The Table Sessions: Water Speaks

March 14, 15, and 16 at 7 PM

RITTENHOUSE SOUNDWORKS

219 W Rittenhouse St, Philadelphia, PA 19144

Water — what stories are carried by this most fragile and powerful life-force? With water-as-storyteller, Keisha Hutchins Hirlinger and Doug Hirlinger’s Water Speaks explores the relationship of Black Americans and their ancestors to this sustaining element. From the origins of West Africa through the Middle Passage, to the shores of the United States, to the pools, rivers, lakes, and oceans of the country, this vivid composition for voice, vibraphone, and bass takes you on a profound exploration of joy, life, death, sorrow, and above all, resilience. Paired together with the musical suite, Chef Jay Battersbee of FEAST Catering curates a delicious meal as part of the evening. 

Water Speaks is a suite composed by Keisha Hutchins Hirlinger and Doug Hirlinger and was originally commissioned by the Philadelphia Jazz Project and performed as a part of POOL: A Social History of Segregation, an exhibit at Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia. To learn more about the project, visit this link, POOL: A Social History of Segregation.

Please note: The performance venue is only accessible via a flight of steps. Please be in contact with Intercultural Journeys if you have additional questions or need assistance.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

A classically trained musician at the Oberlin Conservatory as well as a singer-songwriter and educator, Keisha Hutchins Hirlinger is passionate about music education and creating access to musical experiences for all children and communities. In addition to teaching music at Abington Friends school, she is a past recipient of the Leeway Foundation’s Art and Change. Keisha uses her platform as a both a performer and educator to bring attention to social justice issues through both her own performances and educational concerts collaborating with artist-activists from Philadelphia and surrounding areas.

Keisha’s commitment to creating music experiences for all led her to be sought-out serve as a music workshop facilitator for ARTZ Philadelphia, an organization which provides arts experiences for those living with dementia and their care partners. Soon after, she was asked to spearhead and lead the ARTZ Notes program, serving as the lead facilitator and curator for the program.

In March of 2017, Keisha curated and debuted a 90-minute-long performance called Going Home, as a part of Intercultural Journeys’ 2016-2017 season. The concert was an artistic exploration of being a Black, female artist in America, incorporating music from a variety of genres and traditions from arias to jazz to spirituals and included her own original music. In 2022, Keisha, along with her husband, percussionist, composer, and educator, Doug Hirlinger, was commissioned by the Philadelphia Jazz Project to compose “Water Speaks.” Keisha lives in Philadelphia with her husband and their two children.

Find Keisha on Instagram.

Doug Hirlinger is a percussionist, composer, and electronic musician raised in St. Louis and living in Philadelphia. He has toured throughout the United States and Europe and performed in such venues as Blue Note (NY), Birdland, The Iridium, and 55 Bar. He attended the University of North Texas and graduated from Manhattan School of Music. Doug has been fortunate to have played with many world renowned musicians and groups, including Peter Bernstein, Stanley Jordan, Seamus Blake, Ralph Bowen, Joel Frahm, Rudresh Mahanathapa, Matt Mitchell, Jason Moran, Luis Perdomo, Jacob Sacks, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, The Philadelphia Orchestra and more. Upon moving to Philadelphia for the first of two stretches in 2001, Doug spent much of his time at the famed and beloved Ortlieb's Jazzhaus where he worked with pianist Sid Simmons and others. A trio he co-led with Matt Michell and Tarus Mateen was a crowd favorite there as was Neil Podgurski's New Fire, of which he was a member.

In 2018, three years after returning to Philadelphia for a second time, Doug completed an artist residency at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts resulting in a 10-piece suite titled, Dear Philadelphia, exploring gentrification, inequality, and musical legacy in Philadelphia with collaborators Ursula Rucker, M’Balia Singley, Tim Motzer, and John Swana. In 2022 Doug was commissioned by the Philadelphia Jazz Project, along with his wife and vocalist, Keisha Hutchins Hirlinger, to compose "Water Speaks.”

Find Doug on Instagram and at doughirlinger.com.

North Carolina native Madison Rast graduated from the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem and received his MA from Virginia Commonwealth University, as a recipient of the Carpenter Fellowship Scholarship. He moved to Philadelphia in the fall of 1999 to pursue a career in jazz. Since that time he has become one of the areas most in demand sidemen. His solid and steady bass lines have supported many notable musicians including Mickey Roker, Orrin Evans, Sean Jones, and Joanna Pascale. In 2012 he released his debut CD of his own original songs and arrangements. In 2014 he was part of a recording project with pianist Gary Dial and saxophonist Dick Oatts, in which the poetry of Walt Whitman is set to original music. Since 2018, Madison has been among the collective of jazz musicians known as the Captain Black Big Band under the direction of Orrin Evans, whose 2019 release Presence and 2020’s The Intangible Between were both nominated for a Grammy. Recently, Madison was featured on singer Amos Lee’s recording My Ideal, celebrating the music of Chet Baker.

Find Madison on Instagram and Facebook.

What is a Table Session?

It's a gathering. A place of exchange. A time to be still and listen or get up and dance. To eat delicious food. To connect with other people about art, food, and life. Intercultural Journeys brings artists and audiences around the table to share a performance, meal, and conversation as we work to rekindle our connections to one another.

Lead support for The Table Sessions is provided by the William Penn Foundation.