Choral Marx: Manifesto for the Communist Party in Eight Movements

A Performance by Performance Studies alum Ethan Philbrick (M.A. '12, Ph.D. '18)

Choral Marx is a singing adaptation of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’s Manifesto for the Communist Party composed by Ethan Philbrick. It is a piece for mixed chorus—mixed not just in terms of gendered voice parts but also in terms of training and ability—made up of vocalists from both the contemporary music scene and socialist organizing communities, accompanied by the composer on cello. Choral Marx re-sounds Marx and Engels’s 1848 critique of capitalism in 2018 and explores the resonance of the Manifesto today.

Ethan Philbrick, a Brooklyn-based composer and writer, has performed original work in New York at BRIC, SculptureCenter, Abrons Arts Center and the Grey Art Gallery. His writing has been published in TDR, PAJ, Women and Performance, Studies in Gender and Sexuality and Movement Research Performance Journal. He is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies at Muhlenberg College. 

Performed by:
Benjamin Bath
Gelsey Bell (M.A. '06, Ph.D. '15)
Sarah Chihaya
Hai-ting Chinn
Tomás Cruz
Amirtha Kidambi
Logan Pitts
Gizelxanath Rodriguez
Ryan Tracy

Assistant Director:
Kristen Holfeuer (M.A. '17, Ph.D. Candidate)

Costume Designer:
effie bowen

Co-sponsored by NYU Skirball.