ARTillery
Podcast Description
Hey folks! My name is Damien Geter, and I am a composer, conductor, and sometimes singer based in Chicago, and I’m starting a podcast called ARTillery! The purpose of ARTillery is to discuss how artists have used their work to fight against, or respond to oppressive regimes or systems that plagued their countries, their culture, and/or our universal global society.
Music in the trailer: Symphony No. 1, The Justice Symphony by Damien Geter
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast centers around the theme of art as a form of resistance, exploring topics such as the impact of art on social justice and historical oppression. Episode discussions include detailed analyses of specific works like the opera Loving v. Virginia, as well as the relevance of artists like Shostakovich in the face of Stalin's regime and Nina Simone's responses to segregation.
Hey folks! My name is Damien Geter, and I am a composer, conductor, and sometimes singer based in Chicago, and I’m starting a podcast called ARTillery! The purpose of ARTillery is to discuss how artists have used their work to fight against, or respond to oppressive regimes or systems that plagued their countries, their culture, and/or our universal global society.
Music in the trailer: Symphony No. 1, The Justice Symphony by Damien Geter
Composer Shawn Okpebholo talks about his song cycle, Songs in Flight, which was released on Cedille Records on Feb. 14, 2025.
Shawn notes:
In 2021, I received a call from Martha Guth, celebrated soprano and co-director of Sparks & Wiry Cries. She spoke passionately about the Freedom on the Move database, an archive of over 30,000 advertisements for runaway enslaved individuals. Having experienced one of my previous compositions, Martha proposed an ambitious project: an expansive song cycle that would breathe life into these dehumanizing records. The project would include performances at prominent venues and collaborations with world-renowned musicians Rhiannon Giddens, Will Liverman, Reginald Mobley, Karen Slack, and Howard Watkins, alongside lead curator and poet Tsitsi Ella Jaji.
The recording features the singers from the premiere with pianist Paul Sanchez.
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