Rob Kapilow's American Journey
(1 x 1 hour and 1 x 2 hours )

In development.

Rob Kapilow's American Journey relates a composer's quest to connect an old and struggling art form with people who are not hearing their own voices in national musical art. It is also an opportunity to create classical music that speaks to young, urban audiences; that speaks to rural audiences; that is relevant in today's America.

This two-part documentary series follows Rob Kapilow's journeys in Washington D.C. and along the Lewis and Clark trail as he involves communities in the process of creating symphonies. His compositions explore American history and the past that makes us who we are as a nation. By creating classical music in a participatory way, and at the same time reaching out to communities and people who have rarely been exposed to classical music, Kapilow is attempting to change the way that people view classical music, to create new audiences, and to reinvigorate the symphonic art form. Through his collaborations with individuals such as Blackfeet writer and educator Darrell Robes Kipp and rapper Donnell Washington, Kapilow uses the medium of music to promote common understanding between cultures that are often very different.

Photo: Robert Kapilow at the Great Falls of Montana on the
Lewis and Clark Trail

Monuments: Writing History in Stone
(2 x 1 hour )

In development.

Monuments: Writing History in Stone is a two-hour television documentary series which explores the complex and often messy process of creating public memories in contemporary society. Complemented by an educational outreach initiative geared at high school and college students, this project will focus on the creation of two national memorials, one to World War II and the other to the September 11 th tragedy at the Pentagon, as a way of understanding how art, business, scholarship, politics and heated public debate transform world events into tangible public spaces, vessels for our collective memory. Each hour will focus on a specific memorial, tracing the personal journeys of those most closely connected to its creation - artists, activists, veterans, family members. Monuments: Writing History in Stone follows the memorial process from proposal to policy, from groundbreaking to dedication, from fundraising to raising dissent.

illume productions is producing Monuments: Writing History in Stone in conjunction with York Zimmerman Inc., an award winning production company in Washington DC.

York Zimmerman Inc.