There is little stopping classical music programmers from making innovative choices, except maybe conviction, comfort, and guts. “Meet in the Middle: Black Midwest Music and Photography” had all three. Held April 13 and 14 at Cincinnati’s PAR-Projects arts campus, the program was a meditation on all things Midwest, told through the distinct eye and ear of Black creatives tied to the region by birth, education, or career – a way to see how the mediums of music and photography can meet halfway and inform each other. A collaboration between concertnova and photographer and MidTONES founder Asa Featherstone IV, “Meet in the Middle” featured photography by Amber N. Ford, Markel Randle, and Featherstone specifically commissioned to be in conversation with music by Florence Price, Shawn Okpebholo, William Grant Still, and Shelley Washington.
We entered one of the small galleries housed in PAR-Projects’ warehouse, and the lobby quickly filled with attendees. Prior to the concert, we were allowed to make our way through the gallery. Photos were mounted on the walls but also hung from mountings in the middle of the room, a brilliant decision that required us to literally move through the images. But I was surprised that the identities of the photographers were not clearly marked, which kept me attuned to when that information would be shared.
The stage was flanked by two black and white images by Markel Randle. Works by Amber N. Ford included a rich, warm image of a table of flowers, the lighting carrying so much nuance that I was convinced it was an oil painting. Among Featherstone’s images were a black and white triple exposure of someone’s hand and a sunny, vibrant image of red flowers against a blue door that continuously drew my eye.
In the pre-concert introduction, concertnova Executive Director Brianna Matzke explained that the music was selected by Featherstone from a list compiled by concertnova. Featherstone shared the reasons why he selected the music and explained which images were inspired by each piece. Though the program had a QR code that led us to in-depth program notes, it was welcome to hear the reasoning behind the relationship between the music and the images from the curator.
Shawn Okpebholo’s Circleplay for clarinet and electronics opened the concert, performed by concertnova co-artistic director Joseph Morris. Featherstone intended to evoke the repetition and looping in the work through his use of triple-exposure in the image of the hand, a triple-exposed profile of a woman against a light orange background, and a Black man on a stool in a misty field, bouquet of flowers in hand. Morris’ stunning performance was deft in enunciation and pointillistic accuracy without sacrificing lyricism, especially in the looped sections that Okpebholo describes as a “self-duet.”
Next was Shelley Washington’s Middleground, performed by The Red Door Quartet of Philip Marten, Rachel Charbel, Gabriel Napoli, and Diana Flores. Markel Randle’s images were inspired by the ubiquity of car travel in the Midwest, the sense of moving towards something but also having time for stillness and contemplation. As Middleground began with its folksy optimism and rhythmic intensity, my perception of Randle’s images started to shift.
With the first, distant car lights against a black background and rain drops in the foreground, I realized I was looking through a car window. The second, a young Black boy leaning against the back seat, looking out the window, initially seemed sad. But as the quartet moved through Washington’s syncopated dynamism I began to see images of stillness that nonetheless depict movement; a young boy who is less sad than reflective. The impactful experience was a highlight of the night, as the music changed the way I saw.
Amber N. Ford’s images were inspired by William Grant Still’s Lyric Quarttete. Each movement drew my eye to different photographs, from the “oil-painting” flowers to an image of a Black woman stroking the side of her face either mid swoon, stretch, or sigh. The quartet’s blend and communication, particularly between Flores and Napoli, were engaging throughout. Last was Florence Price’s Adoration, originally for solo organ, here arranged for string quartet. It was, in Matzke’s words, a gift to the audience, and the richness of the quartet’s interpretation was full and inspired.
Every level of “Meet in the Middle” was a model of equitable collaboration: working with a local Black photographer to curate the images and the music, held in a venue dedicated to showcasing diverse artists, with repertoire that shows the chronological and stylistic breadth of Black composition. I found myself wanting to move around and look at the images during the performance; looking around from my seat wasn’t quite enough, though I understood that the music was a centralized part of the experience. The images by Ford, Randle, and Featherstone will be part of a bigger, longer exhibit at PAR-Projects starting on May 2nd; I hope that those who attended this event will return and see how the music continues to resonate.
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