To celebrate the renovation of the Metropolitan Museum’s New American Wing Galleries for Paintings, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts, Asphalt Orchestra—”Not your mother’s marching band” (The Philadelphia Inquirer)—performed in the American Wing’s Charles Engelhard Court.
The performance featured a world premiere arrangement by Ben Holmes of the Hymns Cavalry by Daniel Read and Sons of Sorrow by William Hauser from the distinctly American shape note singing tradition, inspired by field recordings from the 1940s-1960s; Carlton by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, a work commissioned by Bang on a Can for the Asphalt Orchestra; an arrangement by Stephanie Richards of the Laneville-Johnson Union Brass Band’s Wild About My Daddy; and an arrangement by Peter Hess of Frank Zappa’s Zomby Woof.
The program was choreographed specifically for the Engelhard Court by Mark DeChiazza and Susan Marshall (note that this edited video does not fully reflect the choreography).
■ Asphalt Orchestra http://www.asphaltorchestra.com
■ Bang on a Can http://www.bangonacan.org
■ Metropolitan Museum http://www.metmuseum.org