Black Mountain Songs runs at BAM from November 20—23. Context is everything, so get even closer to the show with this curated selection of articles, interviews, and videos related to the production. Once you've seen it, help us keep the conversation going by telling us what you thought below.
Program Notes
Black Mountain Songs (PDF)
Website
Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Learn more about Brooklyn's hardest working choir.
Illustration
Black Mountain College Yearbook (BAM Blog)
Illustrator Nathan Gelgud depicts some of Black Mountain's most famous alums.
Discussion
Bryce Dessner and Dianne Berkun-Menaker Discuss Black Mountain Songs (BAM Blog)
Dessner and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus director discuss the coming-to-be of the project.
Article
Legendary Influence Of Black Mountain College (The New York Times)
Roberta Smith muses over the storied history of the North Carolina college.
Article
A History of Black Mountain College (BlackMountainCollege.org)
John Dewey's principles of progressive education were an important inspiration for the BMC project.
Profile
Aleksandra Vrebalov: Finding Your Roots By Replanting Them (NewMusicBox.org)
On the Serbian-born composer's complex relationship to modernism, nationalism, and more.
Interview
The Black Mountain Songs Composer refers to himself as a "middlebrow brutalist" when it comes to noise.
Watch & Listen
Audio
Meet the Composer: Caroline Shaw (WQXR)
Meet the youngest composer ever to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Audio
Bonus Track: Caroline Shaw's "It's Motion Keeps" (WQXR)
An old shape note song from The Southern Harmony was the basis of Shaw's Black Mountain Song contribution.
Video
Their Passing In Time," Richard Reed Parry (YouTube)
The Brooklyn Youth Chorus performs a work by the Arcade Fire alum.
Video
"To the Sea," Bryce Dessner (YouTube)
A 2012 performance by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus at Roulette.
Now your turn...
So how did you enjoy the show? Likes? Dislikes? Surprises? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below.
So how did you enjoy the show? Likes? Dislikes? Surprises? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below.
