Adu’s vocal tone and style feels like a mix of the social passion and enunciation of a Nina Simone with a dash of the other wordliness of Nico, and it works well on this collection of songs that come across like German cabaret circa Kurt Weill.
George W. Harris’s rich writing style, describes one of the title tracks ‘Moonstone’ as having a ‘prismatic’ pulse with other album aspects as “Bartokian” and “Bohemian.”
The lyrics themselves range from romance to oil extraction adding to the mosaic colors of the album creating a work of art that looks clearer when standing back a few feet. This lady is on to something, both sonically and stylistically, forming a rich and personal language of her own. When’s she touring?
Always, Already There @ Haus de Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
This week, Leila is performing and presenting research at the Haus de Kulturen der Welt/House of World Cultures (HKW), in the Afrodiasporic Incubator Series “Always, Already There” curated by George Lewis.
Leila is part of the “Decolonizing Electronic Music” panel at HKW, alongside lectures and concerts with a host of international composers and performers in this weeklong intensive.
Leila is singing a small ensemble version of her song cycle Freedom Suite with the International Contemporary Ensemble as vocalist/pianist for “Negative Space” and “Ghost Lullaby.” This song cycle rests on themes of racial justice, Indigenous rights, and international borders. Stunning baritone Damian Norfleet is performing the final song in the triptych, “Different Strokes.”
New York Philharmonic AfroModernism Series at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) New York
Leila gave pre-concert talks for “Alyssum” (2014) for string quartet plus harp before performances by the International Contemporary Ensemble at the Peabody Institute, DC with an interview by Nathalie Joachim before the performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoMA), NYC.
Recent Performances with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)
“Alyssum”
“Mahakala Oratorio” with Alice Teyssier (soprano) & Leila Adu-Gilmore (mezzo-soprano)
One of the world’s most beloved music festivals, Tanglewood is the famed summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and its training academy, the Tanglewood Music Center, as well as the Boston Pops.
Leila ADU-GILMORE United Underdog Miya MASAOKA Praying for a Sign Trevor WESTON A.N.S. Valerie COLEMAN Portraits of Josephine Nathalie JOACHIM The Race 1915 Tania LEÓN Indigena Steven MACKEY Afterlife
Featured on NPR and NBC, Leila Adu-Gilmore wrote about how she composed United Underdog amid the pandemic and the racial upheaval of the last several years. “I was moved to honor those people who work hard and struggle daily — together yet apart — for the common good of all of us,” she said on her website.
Nathalie Joachim’s The Race 1915, a piece for solo cello and electronics, echos the themes in United Underdog and was inspired by the works of 20th century African American artist Jacob Lawrence, who was known for his raw, challenging works.
The TMC Festival of Contemporary Music seeks to showcase up-and-coming, path-finding, and groundbreaking new composers whose works we believe will define the next evolution of classical music. Leila’s piece is peformed with music by Pulitzer-prize winning Cuban composer Tania León, fellow American Arts & Letters Awardees Trevor Weston and her Princeton PhD composition mentor-friend Steve Mackey.
Resonance FM London interview on Saturday May 25 (corrected times below) about Leila Adu Trio ft. Publiquartet’s Moonstone & Tar Sands albumon Dexter Bentley’s show Sat 18 May, 12-1.30pmUK (7amEST/11pmNZ)Hello Goodbe Show
Weekly Live YouTube Video Series
“Moonstone” Leila Adu Quintet ft. Jacob Bills
Summer Happenings
Tanglewood Debut: Leila’s “United Underdog,” originally commissioned and premièred pianist by Min Kwon and featured on NPR and NBC. Leila Adu-Gilmore wrote about how she composed United Underdog amid the pandemic and the racial upheaval of the last several years. “I was moved to honor those people who work hard and struggle daily — together yet apart — for the common good of all of us,” she said on her website. Leila’s piece will be performed by a Tanglewood fellow, alongside works by Miya Masaoka, Trevor Weston, Valerie Coleman, Nathalie Joachim, Tania León and Steven Mackey at Seiji Ozawa Hall, Lenox/Stockbridge, MA July 25, 8PM Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music
Magdalene Opera, West Coast PremiereMagdalene wildly meditates on transformation and desire scored by the collective voice of fourteen women composers: Leila Adu, Ruby Kato Attwood, Danielle Birrittella, Sheena Birrittella, Christina Courtin, Gabrielle Herbst, Molly Joyce, Emma O’Halloran, Tanner Porter, Ellen Reid, Kamala Sankaram, Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir, Annika Socolofsky, and Gyða Valtýsdóttir, set to Marie Howe’s poems. June 4 – 8, 8PM Magdalene @Redcat, Los Angeles
On Saturday Leila is interviewed on Resonance FM London Streaming Radio Station about Moonstone & Tar Sands albumon Dexter Bently’s Hello Goodbe Show, Sat 18 May, 12-1.30pm GMT!
Moonstone & Tar Sands just had it’s first write-up on stalwart NZ reviewer Graham Reid’s Elsewhere.
‘Working here her trio and the PUBLIQuartet on strings, the pianist/singer skirts between genres (piano jazz, sung poetry, the melodrama of Broadway-like tunes) and – although they are quite dissimilar – the connection which comes to mind is Nina Simone for the expansive and exploratory vision.
On Negative Space she sings, “I’m no militant, I’m a peaceful kinda girl. I don’t aim to stake out my claim I just wanna do my thing about the place, but I exist in a negative space”…
For their intimacy and dense lyrics, these are songs you can imagine in a cabaret or hip nightclub setting, maybe even in a recital more than a larger concert setting.
Something as quiet, serious and cathartic as the stately, string-enhanced Tar Sands requires close attention: “I’m going on holiday, gonna sunbathe my troubles away so my pen, can cut a page again and move on.
“I bathe in music today to wash the pain away. Eyes are peeled like an onion skin, no surprises. Button up your mouth for what I’m about to say, stupidity is a silly word but pride and vanity go a long way.“I’ve seen the coward in the mouth of the wolf. And the fear and the blame. Kindness starts only with the self. Care for the mind every day . . .’
Listen to the live version of “Tar Sands” on today on the LEILA ADU YouTube
Leila with Rev. Billy & The Stop Shopping Choir in the The Neil Young Archives. Photo Credit: John Quilty
Leila joins Rev. Billy & the Stop Shopping Choir on stadium tour of the USA. In “Neil-alujah! Rev. Billy and choir to tour with iconic rocker Young,” The Village Sun writes:
Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir are the opening act for Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s Love Earth Tour. With 18 shows across the U.S., the tour kicks off Wed., April 24, in San Diego, then makes its way east, with a stop at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens on Tues., May 14, before concluding back in Chicago on May 23.
The radical East Village environmental / social-justice activists already have a long-standing relationship with the iconic rocker, who live-streams their free, secular Sunday performances from their Earthchxrch on his channel. They also opened for the Monsanto Years tour by Young and the band Promise of the Real nine years ago…
Typical for Neil Young tours, the Love Earth Tour shows will be at amphitheaters in the 6,000-to-30,000-seat range. Young and his wife, the actress Daryl Hannah, at whose wedding in 2018 Reverend Billy preached, have focused on environmental and health issues for many years. The Bridge School [for children with severe physical impairments and communication challenges] and Farm Aid are two of their best-known efforts…. This winter, the artist and activist collective turned their Earthchxrch, at 36 Avenue C, into a warming center and ad hoc English school for newly arrived migrants, mostly from West Africa.
TOUR DATES
Wed Apr 24 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Thu Apr 25 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Sat Apr 27 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Wed May 01 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Thu May 02 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Sun May 05 – Huntsville, AL – Orion Amphitheater
Tue May 07 – Atlanta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Wed May 08 – Franklin, TN – FirstBank Amphitheater
Sat May 11 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Sun May 12 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Tue May 14 – Queens, NY – Forest Hills Stadium
Fri May 17 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Sat May 18 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
Mon May 20 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Wed May 22 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Thu May 23 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Moonstone & Tar Sands // Out Now //
Belts & Whistles is super excited to release LEILA ADU TRIO feat. PUBLIQuartet’s Moonstone & Tar Sands album on all streaming platforms and High-Quality Gatefold, Heavyweight Vinyl. To listen, order vinyl, or download on a platform that most supports our artists, head to our Bandcamp!
Grammy-nominated composer Leila Adu (piano & organ), Jon Toscano (bass), and David Frazier (drums) joins forces with members of string quartet, PUBLIQuartet for the release of the highly acclaimed Moonstone and Tar Sands vinyl album.
Moonstone & Tar Sands Vinyl Album Release Party Thursday April 4, 9:00pm
Joe’s Pub @ The Public Theater 425 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10003 Tickets & Info
On February 6, Adam Fischer conducts the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra as they perform, “Agua es vida” based on the theme of water. The composition was commissioned by Tonhalle Düsseldorf and the Düsseldorf Symphony, and the dedication reads:
The opening melody is a chant for the orchestra and future audiences. I heard the ‘Agua Es Vida’ chant in the New York Stop Shopping Choir through the pipeline protests’ Lakota phrase ‘ Mni Wiconi,’ Water is Life. This piece is dedicted to people lacking water & to bodies ofwater on our precious planet earth constantly flowing peace into existence. So be it!
The premiere, paired against pieces by Beethoven, Salieri, and Schubert is part of a series dedicated to bringing awareness to environmental issues. The orchestra says: ‘This is a “Green Monday” – our path to a sustainable concert experience. Around these concerts we highlight specific sustainability topics, this time “water”. We enter into dialogue with experts, bundle information and try things out together with the audience “How a concert evening can become more sustainable little by little. In addition, part of the international collaborative composition “Green Piece” will be heard in the concert.’ More info here
Newly announced! Leila shares a bill with highly acclaimed composer, Anthony Davis whose opera “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” is currently in a month-long run at the The Metropolitan Opera. Composed during the pandemic, Leila will sing Mahakala Oratorio live for the first time as a world première at Skirball Center with the International Contemporary Ensemble
The International Contemporary Ensemble returns to NYU Skirball with a program of works by composer/pianist Anthony Davis and composer/vocalist Leila Adu-Gilmore. The evening will feature Adu-Gilmore’s Mahakala Oratorio (2020-23, world premiere of the live version) and Alyssum (2014); and Davis’s Wayang No. II (Shadowdance) (1982), and Undine (1986).
Mahakala Oratorio was originally commissioned as a video première by Chatterbird
New Live Première Video Art for Mahakala: Aaron Sherwood
Anthony Davis is an internationally recognized composer of operatic, symphonic, choral, and chamber works, and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his opera The Central Park Five. He is also known for his virtuoso performances both as a solo pianist and as the leader of the ensemble Episteme, a unique ensemble of musicians who are disciplined interpreters as well as provocative improvisers. As a composer, Davis is best known for his pioneering work in opera. The now-classic X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X, which played to sold-out houses at its premiere at the New York City Opera in 1986, was the first of a new American genre: opera on a contemporary political subject. The premiere recording of X, released on the Gramavision label in August 1992, received a Grammy Nomination for “Best Contemporary Classical Composition” in February 1993. A new production of thee opera was launched in May 2022 at Detroit Opera and directed by Robert O’Hara to great acclaim. This production will make its Metropolitan Opera debut in November 2023. A new recording with BMOP and Odyssey Opera was released in October 2022.
ANTHONY DAVIS & LEILA ADU-GILMORE NYU Skirball (NYC)United States(map)
Henry Wong Doe released his new album Perspectives, featuring “DOM” (labelled as Home in the tracklist) by Leila Adu-Gilmore on November 9th.
The album features recent commissions for solo piano featuring works by Gemma Peacocke, Leila Adu-Gilmore, Alex Taylor, Poulima Salima, Leonie Holmes, and Penelope Axtens.
“This album celebrates the artistry of six New Zealand composers. The recent pandemic presented significant challenges to musical artists, causing many to reflect on their values and identify what is most important to them. As we come to appreciate the importance of interpersonal connection, music becomes increasingly important as a way to bring people together and express our shared humanity.
In 2022, I invited each composer to write a work illustrating their perspective on recent times, and it has been wonderful to discover their unique voices and sensibilities through music.” – Henry Wong Doe
Doe will be performing the premiere of the work at:
Interactive Series: Immersive Piano and Electronics
Thursday, November 30th at 8PM at The Paulson Center, 620
181 Mercer St, New York, NY 10012
