Where We Find Ourselves
“Where We Find Ourselves emerged as the work of a skilled choral composer, employing accessible tonal language without cloying consonance, clear text setting, and enough complexity to challenge listener and performer alike. It was also well within the capabilities of a good high school chorus, showing a strong understanding of the different vocal ranges.”
Program Note
Where We Find Ourselves is inspired by an exhibit and book of the same name, which feature the portraits of Hugh Mangum, a photographer who lived in Durham, North Carolina during the Jim Crow era. He is unique in that he photographed people of diverse racial and economic backgrounds and was incredibly sensitive to the details in the portraits: the clothing, hair, expression, and physicality he captured truly represent humanity’s richness. It is significant that his work reflects racial diversity during a time of violent segregation. As Margaret Sartor, on of the curators and authors of the book, Where We Find Ourselves, observes, his portraits “indicate that an unbiased and open-door policy existed in his studio.”
These portraits are from a set of glass plate negatives that were found years after Mangum’s death in a family barn. Over time, these negatives were damaged and so the photographs developed signs of wear and some distortions—all of which add to the richness of experiencing them as we consider the passage of time and the gaps between what we think we know about a person based on their appearance and who they truly are.
The message of these photographs, that we must look and listen deeper to one another, and that while much time has passed, our country still has so much work to do to overcome racism, is timely and urgent.
“We were so grateful for the opportunity to have a Q&A session with Michael and Shantel. To hear the perspective of the composer and lyricist was powerful for my students and answered many questions we all had about the process. After the experience, one of my students, emailed me to say it was one of the most meaningful events of this school year for her. We will use the responses and stories moving forward as we continue our work with Identity, personal, and perceived of ourselves and others.”
— Christina Flateau and the Woodsville High School Choirs
The Creative Team
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Michael Bussewitz-Quarm
Composer, Educator,
Guest Speaker -
Shantel Sellers
Author, Historian
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Margaret Sartor
Writer, Photographer, and Duke University Instructor
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Alex Harris
Photographer and Duke University Emeritus Professor of the Practice
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Dr. Sherry Boyd
Humanities Coordinator for Dallas College
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Tina Sayers
M.M., Executive Director, Maple Seed Creative Consulting, LLC