In terms of musical imagination, there seems to be no limit to John Myers’ mind and his creative work.
“Inherently collaborative” is how Simon’s Rock Dean of Faculty Brendan Mathews introduced Myers at the most recent Faculty Forum, showcasing Myers’ upcoming original musical composition and performance.
Myers’ newest musical brainchild, entitled “In Search of the Bridges,” is set to have its world premiere this April, first in Lakeville, Connecticut, on April 28 and then more locally at Saint James Place in Great Barrington on April 30. This piece includes the work of four living female poets, one of them a Simon’s Rock alum, Prageeta Sharma ‘89, as well as creative collaboration from fellow faculty member Christine Gevert and interpretation of the written poetry by faculty member Mileta Roe, professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature.
“I’m just an opening act,” Roe describes cheerily to the other faculty. The real focus, she emphasizes, is Myers’ work and his powerful collaboration with Gevert.
“It started with a conversation,” says Gevert. In the past, Gevert and Myers have worked on several pieces together, starting in 2007 and fostered by Simon’s Rock, including a piece that features the restoration and animation of a panoramic painting destroyed by war and a performance inspired by various artworks by Norman Rockwell, who had deep ties to the Berkshires.
This newest work in four movements, entitled “In Search of the Bridges,” has an inherent theme, just as the previous works, focusing, as the title says, on the idea of bridges–physical, natural, philosophical, and cultural. The first movement features the work of African American Baltimore-born poet Carol Boston Wetherford. Myers, whose hometown is also Baltimore, found inspiration in the metaphoric bridge of humans standing hand-in-hand described in the poem, “I am the Bridge.” Here Myers uses Andean instruments paired with gospel inspiration and more. Gevert describes Myers’ musical notation as painting on the page, much like the Baroque tradition she studied. With waves and pillars of notes, Myers creates both a visual and audible image of music.
In the second movement, Myers uses the work of Marilou Awiakta, an Appalachian poet of Cherokee descent. Her poem featured in the performance, “Song of the Swinging Bridge,” describes the treacherous bridges built of wood and hemp to aid Appalachian people moving through the mountains.
“This is the scary one,” Myers says as he describes the shaking music mimicking the unsteady footsteps across the minimally constructed mountain bridge. In this movement, the bridge is both the subject and the speaker, telling a tale of coming-of-age amongst twisted vines. Here, Myers expertly fuses culture in his music using a number of instruments, including a Latin American Native flute.
The third movement features the work of a poet most directly connected to Simon’s Rock alum Prageeta Sharma, who has an MFA in poetry from Brown University and now works as a professor at Pomona College. Sharma, born in Massachusetts after her parents emigrated from India, focuses on the bridge between cultures in her featured work “On Immigration.” The gaps here form the metaphorical bridge that inspired Myers. Myers cites being particularly taken by the anger in Sharma’s work.
“Anger is important over apathy,” Myers shares, reflecting in his musical composition the lack of a place of comfort described in Sharma’s poetry. Myers describes this piece as having the most dissonant music style, relying on a cyclical manner in the composition.
“John is out of the box,” adds Gevert.
The final piece of the four features the work of Uruguayan poet Circe Maia, currently in her 90s. This particular poem, “Behind My Voice,” was chosen by Gevert. She describes her personal connection to the work and the poet’s heritage, as Gevert is from Chile and grew up in a dictatorship. This piece is performed with a soloist singing in Spanish and the chorus answering in English, Myers again expertly mixing cultures and heritage.
With this incredible melange of music and poetry, Myers’ newest work will surely be thought-provoking and evocative.
“John is incredibly inspiring,” says Christine. She goes on to describe his musical work in this newest iteration: “It’s something very precious.”
Gevert isn’t alone in her enthusiasm for this collaboration. “I’m extremely admiring of both of these artists and intellects,” says Mileta Roe on the work of Gevert and Myers.
How does John Myers describe his creative process and the iteration of new work?
“Always learning things,” says John. “It’s a great adventure for me.”