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Capehart

Carlos Simon on composing music to honor George Floyd’s life

Capehart

The Washington Post

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.61.4K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this Washington Post Live conversation recorded on May 17, composer Carlos Simon digs into his new work inspired by George Floyd’s life, “brea(d)th,” discusses the process of composing the work with librettist Marc Bamuthi Joseph and how it reflects the promise of an equitable future in America.

Transcript

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0:00.0

I'm Jonathan K. Parton, welcome to K-Part.

0:03.8

May 25th marked the third anniversary of the murder of George Floyd and Minneapolis.

0:09.0

Inspired by Floyd's life and the promise of an equitable future in America, the Minnesota

0:14.0

Orchestra commissioned composer Carlos Simon to create a musical piece reflecting these

0:19.8

ideals.

0:21.0

The work is called Breath.

0:23.3

In this conversation, first recorded for Washington Post Live on May 17th, Simon talks

0:28.6

about how he and the breadest Mark Bemuthi Joseph went about composing their powerful

0:34.0

work.

0:35.0

We took three trips on the span of a year and a half or so and one of the first places

0:41.0

we went was George Ford Square and we spent a lot of time there, I think it's four hours,

0:46.9

you know, just kind of sitting in the space and just talking to people, people would

0:52.6

drop out and speak and say hello and so that informed, you know, the work is like these

1:01.3

everyday people and like what happens when the camera's leave?

1:08.2

So let's just start at the beginning briefly explain what Breath is and also why it's

1:13.6

styled so specifically.

1:16.6

Sure.

1:17.6

Well, the piece in itself, it's in memory of George Floyd, but it's not focusing on the

1:27.0

moment, the horrific moment and these ten minutes where there's a knee on the neck.

1:34.1

The piece, it's really about, you know, the systematic racism that we experience in America

1:42.9

and also what do we do after this, you know, the breath of the task and Bemuthi, Mark Bemuthi

1:49.8

and Joseph, Joseph, my collaborator in LeBrettis for the piece, one of the things that we wanted

...

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