Four women, four pianos and eight hands will create a rare musical experience this spring in Philadelphia.
With ‘Eight Eight Time’, a group of talented female composer-pianists will hit the stage at Drexel University’s Mandell Theater to put on a spectacle of music and motion by utilizing grand pianos. The performances will take place on April 3, 4 and 5, and will feature an all-encompassing and intimate viewing experience where audiences surround the performers on risers on stage.
This activation is presented by Journey Arts and supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage and will feature the music, plus, original poetry and film to “explore the milestones that shape women’s lives.”
Now in its 22nd season, Journey Arts announced its new name and new branding last fall. The creative organization’s mission is to showcase more ambitious and complex productions, expand funding opportunities, and increase support for artistic development.
As a release notes, ‘Eight Eight Time’ specifically features original compositions by acclaimed jazz pianists Kendrah Butler-Waters, Terry Klinefelter, Suzzette Ortiz, and Sumi Tonooka, interwoven with poetry by Yolanda Wisher and evocative visuals by Lunise Cerin. The all-women ensemble brings together a diverse range of voices and perspectives, reflecting the rich tapestry of the community.
Butler-Waters has been featured on NPR, WRTI, PBS, and WHYY and is also a recipient of the prestigious Kimmel Center Jazz Residency award. Recording artist Terry Klinefelter hails as a former Principal Keyboard with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Puerto Rican composer and arranger Suzzette Ortiz has many published choral works, and celebrated Black-Japanese composer and pianist Sumi Tonooka is known for her jazz performances, film scores, and symphonic works.
Eight Eight Time collaborator Yolanda Wisher is a former Poet Laureate of Montgomery County and Philadelphia, and award-winning filmmaker Lunise Cerin hails from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Philadelphia.
As a release notes, the production, held during Jazz Appreciation Month, draws inspiration from intimate story circles and community workshops, where participants shared their personal experiences with the artists—from childbirth and caregiving to their reflections on the passing of loved ones and generational legacies. These stories are woven into the suite’s spoken cadences and emotional tones, creating a rich, harmonic framework.
The 12-movement suite includes solo and four-piano works composed by each artist, each with “room for improvisation, reflecting the collaborative spirit of its creation.”
“In a conversation between four grand pianos, with visuals by filmmaker Lunise Cerin and poetry by the inimitable Yolanda Wisher, Eight Eight Time literally invents a new storytelling language, inviting all of us to sit up, lean in, and be blown away by this love letter to life’s most exquisite and mundane moments,” says Artistic Director Marla Burkholder in a statement.
All shows will take place at 7:30 p.m. (note, there will also be a “relaxed” performance on April 5 at 2 p.m.) To snag tickets ($10-$40) and find out more information, visit journeyarts.org
