3/20/20: Oregon Symphony Releases Gabriel Kahane's 'emergency shelter intake form'
“…[Kahane’s] magnum opus, which unflinchingly confronted an American social problem that continues to worsen: homelessness… the piece vividly conjured the humiliations, fears and terrors that homeless Americans face, thanks to its vivid libretto and wholly accessible score.” — The Chicago Tribune
The Oregon Symphony is pleased to release the world premiere recording of emergency shelter intake form, an exploration of deep poverty in America through the lens of homelessness and housing insecurity (March 20, 2020; Oregon Symphony Media). Pre-order here: http://gabrielkahane.bandcamp.com/
Commissioned and premiered by the Oregon Symphony, emergency shelter intake form (esif) has since been programmed by more than half a dozen orchestras around the country, a testament both to the power of the work and to the severity of the national housing crisis.
Recorded live at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon, on August 31, 2018, this 50-minute album features mezzo-soprano Alicia Hall Moran; a mordant trio – The Chorus of Inconvenient Statistics – comprising Portland’s own Holcombe Waller and Holland Andrews, as well as Gabriel Kahane himself; and, in the final movement, the Maybelle Community Singers, many of whose members have themselves experienced deep poverty and housing insecurity.
This marks the 25th album from the Oregon Symphony and the first orchestral album from Gabriel Kahane.
ABOUT THE PIECE
At once harrowing and darkly humorous, emergency shelter intake form grew out of the Oregon Symphony’s desire to create music that reflects and responds to the needs of its community—specifically, in this case, the issue of housing insecurity. Reaction to emergency shelter intake form was immediate, powerful, and complex.
“We sought to bring people together around a pressing issue in our community,” commented Oregon Symphony President, Scott Showalter. “In the diversity of impassioned responses, we see a piece that, for all its inventiveness, does what art does best—invite listeners to engage directly with the world around us.”
Kahane writes:
In researching this piece, I learned that my conception of homelessness was deeply skewed: the unhoused population that we see on the street— many of whom struggle with mental illness and substance abuse— are, despite their visibility, not necessarily representative of the vast majority of those facing homelessness. Instead, it’s the invisible population— those doubled up with family and friends, living in shelter, living in hotels or motels or temporary housing—who reflect the broader texture of housing insecurity. Many of these people have lost their housing due to sudden unemployment, exorbitant medical bills, and wages insufficient to match rising costs of living. If there’s any agenda in esif, it’s to shrink the conceptual distance between those who have and those who have not, and to remind those of us who enjoy varying degrees of economic privilege that precarity is nevertheless waiting around the corner should we experience some unexpected trauma in our lives. I’m incredibly grateful to the Oregon Symphony for asking me to write this piece, and for the courage, spirit, and artistry of the Maybelle Community Singers, without whose lived experience this piece would be an empty shell.
As lead commissioner, the Oregon Symphony presented the world premiere of the piece in May 2018 before remounting the work in August to be recorded during a free community concert. Other past performances include the Britt Festival (July 27, 2018), Grant Park Music Festival (July 5–6, 2019); future performances include Orlando Philharmonic (March 21, 2020), Milwaukee Symphony (March 28, 2020), Detroit Symphony (April 2–4, 2020), the San Francisco Symphony in February 2021, as well as other orchestras yet to announce their 20/21 seasons.
TRACK LISTING
emergency shelter intake form — words and music by Gabriel Kahane
I. what brings you here?
II. the chorus of inconvenient statistics
III. where did you stay last night?
IV. if you answered yes to “living with family”
V. have you ever been evicted?
VI. certainly we can all agree
VII. have you received any income in the last thirty days?
VIII. do your co-workers know that you have lost your home?
IX. are you eligible for a section 8 voucher?
X. has your physical health caused you to lose your housing?
XI. a brief history of the subprime mortgage loan crisis
XII. have you ever been denied a lease or loan?
XIII. thank you for completing this form
ABOUT GABRIEL KAHANE
Hailed by The New Yorker as “one of the finest, most searching songwriters of the day”, Gabriel Kahane works increasingly at the intersection of art and social practice. His 2018 Nonesuch Records debut, Book of Travelers, lauded by Rolling Stone as “a stunning portrait of a singular moment in America”, chronicles his transcontinental train trip taken in the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Among Gabriel’s most memorable collaborations have been projects with Paul Simon, Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Bird, Caroline Shaw, Brooklyn Rider, Blake Mills, Chris Thile, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, for whom he served as composer-in-residence from 2011 til 2013. He has been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Crossing, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, The Public Theater, A Far Cry, The Knights, yMusic, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
An avid theater artist, Kahane has been commissioned twice by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which in 2014 presented The Ambassador, directed by Tony Award-winner John Tiffany, and in 2017 presented 8980: Book of Travelers. He made his Broadway debut with a score for the 2018 revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s The Waverly Gallery, starring Elaine May and Lucas Hedges.
A graduate of Brown University, Kahane lives in Brooklyn, and is proud to be serving as the Oregon Symphony’s first Creative Chair.
ABOUT THE OREGON SYMPHONY
The multi-Grammy Award-nominated Oregon Symphony ranks as one of America’s major orchestras. The symphony serves more than 235,000 people annually through concerts and award-winning education and community engagement programs. Now in its 123rd year, the Oregon Symphony is the oldest orchestra west of the Mississippi.
The Oregon Symphony has broken attendance and fundraising records in recent years, while innovating on stage through new series such as SoundSights, Sounds of Home and SoundStories.
The Sounds of Home concerts in 2017/2018 combined music and art to reflect on three critical issues in our community – immigration, the environment, and homelessness. One of those pieces of music, commissioned by the Oregon Symphony from Gabriel Kahane, sparked a new three-year position for Kahane at the Symphony as Creative Chair. In this unique, unprecedented and multi-faceted role, Kahane is writing and performing substantial works and advising on contemporary programming for the Classical Series. Kahane also is producing two new concert series with the Symphony: Open Music, a composer-driven chamber series to be held in smaller Portland venues, and an indie concert series in which marquee pop artists will collaborate with dynamic composers and orchestrators.
Previous Oregon Symphony releases include Aspects of America: Pulitzer Edition (2020, PentaTone), Spirit of the American Range (2015, PentaTone; Grammy Award-nominated for Best Orchestral Performance), and Music for a Time of War (2011, PentaTone; Grammy Award-nominated for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Engineered Album, Classical). Previous releases from Kahane include Book of Travelers (2018, Nonesuch; “a stunning portrait of a singular moment in America.” Rolling Stone) and The Ambassador (2014, Sony Masterworks; “One of the year’s very best albums.” Rolling Stone).