Passover – Philadelphia Folksong Society (world premiere)
Rick Burkhardt’s Passover, commissioned for thingNY, is a performance-ritual for six singing/speaking instrumentalists seated at a dinner table on which there lies a double bass. Each performer relates the story of a friend’s escape: from a bad marriage, from an unfair situation at work, from a run-in with a traffic cop, from an ethically compromising opportunity, from an awkward family dinner. Ultimately, it becomes clear that all of these friends form one collective identity. This commission has been made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Chamber Music America Endowment Fund.
May 24, 2018 – 8:00pm
Philadelphia Folksong Society
6156 Ridge Ave.
Philadelphia, PA
Rick Burkhardt – Passover*
Gelsey Bell – Songs from Rolodex
*premiere performance
Gelsey Bell – voice, percussion
Andrew Livingston – voice, bass
Paul Pinto – voice, percussion
Erin Rogers – voice, saxophone
Dave Ruder – voice, clarinet
Jeffrey Young – voice, violin