The Refraction Series was created to give audiences the opportunity to listen and examine powerful works in ways beyond solely performance, and develop a deeper understanding of the music.
WHY “REFRACTION”?
A refraction is a phenomenon where light undergoes change upon passing through another object. Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon album art comes to mind…
Just as a beam of light reflected through a prism reveals many different wavelengths of color, the purpose of the Refraction Series is to take a piece of music and present it through a new lens so that we can reflect upon the varied experiences that inform our musical expression.
We grew up in a world that divides billions of complex people into one of two categories. We’d never do that to colors. We’d never do that to flowers. We understand in most things that the more things that there are, the more beautiful they are. And not only that, not only do we divide them into two, we say that they have to be opposing and oppositional. Which means to be a woman means not to be a man. To be masculine means to be not feminine. That means there’s an internal war going on between us and inside of us… based off these preconceived ideas that focus on conflict over creativity.”
~Alok Vaid-Menon
REFRACTION | I Tell You Me
For the first ever Refraction series, we focused on Annika Socolofky’s critically acclaimed work I Tell You Me. The latest installment of her “feminist rager-lullaby for a new queer era" was recognized by the Chicago Tribune as “grotesquely gorgeous… among the most captivating compositions heard the whole festival” [Ear Taxi 2021] and was included in their “Chicago's Top 10 for classical music, opera and jazz that defined 2021”.
This concert featured two performances of I Tell You Me, the first by Amanda DeBoor Bartlett and the second by Annika Socolofsky. In the work, Annika draws from her personal experiences as she highlights societal perceptions of femininity and sexuality.
In between the two performances, a panel conversation led by Chicago’s own Hannah Edgar discussed the themes of the work to explore queerness and expression through the lens of performance and composition. Panel members included creatives Darian Donavan Thomas, Amanda DeBoor Bartlett, and Annika Socolofsky.
Refraction: I Tell You Me occurred on March 14, 2023 at the Center on Halsted’s Hoover-Leppen Theatre.
From left to right: Hannah Edgar, Annika Socolofsky, Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, and Darian Donovan Thomas
For my entire life, I have been told I do my gender wrong. For my entire life, I have been told that if I tamed my curly hair, I would be prettier. If I dressed like a girl, I wouldn’t be thrown out of the girls’ bathroom. If I wore different clothes, I would look more feminine. If my muscles weren’t so strong, I’d be less masculine. If I was less driven, I’d be more likable. If I presented as more feminine, I would be more attractive. If I was more attractive, I could get a boyfriend. If I just acted like a woman, I wouldn't cause so many problems. If I would just change every fiber of my being, I’d finally fit in.
For my entire life, I’ve been told who I ought to be. But they never asked me who I was.
~Annika Socolofsky, on I Tell You Me
I Tell You Me’s World Premiere Performance at the 2021 Ear Taxi Festival (Photo Credit: Forestt Strong LaFave)