On View: November 5-November 5, 2021
512 West 19th Street
The Kitchen presents bassoonist and composer Joy Guidry in a concert evening featuring new works commissioned by Guidry by composers Jessie Cox, Lisa E. Harris, and Olivia Shortt, as well as Guidry's own compositions. While these musical offerings represent a range of musical idioms and methodologies—from improvisation and graphic scores to multimedia and gospel—the uniting principle for Guidry is a focus on the importance of affirmation, validation, and self-care. Drawing inspiration from the work of Sonya Renee Taylor who has defined radical self-love as “its own entity, a lush and verdant island offering safe harbor for self-esteem and self-confidence," Guidry states, “Much of my music-making right now is keenly focused on a radical reimagining of spaces, sonic and communal. At the center of imagination is radical self-care: creating a world for yourself that allows the expansion of other worlds.” The concert features Joy Guidry on bassoon, theremin, voice, electronics, and video; and Jessie Cox on drums.
Organized by Matthew Lyons, Curator.
PROGRAM
Jessie Cox, Form Content
Negotiations
Lisa E. Harris, Joy becomes
Light
Olivia Shortt, She exists in several
different time zones at once
Joy Guidry,
2:19 am
Joy Guidry, Maudry Richard
Davis
Joy Guidry, Inner
child
Joy Guidry, Just because I have dick
doesn't mean I’m a man
Joy Guidry,
Grace
BIO
Radical self-love, compassion, laughter, and the drive to amplify Black artmakers and noisemakers comprise the core of New York City–based bassoonist and composer Joy Guidry III’s work. Their performances have been described by The San Diego Tribune as “lyrical and haunting…hair-raising and unsettling.” A versatile improviser and a composer of experimental, daring new works that embody a deep love of storytelling, Joy’s own music channels their inner child, in honor of their ancestors and predecessors. In every aspect of their practice, Joy seeks to support, hire, and promote Black artists. To this end Joy has spearheaded Sounds of the African Diaspora, a competition and commissioning platform for composers from the African diaspora. This new initiative ensures that composers from the diaspora have access to the space, resources, and time necessary to foster new, innovative music. Joy holds a bachelor’s degree in Bassoon Performance from the Peabody Conservatory and a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Mannes School of Music. They have performed with the Dance Centre Kenya Ballet Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, and have been a featured soloist in Yvette Jackson’s opera Fear is their Alibi that premiered at the 2021 PROTOTYPE festival. They have been commissioned by The National Sawdust, Long Beach Opera, JACK Quartet, and the I&I Foundation, and they have attended and been featured by prestigious festivals including the Spoleto Festival USA and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Guidry is a finalist for the 2021 Berlin Prize for Young Artists taking place in Berlin in January 2022.
FUNDING SUPPORT & CREDITS
This concert is made possible with endowment support from Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust; annual grants from The Amphion Foundation, Inc., The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Howard Gilman Foundation, and The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; and in part by public funds from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Season programming is made possible in part with support from The Kitchen’s Board of Directors and The Kitchen Leadership Fund. Learn more about the Leadership Fund.
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