The premiere of "Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)," new work by Tyshawn Sorey took place on Saturday, February 19, 2022 at the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas. The highly anticipated event is ahead of a staged presentation at the Park Avenue Armory in New York this fall, and has received recognition from the New York Times, the Washington Post, The New York, and NPR. See below for more information!
PROGRAM
Tyshawn Sorey Rothko Chapel
“Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)” by Tyshawn Sorey
Tyshawn Sorey: Rothko Chapel 50th Anniversary Commission Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)
Tyshawn Sorey, composer, conductor
Houston Chamber Choir
Davóne Tines, bass-baritone
Kim Kashkashian, viola
Steven Schick, percussion
Sarah Rothenberg, piano/celesta
Link to website: http://rothkochapel.org/experience/events/event/tyshawn-sorey-20220219
ABOUT
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Rothko Chapel, DACAMERA and Rothko Chapel commissioned boundary-breaking composer Tyshawn Sorey to create a new work inspired by the Chapel and by Morton Feldman’s 20th-century masterpiece, Rothko Chapel, composed for the opening celebration. Tyshawn Sorey epitomizes DACAMERA’s commitment to work that explodes traditional distinctions between genres. Using the same instrumentation as Feldman, Tyshawn Sorey brings to this new work his impressive background in jazz and creative music. Sorey’s new work premieres during the 50th anniversary year of the first performance of the Feldman work at the dedication of the Chapel in 1972.
REVIEWS & ARTICLES
Barone, Joshua. "50 Years Later, the Rothko Chapel Meets a New Musical Match." The New York Times, February 18, 2022. Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/18/arts/music/tyshawn-sorey-rothko-chapel.html
Brodeur, Michael Andor. "Rothko Chapel to celebrate 50 years of peace and quiet with a landmark commission by Tyshawn Sorey." The Washington Post, February 18, 2022. Link to article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/music/2022/02/18/rothko-chapel-50-year-sorey-commission/
Woolfe, Zachary. "Review: At Rothko Chapel, a Composer Is Haunted by a Hero." The New York Times: Critic's Pick, February 21, 2022. Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/arts/music/review-rothko-chapel-tyshawn-sorey.html
Tsioulcas, Anastasia. "At the Rothko Chapel, Tyshawn Sorey explores sound — and silence." NPR All Things Considered, February 24, 2022. Link to article: https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2022/02/24/1082598252/tyshawn-sorey-rothko-chapel-50th-anniversary-composition
Ross, Alex. "Music Fills the Rothko Chapel." The New Yorker, March 14, 2022. Link to article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/03/14/music-fills-the-rothko-chapel
Photo Credit: The composer Tyshawn Sorey in front of Mark Rothko paintings at the Rothko Chapel in Houston, where Sorey’s “Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)” will premiere this weekend.Credit...Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY; Michael Starghill Jr. for The New York Times