Ruth Naomi Floyd (left) and Yolanda Wisher (right)
American Composers Forum, Philadelphia Chapter presents an online artist talk between composer and vocalist Ruth Naomi Floyd and poet, singer, educator and curator Yolanda Wisher. During this free Artist to Artist Talk, the two artists will discuss their creative process, reflect on their artistic influences, and share recent work.
This event is co-presented with Intercultural Journeys ahead of the premiere of The Frances Suite on May 5-6.
FREE, REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. PLEASE RESERVE ONE SPOT PER HOUSEHOLD. A Zoom link will be sent to you the day of the event.
A composer and vocalist for over 25 years, Ruth Naomi Floyd leads a distinctive, progressive jazz ensemble and has released multiple recordings of original compositions, bringing "...an unmistakable emotional integrity that conveys her music's power.” (The Times London). In 2020, Ruth and poet Charles Lattimore Howard, were Kimmel Center Jazz Residency artists for their project which centers on homelessness in Philadelphia. Recent compositions include the commissioned work “Freedom," focused on human rights activist Mende Nazer’s story of survival as a slave in the United Kingdom, and the Frederick Douglass Jazz Works. In the centennial year of Leonard Bernstein’s birth, the Mann Music Center, in partnership with NEWorks Productions commissioned Ruth as one of four composers to create a community mass inspired by Bernstein’s MASS. Ruth is the former Director of Jazz Studies at Cairn University, Langhorne, Pennsylvania and an Adjunct and Artist in Residence at Temple University.
Philadelphia-based poet, singer, educator and curator Yolanda Wisher is the author of Monk Eats an Afro (Hanging Loose Press, 2014) and the co-editor of Peace is a Haiku Song (Philadelphia Mural Arts, 2013), and is a contributing poet and performer for The Frances Suite. Wisher was the inaugural Poet Laureate of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and the third Poet Laureate of Philadelphia. A Pew and Cave Canem Fellow, she has been a Writer in Residence at Hedgebrook and Aspen Words, and founded and directed the Germantown Poetry and Outbound Poetry Festivals. She performs a unique blend of poetry and song with her band The Afroeaters and has led workshops and curated events in partnership with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the U.S. Department of Arts & Culture. Wisher is currently the Curator of Spoken Word at Philadelphia Contemporary.