Panel / Livestream Video | Afro-Modernism
Identity, Diaspora, and the Contemporary
A discussion on the identity and future of contemporary music
Planking (detail) in the Haus der Berliner Festspiele during the first phase of renovation in 2010 © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Kordula Rüter
In the run-up to the concert “Afro-Modernism in Contemporary Music” by Ensemble Modern, scholars and curators will discuss current questions of the identity and future of classical and contemporary music.
The protracted silence within avantgarde music that surrounds composers of the African diaspora provides the starting point for this concert project curated by the American musician, composer and academic George Lewis. With works by Alvin Singleton, Tania León, Daniel Kidane, Andile Khumalo, Hannah Kendall and Jessie Cox the musicians of the Ensemble Modern under conductor Vimbayi Kaziboni open up a panorama of music from the African diaspora that is more significant than ever in light of the Black Lives Matter movement.
With
Christel Fricke – University of Oslo; fellow, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
Harald Kisiedu – University Osnabrück, Institute of Music
Arlette-Louise Ndakoze – artistic co-director, SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin
George Lewis – moderator, Columbia University; fellow Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
In collaboration with Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin