WOSU Classical 101 Launches “JUXTA” New Music Concert Series
COLUMBUS, OHIO, SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 – WOSU Classical 101 is introducing a new music concert series aimed at capturing artistry with creative and energetic elements from different genres.
JUXTA, a collaboration between celebrated Columbus artists and WOSU Classical 101, promises to deliver fresh and important experiences that will inspire, entertain and surprise. It is presented by WOSU Classical 101 with major funding provided by the Johnstone Fund for New Music. JUXTA, which will debut in October to a sold-out live audience, gets its name from the word juxtaposition, which emphasizes contrast.
“In the midst of all the challenges that have rocked our society in the last few years, we at Classical 101 have been so inspired by the local artists, musicians and poets who have created highly personal works responding to and working through those challenges,” said Classical 101 program director Cheryl Dring. “We wondered what would happen if we put creators from different genres or disciplines together to see what their combined creative energies would spark. And that was the genesis of JUXTA.”
JUXTA 2022 is Black Odes: A Reclamation Suite, the world premiere of a new musical composition by Dr. Mark Lomax II and Scott Woods, performed by The Urban Art Ensemble. The event features poetry by Scott Woods and visual art by Richard Duarte Brown.
“It’s impossible to strip away our experience as Black people in this country,” said composer Mark Lomax. “What’s not impossible is to reimagine what liberty looks like, what freedom feels like. That is work we’ve done before. That’s reclamation. But this is deeper and purer than that. This is an attempt to create from that space intentionally as if it were already true.”
“Black Odes is all about creating and living from a different space than Black people are usually afforded,” said curator Scott Woods. “So much of what we create wrestles with what has happened to us. We wanted to put a win in the ‘What could be’ column.”
“Capturing a sense of what liberty is – like a physical thing or state of being – is hard work. It’s beautiful work, but it’s hard,” said artist Richard Duarte Brown. “You have to dig very deeply into yourself and your culture and pull out a root that hasn’t been tapped very hard. Creating art that isn’t just aspirational but believes in new ways of living is powerful. There’s a magic to it. And we hope that magic transfers to our audience.” (NOTE: Attached visual by Richard Duarte Brown is entitled Antistrophe: Ho’oponopono, photo credit to Jason Wood)
The JUXTA event on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at the WOSU Public Media headquarters sold out almost immediately, so a livestream option is being offered. Audiences can register here to attend the livestream of this world premiere performance.
JUXTA’s sponsor, the Johnstone Fund for New Music, helps to fund the creation and performance of new works and foster collaboration between performers and composers.
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