John P. Hastings

Cloudsplitter, is a free outdoor performance for brass ensemble located in Inwood, Manhattan, New York, NY. The three performances will take place:

Sunday, June 20, 2021 at 11am & 12pm (Isham Park, Inwood, Manhattan)
Monday, June 21, 2021 at 7:30pm (Isham Park, Inwood, Manhattan)

Please download a program for the performance here.
Read a poetic reflection of the performance, written by Nick Graham, here.

This project is a continuation of a series of neighborhood performances that I have created in Upper Manhattan including Muscota Marsh Harmony in 2018 and Passages | Pasajes in 2019.

Performers:
Dave Adewumi - trumpet
Diana Allan - horn
Kevin Ayres - horn
Iván Barenboim - alto clarinet
Gina Benalcazar - bass trombone
Mariel Bildsten - trombone
Matt Jaimes - horn
Aaron Meicht - trumpet, music director
Emma Reber - horn
TJ Robinson - trombone
Carolina Gomez - costume design
Benjamin Mayock - poster design
John P. Hastings - concept

Much of the 20 acres of the park will be utilized as the performers begin spread out throughout the park. Slowly, over the course of the 40 minute performance, they will come together in small groups and then finally into a complete group, a visual and aural harmony.

Along with the traditions and histories that the players bring to the performance, the performance is centered around the mythic persona of radical abolitionist John Brown. The title, Cloudsplitter, is a reference to the author Russell Bank’s novel on John Brown, which alludes to the highest point in New York State (Mt. Marcy) also known as Tahawus, a word some translate as “Cloudsplitter.” John Brown’s favorite hymn, “Blow, Ye The Trumpets, Blow!”, as well as the Civil War era March “John Brown’s Body” will be used as a centering device for the performance, a reference point to construct the harmonic and melodic content of the musical work. For more information, please see my interview with Make Music New York’s James Burke.

Cloudsplitter is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by LMCC. This project was also supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant, a grant from the Make Music Alliance, and by individual donors. Thank you!

We want to acknowledge that this performance takes place on the traditional land of the Lenape and Wappinger Peoples past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations. This calls us to commit to continuing to learn how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit as well.

INTERVIEW
Make Music New York’s Executive Director, James Burke, spoke with artist and composer John P. Hastings about "Cloudsplitter," a community performance for brass that will premiere as part of Make Music New York at 7:30pm in Isham Park, Inwood.

MMNY: Hi John! We're excited to be working with you again to present another new work for the far northern Manhattan community. Before we get into Cloudsplitter, maybe you can speak to your interest in staging works in the neighborhood.

John: Hello James! Very excited to be working again with Make Music, and to better things to come. I’ve been living in Northern Manhattan (Upstate Manhattan as we lovingly call it) for almost 7 years now. The landscape here, the people, all these things have informed my work broadly and certain projects in particular. Cloudsplitter will be the third performance that I have staged in the Inwood / Washington Heights area. There are many fantastic groups and organizations up here, and I hope that my work can bring another perspective, one that is complementary but also somewhat new. 


MMNY: Cloudsplitter is informed by American history, both in its theme and its title. Tell us about how the work came to mind and came together.

John: The idea for Cloudsplitter was born out of a confluence of events for me: the Black Lives Matter protests that happened after George Floyd’s death about this time last year and my own travels last summer in which I crossed paths with remnants of the legacy of the militant abolitionist John Brown. John Brown has a strong connection to New York State via his farmstead near Lake Placid, and his personal history had the effect on me to connect that story with the ever present struggle of our country’s racial history, but in a musical and performative setting. The title is taken from a novel by Russell Banks about John Brown, and it is very apt for a performance that is based on brass instrumentation.


MMNY: How would you compare the piece to other works of yours?

John: My recent projects, especially the others that I have created for performance in Northern Manhattan, have used the human voice as the main way of conveying information; this is the way we as humans communicate. Cloudsplitter, though, is solely instrumental, with just brass and no vocals. Through the musical materials (hymns, reconfigured marching songs), the different sections of the work, and through the movements of the players and the visuals, I am hoping to still be able to display the ideas and themes.


MMNY: What can spectators expect to see and hear?

John: One of the things I want to showcase to the audience is how brass instruments sound in a public space, in this case Isham Park, near Inwood Hill Park. But not in a concert setting per se, as the performers will be moving throughout the park, forming different groups, and changing the aural and visual landscape. The audience can situate themselves how the want in the park (though there will be a central location where the performers end), but they can also move around just as the performers do. Visually, the performers will be wearing a kind of costume that will provide another layer of meaning and context for the whole work. I also hope that the park setting, the time of day (near sundown, the performance starts at 7:30pm) will contribute to the performance being a fun and safe event for everyone.