY GUIDELINES
Per New York City's vaccine mandate, all attendees must show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to be admitted to this event. Attendees will also be required to wear face masks while inside The Center at West Park and throughout the performance. Click here to read our full Saftey Guidelines.
About The Artists
ENSEMBLE PI, a socially conscious new-music group founded in 2002, features composers whose work seeks to open a dialogue between ideas and music on some of the world’s current and critical issues. For twenty years, Ensemble Pi has presented an annual Peace Project concert, commissioning new works and collaborating with visual artists, writers, actors and journalists such as William Kentridge, Naomi Wolf and David Riker. The ensemble was in residence for four American music festivals presented by the American Composers Alliance and now collaborates with the APNM. Symphony Space presented Ensemble Pi in birthday celebrations for composers Gunther Schuller and Krzysztof Penderecki. A multi-year collaboration with composer Elias Tanenbaum resulted in a CD of his chamber music, Keep Going, released by Parma Recordings in 2010 and reviewed by Gramophone as “a touching tribute to Elias Tanenbaum that is played with conviction and verve.” It was followed by a second CD of the music Laura Kaminsky, “played with warmth and variety” (American Record Guide). Ensemble Pi is currently working on its third CD. www.ensemble-pi.org