Rehearsing Philadelphia Logo

March 25 - April 10, 2022

Philadelphia, PA

About

Created by Ari Benjamin Meyers and jointly produced and presented by the Curtis Institute of Music and Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, this large-scale public project explores how we can come together as a city through musical rehearsal. The traditional musical preparation process focuses on rehearsing as a way to attain perfection, which is then repeated in performance. This is not how we live modern life in a rapidly changing world of social upheaval. The future will be rehearsed, not perfected. Rehearsing Philadelphia re-examines the rehearsal processes which allow people to act together and be empowered to create new realities.

The Modules

Rehearsing Philadelphia encompasses four overarching modules: Solo, Duet, Ensemble, Orchestra. Each structure, composed by Ari Benjamin Meyers, involves a live in-person audience encounter, as well as experiences in the virtual space designed by digital creator Vanessa Newman. The modules also feature local and international artists and institutional partners, including new commissions especially created for Rehearsing Philadelphia.

RSVP and Tickets here →

Solo

How are we alone, even among others? Who has the power to make decisions for us? Four commissioned artists create solos to be performed in places of power in Philadelphia. Each of these solos are performed by an employee of the locations.

Solo includes commissions by Ei Arakawa, CAConrad, Germaine Ingram, Fred Schmidt-Arenales and Yolanda Wisher.

View the program for Solo here →

RSVP and Tickets here →

Duet

How can we begin to engage with another person as we start to come together again? Trained performers engage passersby with the simple question “Would you like to sing with me?” If yes, a short rehearsal and then an impromptu performance take place. Facilitated by the Philadelphia Heritage Chorale, Singing City, and the Curtis Opera Theatre, singers are stationed at monuments and locations of collective memory throughout Philadelphia.

The module Duet is a city-wide version of "Duet" (2014) by Ari Benjamin Meyers. Presented courtesy of the artist and Esther Schipper, Berlin.

Facilitated by the Philadelphia Heritage Chorale, Singing City, and the Curtis Opera Theatre, singers are stationed at monuments and locations of collective memory throughout Philadelphia: In Clark Park for the Baltimore Avenue Corridor, in Independence Historical Park for the Old City Corridor and Love Park for the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Corridor.


View the program for Duet here →

RSVP and Tickets here →

Ensemble

Ensemble looks at society’s smaller groups, whether quarantine pods or family units. Who do we choose to let into our smaller groups? Who is included in the modern music ensemble? Students from Drexel University and the Curtis Institute collaborate through a year-long seminar, to form small mixed ensembles for a durational performance which examines small group dynamics.

Ensemble includes newly created and adapted works by Zoë Keating and Tyshawn Sorey, rehearsed and exhibited with the participation of the artists.

View the program for Ensemble here →

RSVP and Tickets here →

Orchestra

The culminating module is Orchestra, a group of people coming together to create art. Could this unusually composed group be a metaphor for society at large? Responding to an open call in the community, participating musicians become part of the first Public Orchestra. Orchestra is inclusive of many varied musical practices in Philadelphia, not just the traditional Western musical practices normally associated with the term. Part of the open rehearsal process for this group is a forum for discussion and exchange amongst the participating artists.

Read The Public Orchestra manifesto.

Orchestra is rehearsed by Musical Director Anthony Tidd, and includes commissions by Ari Benjamin Meyers, Ursula Rucker, Xenia Rubinos, Sun Ra Arkestra, and Ann Carlson.

View the program for Orchestra here →

RSVP and Tickets here →

The Artists

200+ artists, from Philadelphia and around the world, seek together to redefine the position of music and performance in terms of socially engaged public art and use this reframing as a way to think anew about existing institutions, hierarchies, and monuments. Just as we may ask today who gets to write the stories and who gets to tell them, we ask who gets to compose, who gets to play, and who gets to conduct? These questions are engaged with through the creation of new works that unfold as a grand rehearsal throughout Philadelphia.

Locations

Addressing the question “What can be the space today for coming together?” the four modules of the project intersect conceptually within the city-space of Philadelphia: Solo and Duet spanning across the entire city, each with a different focus on private and public spaces; Ensemble existing as both a seminar and durational exhibition in three discrete locations; and Orchestra culminating in one large, open gathering place. This use of space is designed to symbolically activate the city and then gather it together. Take a peek into the locations on the map below.

  • Solo

    School District of Philadelphia

    440 N. Broad Street

  • Solo

    Philadelphia Police Department Headquarters

    400 N. Broad Street

  • Solo

    Penn Medicine

    1 Convention Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104

  • Solo

    City Hall

    Broad and Market

  • Solo

    Community Legal Services

    1424 Chestnut Street

  • Duet

    LOVE PARK: Meet here for the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments DUET performance.

  • Duet

    City Hall, the Building

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    William Penn, Memorialized

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Occupy

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Octavius Catto Memorial

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    William McKinley

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Wanamaker, 'Citizen

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Anna Jarvis

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Fallen Firemen

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    John Christian Bullitt

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Gloria Casarez

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Mother Jones

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    General George McClellan

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Major General John F. Reynolds

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Rizzo Statue Removed

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Love Gap

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    LOVE Park

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Three Way Piece Number 1: Points

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Three Discs, One Lacking

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Kopernick

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Kościuszko

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    AMOR

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Thomas Fitzsimons

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Gallows at Northwest Square

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Logan Square, Namesake

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Swann Memorial Fountain

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Square Made Circle

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Great Sanitary Fair

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Pennypacker

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Shakespeare Memorial

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Caliban's Hands

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Francisco De Miranda

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Memorial

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    The Barnes

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    1967 Student Walkout

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    The Thinker

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Rodin Museum

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    1967 Student Walkout

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Camp JDT, Summer 2020

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    All Power to All People

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Washington Monument

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Oval Named After Eakins

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Eli Kirk Price II Fountain

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    John Ericsson Fountain

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Philadelphia Museum of Art

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Julian Abele

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Million Woman March

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    'Rocky' Steps

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    Heat Waves

    Benjamin Franklin Parkway Public Monuments

  • Duet

    INDEPENDENCE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK: Meet here for the Old City Hidden Monuments DUET performance.

  • Duet

    Congo or Southeast Square

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Walnut Street Jail Turned Prison

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Ladies' Home Journal

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Ricketts’ Art Pantheon and Amphitheater

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Liberty Bell

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    The President's House

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Avenging the Ancestors Coalition

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Visitors Center

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Fugitive Slave Law of 1850

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    National Constitution Center

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    First Earth Day

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Christ Church Burial Ground

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Mikveh Israel

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    The National Museum of American Jewish History

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    The Bourse

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Signer's Garden

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    The Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Company

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Banker's Row

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Jayne Building

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Coocaconoon Dubbed Dock Creek

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Site of Exchange, Stock or Otherwise

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Polish American Social Services, PASS

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Old St Joseph's Church

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Charles Wilson Peale

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Moses Williams

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Resistance at Christiana

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    Frederick Douglass

    Old City Hidden Monuments

  • Duet

    CLARK PARK: Meet here for the Baltimore Avenue Personal Memories DUET performances.

  • Duet

    40th Street Portal

    Baltimore Avenue Personal Memories

  • Duet

    Great Baltimore Sinkhole Disaster

    43rd and Baltimore Ave

  • Duet

    Clark Park

    43rd and Chester Ave

  • Duet

    Clark Park and HMS School

    Baltimore Avenue Personal Memories

  • Duet

    HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy

    4400 Baltimore Ave

  • Duet

    #34 Trolley

    4400 Baltimore Ave

  • Duet

    Baltimore Avenue Pet Shoppe

    4532 Baltimore Ave

  • Duet

    A-Space

    4722 Baltimore Ave

  • Duet

    Cindergarden Porch, and in front of Calvary Church

    Baltimore Avenue Personal Memories

  • Duet

    Calvary Church

    48th and Baltimore

  • Duet

    Streetcar Suburb

    Baltimore Avenue Personal Memories

  • Duet

    Streetcar Desegregation

    Baltimore Avenue Personal Memories

  • Duet

    Electrification of City’s Streetcars

    Baltimore Avenue Personal Memories

  • Duet

    Cars, Not Streetcars

    Baltimore Avenue Personal Memories

  • Duet

    “University City” In Black Bottom

    Baltimore Avenue Personal Memories

  • Ensemble

    Pearlstein Gallery

    3401 Filbert St

  • Orchestra

    Cherry Street Pier

    121 N Christopher Columbus Blvd

  • artist neighborhoods

    Elkins Park

  • artist neighborhoods

    Middle City East

  • artist neighborhoods

    Middle City West

  • artist neighborhoods

    Belmont

  • artist neighborhoods

    Washington Square West

  • artist neighborhoods

    West Mount Airy

  • artist neighborhoods

    Brewerytown

  • artist neighborhoods

    Northern Liberties

  • artist neighborhoods

    Kensington

  • artist neighborhoods

    East Oak Lane

  • artist neighborhoods

    Fairmount District

  • artist neighborhoods

    Need Name

  • artist neighborhoods

    Richmond

  • artist neighborhoods

    Haddington

  • artist neighborhoods

    Ogontz

  • artist neighborhoods

    Kingsessing

  • artist neighborhoods

    East Germantown

  • artist neighborhoods

    Girard Estates

  • artist neighborhoods

    Point Breeze

  • artist neighborhoods

    Bella Vista

  • artist neighborhoods

    Central South Philadelphia

  • artist neighborhoods

    Cedarbrook

  • artist neighborhoods

    Eastwick

Schedule & Tickets

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Zoë Keating w/ Ensemble