Grassroots Harmony at Peoples' Voice Cafe

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The only chains that we can stand
Are the chains of hand in hand

Come join Grassroots Harmony at the Peoples' Voice Cafe

 

Grassroots Harmony, Josh's activist community choir, is excited to present our latest concert program: "The Chains of Hand in Hand"

Join us as we link songs of struggle and loss with celebrations of our strength and power when we come together. We'll be singing classic favorites like Solidarity Forever, compelling new songs from Joe Jencks and Emma's Revolution, and old tunes with a new twist, like Dragonfly's reworking of Keep Your Eyes on the Prize.

Saturday, March 3, 8-10 PM (Grassroots Harmony is the second of two acts and goes on about 9 PM)
40 East 35th St., New York, NY

More info and RSVP on Facebook

The Peoples' Voice Cafe, Inc., is an alternative coffee house offering quality entertainment. We provide a space for the artistic expression on a wide variety of humanitarian issues and concerns.

$20 suggested contribution -- more if you choose, less if you can't; no one turned away.
For PVC subscribers, students, and youth, the suggested contribution is $12.

Grassroots Harmony, back in action!

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It's that time of year again!

Grassroots Harmony, the activist community choir I lead, is putting finishing touches on our biggest and most varied program yet, featuring everything from traditional ballads like To My Old Brown Earth to Michael Jackson's still-timely They Don't Care about Us.

Catch us at these two gigs coming up!
 

Grassroots Harmony is back! (Facebook)

Thursday, May 4, 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Etg - Everything Goes Cafe
208 Bay St, Staten Island, New York 10301

Come hear our activist community choir in our biggest program yet, while enjoying some tea and excellent bagel sandwiches!

Bonus: Singer-songwriter Comfort Cat is opening for us!

Maybe you'll join us for a drink afterward?

The venue is Staten Island but much easier to get to than you (other borough folks) think! Free ferry ride from downtown Manhattan, and the café is walking distance from the ferry terminal on SI.
 

You Have A Voice benefit concert (Facebook)

Sunday, May 7, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
First Unitarian Congregational Society
116 Pierrepont St, Brooklyn, New York 11201

A musical celebration with songs of joy and unity

Grassroots Harmony joins a benefit concert featuring unique, diverse and inspirational choirs, singing groups and performers from all over NYC.  100% of the proceeds will go to charity, and YOU HAVE A VOICE in where your ticket purchase is donated.

Tickets available for advance purchase on eventbrite

Grassroots chorus @ Women's Equality Day; video of It Stops Today

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Women's Equality Day 2015

 

August 26th 2015 marks the 95th anniversary of the legal right to vote for women. International Working Women's Day Coalition will have a women's speakout to link this historic occasion with the struggles impacting women today.

My grassroots chorus will be performing an original arrangement of Bread and Roses, the feminist anthem that famously commemorated the garment workers' strikes of the early 20th century.

Wednesday 8/26
Event runs 6 PM-8 PM (we perform about 6:30)
Union Square, New York
Facebook event

 

 

It Stops Today

Check out our performances of "It Stops Today," my musical tribute to Eric Garner!
Premiere at Judson Memorial Church
A Cultural Tribute to the Black Lives Matter Movement At ShapeShifter Lab

 

Join Us

Local to New York? Any choral singing experience? We want you to join the growing ranks of our ongoing grassroots ensemble! Low commitment (we rehearse once every two weeks, on Sunday evenings), open process (everyone is encouraged to contribute ideas for music to perform and events to perform at), awesome people, great causes, and sometimes free food! Get in touch today.

Let's catch up soon –
Josh

World premiere: "I Can't Breathe" for chorus

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My army of activist singers and I have been hard at work bringing a new piece to life, and we are excited to be able to announce a pair of performances at two fabulous New York venues, joined by our stunning soloists Tyrone Chambers and Antoine Hodge.


Some color on the piece:

On July 17, 2014, an unarmed civilian was strangled to death by a police officer; on December 3 a grand jury declined to indict the officer with any charges, in spite of a shocking video clearly documenting the encounter and homicide.

Eric Garner's unintentional last words have become an elegy, an anthem, and a rallying cry. His spoken dialogue during the three-minute encounter sends a chill down the spine as we reflect on what language we might be remembered by if our lives were cut short so violently. "I Can't Breathe," a short theatrical piece for chorus (10 min.), uses as lyrics Garner's last words, beginning with "Get away/for what?" and concluding with repetitions of "I can't breathe." The message is clear: the video opened our eyes, and now we all must step forward and stand up for justice.


Performances:

Wednesday, May 6
STUFFED 15: Dinner and Dance

Judson Church – 55 Washington Square South, New York, NY
Doors at 7pm – Performance begins at 8 PM
Free admission including free dinner for the public
https://www.facebook.com/events/355370561330565

 

Saturday, May 16
A Cultural Tribute to the Black Lives Matter Movement

"I Can't Breathe" for chorus
a grassroots choral performance composed and directed by Josh Feintuch
featuring soloists Tyrone Chambers II and Antoine Hodge
found lyrics, from the last words of Eric Garner

Black Lives Matter Photo Essay
by Photographer Gabriele Holtermann-Gorden

ShapeShifter Lab – 18 Whitwell Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Saturday, May 16, 2015, 2 PM-4 PM
Suggested Donation $10 – None turned away – Cash bar

sponsored by the Green Party of Brooklyn

https://www.facebook.com/events/692778367517865/

Come hear the People's Climate Chorus!

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In just over a week, the United Nations is holding a summit on climate change in New York City. Leading up to the meeting, tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, will mobilize in the city to demand real action and not just more posturing and resolutions.

As many of you know, I have been hard at work putting together a choral performance to bring an artistic and emotional element to the proceedings. I worked with poet Vanessa Gabb and wrote a seven minute piece that imagines life in a world ravaged by global warming, where "to be awake is to be a war/there is nowhere left to be." We have 20 active singers. There has been a lot of interest in this project and I'm pleased that we will have three performance opportunities to share this with you.

Creative Climate Awards Launch Party, Monday 9/15
event runs 6:30 PM- 8:00 PM (we perform about 7:15)
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York
1 E 42nd St, NY, NY 10017 between 5th & Madison Avenue
RSVP required: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/841666
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/256401564571008/
The performance will be coordinated with an interpretive dance, choreographed by Natalie Deryn Johnson of NatalieInMotion, a multi- media dance company based in NYC.

NYC Climate Convergence
Closing Plenary, Saturday 9/20 at 7 PM (doors at 6:30 p.m.)
St. Peter's Church | 619 Lexington Avenue
We will perform alongside speeches from major movement figures including:
Naomi Klein -- Author of This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate, No Logo, The Shock Doctrine
Jacqui Patterson -- NAACP Environmental & Climate Justice Program
Desmond D'Sa -- 2014 Goldman Prize recipient from South Africa
Olga Bautista -- Southeast Side Coalition Against Petcoke
Facebook event for the convergence

People's Climate March, Sunday 9/21
Music bloc party at the end of the march, around 34th St.
If you would like to try to meet us for this outdoor performance, send me an e-mail and I will make sure to send you as many specifics as possible as they develop.
Facebook event for the march

Hope to see you there!
Josh and the People's Climate Chorus

Help me build a People's Climate Chorus!

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This is an invitation to change everything – by singing.

In September, world leaders are coming to New York City for a UN summit on the climate crisis. A wide coalition of environmental, social justice, and other groups are planning the largest climate march in history. For more info check out http://peoplesclimate.org/march/

 

I watched a page describing a musical happening I am planning. Check out a preview of the piece I wrote and sign up to participate here!

Gilbert & Sullivan: The Operetta!

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It has been a little while since I have announced a performance of my music. I'm very excited to finally be able to reveal the next step of a project on which I've been working hard for several years.


Village Light Opera Group

presents a new workshop staged reading of

Gilbert & Sullivan: The Operetta!

with libretto by Andrew Janet and music by Josh Feintuch

Wednesday, February 13

at the monthly meeting of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of New York

A new musical about the lives, triumphs, and bitter fights of Gilbert & Sullivan. This show, in the style of a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, explores the age-old struggle between artistic purity and commercial success.

Auditions December 19. Please contact Josh for details.

 

Singing for the Sake of Singing

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This summer I started a weekly tradition: assembling a group of singers to  learn and sing choral music just for  fun and​ personal musical growth. Last week we sang some Mendelssohn, Mozart, and an original piece by a group member.  Tomorrow we may work on some of those pieces again as well as some new stuff including the finale to HMS Pinafore. If you're in New York and this sounds like your cup of tea, get in touch by e-mail or private message!

Gilbert & Sullivan

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For the past several years, I've been working with my wonderful and talented friend Andrew Janet on a rather ambitious project: an operetta about the lives, triumphs, and bitter fights of Gilbert & Sullivan​. Sullivan, the composer of the pair, was never really satisfied with the work they were doing and wanted to heed the advice of his influential supporters (most notably Queen Victoria) and plant his flag in the world of serious art music, especially grand opera. But the duo had lots of commercial success and their producer D'Oyly Carte kept pushing them back together. Sullivan did eventually get a chance to compose a grand opera, Ivanhoe, which was never very successful.

Our show is very near completion and we are presently shopping for a producer – stay tuned, and in the meantime enjoy this preview! (There's a reason I don't normally sing tenor – and mezzo soprano – simultaneously. Be forewarned.)​