"The Workbench" Premieres Tonight and This Week

In Columbus, Athens, and New York City

This is a quick reminder for those of you in Ohio and in New York City that my latest project, The Workbench, will have live performances this week. It is a personal and intimate portrait of my father. The Unheard-Of Ensemble is on a mini tour, and will be sharing the piece alongside two other projects from Ohio composers Robert McClure and HyeKyung Lee. All performances are free.

For more information and context about The Workbench, you can read this lovely article from Andy Downing at Matter News that came out yesterday.

In it, Andy asked me about my experiences while writing The Workbench after the death of my father, and how making the piece became part of the grieving and healing process. We also talked about how the workbench itself is not so much a shrine or memorial as it is something in use, something to share. This connects to Lewis Hyde’s notion of "the gift,” where a gift’s power lies in its exchange. For example, my teenage son Henry is already making use of the workbench to repair guitars, and this is a way to connect back through generations, but also to keep the gift in motion. I’m so grateful to Andy for his thoughtful article on this project.

Here are the performances:

• Tonight, the performance will be in Columbus, Ohio, at the Short North Stage, at 7:00pm.

• Tomorrow (Wednesday, 11/8), the performance is in Athens, Ohio, at Glidden Hall on the campus of Ohio University, at 8:00pm.

• And on Saturday (11/11), the ensemble will perform at Alchemical Studios in Manhattan, at 8:00pm.

I will be at all three performances, so if you are able to go, I would love to say hello.

And finally, if you would like to watch a preview of the piece, you can do so here:

Best wishes, and happy listening —

Brian