For decades, Seneca Village was a thriving 19th century community predominantly of Black New Yorkers, until city officials forced the residents out in order to make way for the development of Central Park. That history, largely erased, is being brought to life in a musical performance by students of Juilliard College.
The two-hour production of composer Thomas Flippin’s “The Lost Village of Seneca” and other works will take place at the Chelsea Factory on Friday, Feb. 23, and be livestreamed as well. Performers will include the Ivalas Quartet, the school’s graduate student string quartet, as well as pre-college students.
The production follows years of work by archaeologists who have attempted to piece together the lives of Seneca Village’s residents from its origins in 1825, when a Black shoeshiner by the name of Andrew Williams bought three lots for $125. The production is also the outgrowth of what a school official said was the continuing cultural introspection spurred by George Floyd’s murder in 2020.
In an interview, Flippin said he was “ashamed to admit” that as a one-time resident of Manhattan, he went years without knowing anything about Seneca Village, but upon encountering an article about it, dove into its history. The community grew until 1857, when the residents were displaced from the center of Manhattan–from along the Upper West Side, from 82nd Street to 89th Street.
“I kept peeling back one layer after another,” said Flippin. “And I learned more and more: amazing things about my ancestors in the Black community and the hardships that they had to endure, but also the resilience of this community.”
‘Composing Inclusion’
Flippin’s composition emerged from a 2022 initiative known as “Composing Inclusion,” a partnership between The Juilliard School’s Preparatory Division, the American Composers Forum and the New York Philharmonic that aims to increase the ranks of Black and Latino composers in the field.
“The Lost Village…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply