Through the Eye(s)

Multiple authors/composers (see below)

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• A 30' extractable cycle of nine pieces for speaking and singing percussionist

• Created in 2019 during a semester-long course Eliza facilitated at Indiana Women's Prison with percussionist Bonnie Whiting

• Premiere 11/8/2021, Thompson Recital Hall, DePauw University, Greencastle, IN

• Album released by Neuma Records

• click here for texts​

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Through the Eye(s) is an extractable cycle of nine pieces for solo speaking and singing percussionist, developed in collaboration by nine incarcerated people at the Indiana Women's Prison, composer Eliza Brown, and percussionist Bonnie Whiting. Co-authors on the project include Whittney (CoCo) Bales-Malone, Ashley Strong, Marjorie Woods, Ingrid Swinford, Char’Dae Avery, LaDawn Johnson, Dawnetta Taylor (Shelton), Lara Campbell, Amaris Rose Bunyard, and Joyce (Potter) Hawkins. All of the texts respond in some way to the project's collectively determined theme, "calm and storm." 

 

The project centers the perspectives and artistic contributions of these incarcerated women, allowing education to function as “epistemic reparations” for the injustices incarcerated people experience. While this idea can manifest in many ways, in the realm of arts education, it means using the arts as a space for incarcerated people to develop and present hermeneutic frames for their experience – that is, to shape their own narratives – and providing platforms for the creative work of incarcerated people to enter the public sphere with full authorial attribution. 

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As decided by the collective authors/composers, all proceeds generated by performances, recordings, or sheet music of Through the Eye(s) will be donated to support public K-12 music education in the state of Indiana.

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1. Calm and Storm (2’)                                                    

Text by Whittney (CoCo) Bales-Malone

Music by Eliza Brown

 

2. Nightly Storm (4’30”)

Music and text by Ashley Strong

 

3. Lost in the Fog (3’30”)

Text by Marjorie Woods

Music by Eliza Brown

 

4. My Tunnel (3-5’)

Graphic score and text by Ingrid Swinford

 

5. Violent Passion (2’15”)

Music and text by Char’Dae Avery

 

6. Fortitude (2’15”)

Music and text by LaDawn Johnson

 

7. Who’s That? (4’)

Improvisatory score and text by Dawnetta Taylor (Shelton)

 

8. HER (3’30”)

Music and lyrics by Lara Campbell

 

9. Emergence (1’)

Music and text by Amaris Rose Bunyard and Joyce (Potter) Hawkins​