Antigone in Ferguson: A Journey Through the Transformative Power of Music

Ferguson - Michael Brown - Greek Tragedy - Transformative Music - Dynamic Conversations

Antigone in Ferguson shares the truth about justice as experienced on stage with spirit-felt, soulful, & captivating music composed and directed by Dr. Philip A. Woodmore in a unique adaptation written by Bryan Doerries of Theater of War Productions. In this book, you will discover the transformative power of music (when interwoven with the drama of Greek tragedy) to change people's thinking and actions regarding injustice on the macro and micro level in our modern society. This transformation in thinking leads to healing discussions that produce effective, pervasive and long-lasting actions. Dr. Philip A. Woodmore will be your guide as we investigate and interrogate the journey to this thrilling transformation. Dr. Woodmore is a nationally recognized music educator who specializes in composition, vocal coaching, choral curriculum and programming, and collaborative rehearsing. Using his expertise, he has composed an original score and lyrics to Sophocles's tragedy, Antigone, which has become an Off-Broadway smash-hit known as Antigone in Ferguson.

About the Author
Woodmore, Philip A.: - Saint Louis native, Dr. Philip A. Woodmore has been an active member of the St. Louis music community for many years. Phil received his bachelors from Saint Louis University in Business Marketing and Music Vocal Performance and then went on to receive his masters from Webster University in Music Education. He recently graduating with his PhD in Music Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia. His research interest are the changing voice and voice pedagogy and his dissertation is on the transformative power of music in the choral setting using the auditioned choir in the Off-Broadway run of Antigone in Ferguson. Phil taught choir one year at Ferguson and Berkley Middle Schools in the Ferguson-Florissant School District and then went on to become the choir director at Crestview Middle School in the Rockwood School District where he taught for 12 years. Along with his work in Rockwood, Phil was the Coordinator of the Voice Program at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) and the artist director of the Allegro Music Company from 2008-2017, has been the director of the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department Choir since 2009, was the director of the Northern Arizona University Gospel Choir from 2014-2017, Artist in Residency for the State of Arizona for a two year term 2016-2018, minister of music at Trinity Community Church from 1992-2018, and vocal coach to many in the St. Louis and New York. In August 2016 Phil was asked to compose an original score of a version of Antigone translated by Bryan Doerries called Antigone in Ferguson which has been traveling the country for the past four years and premiered internationally in Athens, Greece in June 2016. Since the success of Antigone in Ferguson, Phil has written an original score for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s last sermon The Drum Major Instinct and also for a speech by Frederick Douglass. In 2018 The Drum Major Instinct premiered in Athens, Greece and was performed on several college campuses during the 2018-2019 school year. In 2018 Antigone in Ferguson ran in an Off-Broadway theater in New York for a five-week workshop and in 2019 it ran for ten-weeks at the St. Ann and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, New York. Philip is excited for several collaborations in 2021 including a production of Pirates of Penzance in which Phil's company P. Woodmore Music, LLC will be a producing partner and will provide all the music for the show. Phil joined the Muny family for the 2020 summer season and he is looking forward to a great partnership as the Music Director for Muny Kids. For more information on Dr. Philip A. Woodmore please visit www.philipawoodmore.com