"we got time"

“WE GOT TIME.”

a new work by Matana Roberts

The Crossing
June 11-13, 2021
The Woodlands, Philadelphia

The Month of Moderns 2021

presented by The Crossing,
Annenberg Center, and Ars Nova Workshop

“When grand jurors were told they wouldn’t be able to watch
all the body camera footage due to time restraints, one juror shot back, loudly,
“We! Got! Time!”

Composer, sound artist, and jazz saxophonist Matana Roberts has created a collage of sound that reflects on the world we live in, positioning the loss of Breonna Taylor at the center of that world, as we ask questions about the meaning of words familiar to us through historic documents – the United States’ Declaration of Independence, the Preamble and First Amendment to our Constitution – the 19th-century hymn Pass Over to The Rest, event data related to Ms. Taylor’s death, and a roll call of the names of Black women lost in ways similarly. Matana writes of this sound quilt as a communal practice: "a scrap alone is of no use, but a scrap bounded together by others of its diverse kind will move beyond anything that it ever thought it could be."

Matana Roberts introduces “we got time.” to The Crossing:

This is a conceptual minimalist text score, a chance operation, using a framework of collective aural instruction, filtered visualization, deep listening, and improvisation for the purpose of creating a one-of-a-kind unique sonic sound "quilt". This is written specifically for social distanced voices, timers, and loop pedals, 24 voices minimum, all ranges welcome. Each loop pedal must be able to loop at least 8 segments of sound minimum.

Though there are fixed hallmarks within this conceptual framework, no iteration of this piece will ever be performed the same way twice, this is purposeful and necessary. Individuality within a focused collective consciousness is the hallmark of all things I hold dear. Each iteration must be at least 20 minutes long.

The construction of this conceptual framework is built from details that marked the life and unfair state sanctioned killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African American woman who was murdered at home by local police in March of 2020. Details also regarding the outrage and protest that her death spurred on, also sits within this framework. Ms. Taylor had plans for her life. In doing research for this piece, I learned that one of her favorite sayings was (a supposed christian motivational quote) "wake, pray, slay…", a lighthearted mantra, no matter what you think about this phrase, to her own inner work ethic and sense of motivation and purpose.

With this piece we simply are celebrating what she was unfortunately burdened with igniting, going down in history as a spark for a much larger flame, holding America accountable to the tenets of its own flawed foundational documents. Documents written on skin (parchment paper), placed to protect the skin of its own citizens: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…" We are also giving a nod in this piece to those initial protestors in Louisville, Kentucky who rightfully amplified the death of one of their own. Risked their lives and well being in the midst of a global pandemic to bring the appropriate manner of justice that should have been afforded to Ms. Taylor under the law… "One Nation under God, with liberty and justice" for some….

Anyhow, this is experimental protest music.

Experimentation for the sake of experimentation’s sake. Where we begin may not be where we end. It’s not about the end point, it is about the collective journey. A consideration, a possibility. Let this piece and the actions herein ring loud and true as they are afforded to you by your human birthright.

It should not be a privilege, it should not be a stroke of luck, it should not be a coincidence that human decency, honesty, and justice are afforded to you. These are universally given rights of being. Your value is inherent. It is not earned. It is not given. You are born with it and should be allowed to die with it just the same.

Ms. Taylor, a descendent of one of the most lucrative American industries, exported slave labor, centuries later would be deemed so invaluable that the initial police report did not even list her….so invaluable, that the grand jury charges did not even include what actually happened to her. And for those who say well, we’ve got Breonna’s Law and her family got a huge payout, I would ask, in the words of syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr.: "Which of your children would you lose for $12 million?"

One person is truly a whole universe… each day for each of us swings in a perpetual balance of the expected, the unexpected, the tried, the true, the unknown. When performing any iteration of this conceptual framework, please take into account these various scales of possibility, presence and hope.   (M. Roberts, 2020)

Team

The Crossing
Katy Avery
Nate Barnett
Jessica Beebe
Kelly Ann Bixby
Karen Blanchard
Steven Bradshaw
Colin Dill
Micah Dingler
Ryan Fleming
Joanna Gates
Dimitri German
Steven Hyder
Mike Jones
Anika Kildegaard
Heidi Kurtz
Maren Montalbano
Rebecca Myers
James Reese
Dan Schwartz
Becky Siler 
Tiana Sorenson
Dan Spratlan
Elisa Sutherland
Jackson Williams

Donald Nally, conductor
Kevin Vondrak, assistant conductor
Paul Vazquez, sound design
John Grecia, musical assistance

Jonathan Bradley, executive director
Shannon McMahon, operations manager
Kate Nelson, stage manager
Jack Feivou, line producer
Josh Lisner, summer associate

for Annenberg Center
Christopher A. Gruits, executive & artistic director
Alexander Freeman, director of marketing & ticketing
Rebecca Goering, senior associate director of marketing & communications
Madeline Bell, marketing manager
Carrie Reynolds, business development manager
Adam W. Riggar, director of production
Santino Lo, artistic project manager

for Ars Nova Workshop
Mark Christman, executive & artistic director
Beau Gordon, production manager
Zindzi Harley, manager of community programs

for The Woodlands
Emma Max, program and operations manager

header art "Woodlands Fox Map" (2021) by Steven Bradshaw and Joka