“the ground develops a taste for it” (2020) for horn, euphonium and tuba
Instrumentation: horn in F, euphonium, tuba
Duration: ~8’
Performance/Recording History:
Premiered 10/31/20 at Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall at Interlochen Center for the Arts during the Interlochen Arts Academy Composers Forum by Andrew Burhans, horn, Julia Reiss, euphonium, and Claudia Shassberger, tuba
To be performed by professional musicians in Houston, TX as a part of the Robert Avalon International Winners Concert in the Music of Today Houston Concert Series, February 2022
Awards:
Selected as the First Prize winner in the 2020 Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers, High School Division
Program Notes:
This piece is directly inspired by a poem called “Testimony” for Michael Brown, written by Hafizah Geter. The poetry specifically describes the circumstances of Michael Brown’s murder by 28-year old police officer Darren Wilson, which occurred about six years ago in Ferguson, Missouri. In hindsight, the reason I grew so attached to this poem was not the vivid imagery of Brown’s blood running through the streets or soldiers banging their shields like war cries; rather, it was the recurring motif of stagnation that permeates not just Geter’s work, but our current situation. Brown’s body lay on the street for nearly four hours after he was killed. No ambulance ever arrived on the scene.
About a month ago, I began wondering “If this poem was published yesterday, would anyone bat an eye?” The more I thought about it, the more I reached the dead end: no. No, no one would bat an eye. It’s the most terrifying kind of timelessness. The realization that a Black man murdered by our police force (or should I say MY police force) is so profoundly normalized, so profoundly constant that this poem has eternal relevance was incredibly disturbing to me.
Let me be absolutely clear: I am NOT attempting to use Ms. Geter’s poetry to generate profits or garner attention. In addition, I am NOT attempting to express the Black experience in America through my music. I am well aware of the fact that I am a straight white male, and that my voice is not the one that needs to be heard most urgently right now. This piece is a reflection on my experiences in my own life and how they relate to the widespread injustices plaguing the world each day.
-Jonah Cohen, October 2020
Note: the title of the piece, “the ground develops a taste for it”, is a phrase taken directly from “Testimony” for Michael Brown by Hafizah Geter. I do not take credit/assume ownership of this phrase in any way.