6660 Manasota Key Road
Englewood
Florida 34223
“Notes: On Writing and Music”
with Hermitage Fellows Chigozie Obioma and Levy Lorenzo
Presented in partnership with Johann Fust Library Foundation
Thursday, December 15 at 5pm
Hermitage Beach (entrance at 6660 Manasota Key Road, Englewood, Florida 34223)
Register here.
Registration is required. $5 per person.
Featuring two artists who both bring an international perspective, the program spans literature and music. Nigerian-born Chigozie Obioma, whose two novels The Fisherman and An Orchestra of Minorities were both shortlisted for the Booker Prize in Fiction, reads selections of his work and discusses his creative process. He is joined by Filipino-American musician, instrument designer, and returning Hermitage Fellow Levy Lorenzo, whose quirky and innovative work has been described as “a potent force on the side of exuberance, pleasure and awe of virtuosity” by The New York Times. Join these two incredible artists as the sun goes down on the Hermitage Beach.
Chigozie Obioma was born in Akure, Nigeria. His two novels, The Fishermen (2015) and An Orchestra of Minorities (2019) were shortlisted for The Booker Prize, making him one of only two novelists to be shortlisted for all their works. They have won awards including the inaugural FT/Oppenheimer Award for Fiction, the NAACP Image Award and the LA Times Book Prize, and been nominated for many others. His books have been translated into more than 29 languages. The Fishermen was adapted into an award-winning stage play by Gbolahan Obisesan that played in the UK and South Africa between 2018-2019. He was named one of Foreign Policy’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2015. His works have been published in The Guardian, VQR, Paris Review, New York Times, and elsewhere. He is the James E. Ryan Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and divides his time between the US and Nigeria. ChigozieObioma.com
Born in Bucharest, Filipino-American Levy Marcel Ingles Lorenzo, Jr. works at the intersection of music, art, and technology. On an international scale, his body of work spans custom electronics design, sound engineering, instrument building, installation art, free improvisation, and classical percussion. With a primary focus on inventing new instruments, he prototypes, composes, and performs new electronic music. Lorenzo’s work has been featured at MoMA PS1, MIT Media Lab, STEIM, pitchfork.com, BBC, Burning Man, and The New York Times which named him an “electronics wizard.” A core member of the acclaimed International Contemporary Ensemble, he fulfills multiple roles as sound designer, electronics performer, and percussionist. Other performance engagements include Claire Chase’s Density 2036 project, and the Peter Evans Ensemble. Dr. Lorenzo holds a position as Assistant Professor of Creative Technologies at The New School, College of Performing Arts. LevyLorenzo.com