“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas / Carried by graphic accounts of being stopped by police for Driving While Black, Pratt’s performance chronicles his life from the time he was a music student in Baltimore through his ascent to international acclaim.
Fusing music performed by Pratt, original still and moving pictures by filmmaker Alrick Brown, and a Pratt-authored and delivered narration, Awadagin Pratt: Black in America captures the complexities of America’s original sin by chronicling the renowned pianist’s life from his time as a music student at the Peabody Conservatory through his ascent to international acclaim through graphic accounts of police stops for Driving While Black.
Black in America will also include musical performances, with Awadagin Pratt at the piano and selected Eastman student and faculty participants:
Bach: first movement of Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050 Soloists: Awadagin Pratt, piano; Jahshanti Henry, flute; Professor George Taylor, violin; Ensemble: Adrian Jackson, violin; Arthur Nyanfor, viola; Boubacar Diallo, cello; Janae Gaddy, double bass
Liszt: Funérailles Film and pre-recorded piano, with Awadagin Pratt
Messiaen: “Praise to the Immortality of Jesus”, movement VIII from Quartet for the End of Time. Chihiro Kakishima, violin; Awadagin Pratt, piano