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STATIONS OF THE LOST
ABOUT TRANS DAY OF REMEMBRANCE & RESILIENCE
November 20 is the transgender day of remembrance, a day of commemoration begun in 1999 by trans activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith as vigil to commemorate trans lives lost to violence – particularly trans women of color, the most frequent targets of transphobic violence. In the years since, it has expanded further into a dual day of remembrance and resilience: to remember the lost, certainly, but also to honor the life, spirit, and contributions of the living trans community, too, through art, music and poetry. Art (and particularly music) is a powerful medium for social change and in recognition of that, today’s performance is dedicated to the trans activists and artists who committed their time and energy to creating a more equitable society — one in which we can stand here in front of you today and sing openly and freely.
The fourteen stations displayed today were created to memorial fourteen different trans activists and artists — many of whom were lost to violence and societal neglect, and all of whom were foundational to the existence of trans visibility and culture today. Their names are Rita Hester, Billy Tipton, Sophie Xeon, Lorenza Bottner, Claude Cahun, Angela Morely, Virginia Prince, Wilmer Broadnax, April Ashley, Lili Elbe, Greer Lankton, Mark Aguhar & Maxine Feldman.
To read the full text of the Requiem, please click here for the libretto.
PROGRAM
Introit - Requiem / Unto Them From Whose Eyes
Crysta Song, soloist
Kyrie - Term of All That Liveth
Alex Mulligan, duet
Kae Peterman, duetGradual - In Memoria Aeterna / Unto Them From Whose Eyes
James Factora, soloist
Tract - Absolve, Domine / But Ye, O My People, Arise & Awake!
Sequence - Dies Irae / Let Fire & Air Make Sweet the World
Izzy Ehrhard, duet
Joe Tesoro, duet
Skye Arnold, quartet
Marcos Ospina, quartet
Atlas Reid, quartet
Gabriel Fussell, quartetOffertory - Domine Jesu Christe / Make Open Paths of Creation
Offertory - Hostias / Thou Who Art Beyond All I Am
Sanctus - Thou That Art One
Agnus Dei - O Circle of Stars
Sarian Sankoh, trio
Theo Kolbrener, trio
Eve Schaaf, trioLux Aeterna - Lord, Visible & Sensible
Atlas Reid, duet
Stevie Goughnour, duet
Skye Arnold, soloistPie Jesu - Secret & Most Holy
Sarian Sankoh, duet
Marcos Ospina, duetIn Paradisum - Mysterious Energy
Some Words from the Director
& Benedictus
Felix Graham, Director
Joseph Tesoro, Assistant Dir. & Guitar
TJ Peterman, percussion
ENSEMBLE
Alex Mulligan
Ariel Tian
Ash Tsaboukas
Atlas Lee-Reid
Crysta Song
Eve Schaaf
Gabriel Fussell
Izzy Ehrhardt
James Factora
Kae Peterman
Leila McClain
Marcos Ospina
Sarian Sankoh
Scottie Harvey
Skye Arnold
Stevie Goughnour
Theo Kolbrener
Zii Field
PERFORMERS
OUR THANKS TO
Fr. Napier & the St. John’s community, for their support and kindness!
Randy Polumbo, for the gracious contribution of his time, talent and ingenuity.
Martin Murphy, for lending his talents towards capturing this process.
Pete Gibson, for the amazing photography of the choir.
All of the kind folks who have donated to our GoFundMe campaign. Your donations are making all of this possible and we appreciate your support.
Stations of the Lost is a secular/gnostic requiem, a theatre piece written by Dr. Felix Graham in collaboration with TRANScend, New York's trans/gender-expansive vocal ensemble, and Randy Polumbo, visual artist. The requiem, in oratorio form, is performed alongside an installation of 14 panels, replacing the traditional stations of the cross with commemorative art pieces honoring the lives of trans artists (both past and present).
Traditionally, memorial works for marginalized people have posed as a mea culpa - looking back in sorrow. While looking back is important, we believe that looking forward is just as important...and a lot more beneficial to the people still living. As such, we are creating new art music in the classical tradition in honor of the national trans day of remembrance/resilience. Not just to celebrate the trans artists who have been lost to violence or societal neglect, but to uplift the trans artists who are with us now.
In the spirit of Dr. Graham’s composition, Polumbo painted a series of images of birds from life. These were re-imagined by his studio from 3-D scans of TRANScend members hands and faces. Each bird is made of Reishi Mushroom mycelium grown into a mold made from elements gathered from TRANScend members and is associated with an important trans artist or activist, many of whom were lost to violence or societal neglect, and all of whom contributed significantly to trans art, culture and visibility. Soaring fiercely, with wings made of human hands, and witnessing through over-scaled blown glass eyes. They draw a line between the tragic past and celebration of living trans people and mark that we are all watching and demand a just and inclusive future.