Percussionists Allen Otte (of the pioneering early percussion ensemble Percussion Group Cincinnati/Blackearth Percussion Group) and John Lane (Texas) present The Innocents, a musical response to the well-known Innocence Project. Using spoken word, electronics, field recordings, found objects and traditional percussion, the work centers on exoneration of those wrongly convicted through DNA testing, plus reform of the criminal justice system to prevent future injustices. Excerpts of their music were recently featured on the DVD In Their Own Words, released through the Innocence Project.
Bonnie Whiting and the University of Washington Percussion Ensemble open with music by composer George Lewis and new original compositions/improvisations inspired by Otte and Lane’s work.
“Language is a tremendous gift, but language does not deliver experience, it only describes experience. It mediates between us and reality. And while music and performance cannot be equated with the actual experience of prison or arrest, it avoids the symbolic. It creates experience. What they managed to do was create an experience that brought the listener directly to the horror of what they wanted us to know. From where I sat, this was absolutely ingenious.” – Russel Gabriel, Clinical Professor & Criminal Defense Practicum Director, University of Georgia School of Law
“This project in particular continues to feel like a superior interdisciplinary model of art in action, seeking to bring such an honest and deeper meaning to its function and role in society, here to connect people and causes, and to aid in awareness and healing.” – Connie Frigo, Associate Professor of Saxophone, University of Georgia