Catching up with Rhiannon Giddens
An illuminating afternoon with the Southern Futures Artist-in-Residence
It’s been a busy year for Rhiannon Giddens. Since finishing her propulsive new opera, Omar — set to make its North Carolina debut this spring — the Southern Futures Artist-in-Residence hasn’t stopped moving. The past few months have been especially hectic, with trips to New York, Los Angeles and Dublin, as well as other, more far-flung locations. Between these events, as well as the recent launch of her new children’s book, “Build a House,” moments of rest must have been hard to come by.
Fortunately, last week’s visit to Chapel Hill gave Giddens a chance to regroup and reconnect with her North Carolina roots. Though the schedule was predictably packed, she had the chance to meet with community members and Carolina Performing Arts staff to discuss opportunities for collaboration. Early in the week, she also spent some time diving into the Louis Round Wilson Library’s robust archives in search of new material.
Giddens’ trip culminated on Wednesday, October 19, when she stopped by Epilogue Books to promote her new children’s book. Seated before the audience, a banjo at her side, she read from “Build a House,” an alternately harrowing and uplifting story of a Black family’s resilience in the face of sorrow and dispossession. Paired with painter Monica Mikai’s striking illustrations, Giddens’ words ably captured the attention of both the children and the adults in attendance. And, as a special treat, Giddens performed her song of the same name, composed for the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth in collaboration with world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
After the reading and performance, Giddens stuck around to sign books and take questions from the audience. During the Q&A she spoke on a wide range of topics, from “Build a House” to her long journey through the music world, often with refreshing honesty.
“I didn’t pick up any instruments until I was 23,” she told the audience, when asked about her musical development. “I was bad for a while. That was helpful, I think. It’s good to break yourself down to the basics, good to be willing to suck.”
As one might expect, the audience was especially keen to hear about the the making of Omar. Giddens was open and authoritative on the subject. Again and again, she underlined the collaborative nature of the project, and she discussed the work of Michael Abels, her co-composer, in glowing terms. Though she admitted that composing an opera for the first time was a significant challenge, she said Abels eased much of this challenge, helping her to stick to a more structured process. In addition, she spoke of her thrill at the idea that the form might be more familiar than she’d initially expected. Only, in Omar, she said, “the whole orchestra is a banjo.”
Toward the end of the Q&A, Giddens took a moment to discuss Omar ibn Said, the opera’s historical inspiration. She was quick to note that, though the opera contains many elements pulled from ibn Said’s 1831 autobiography, it takes a greater interest in the enslaved West African scholar’s internal, spiritual journey than it does in bare biographical facts. She stressed the need for further exploration of ibn Said’s whole story, given its cross-cultural connections. “This story should be told from multiple vantage points,” she said. “Omar is just me trying to find one way — my way — through the story.”
Here’s hoping more artists of Giddens’ caliber take up the challenge.
Special Event: “Build a House” with Rhiannon Giddens
Join us at Epilogue Book Café on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 4 PM for a very special book reading, signing, and Q&A with Build a House author, MacArthur Fellowship recipient, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and Southern Futures Artist-in-Residence Rhiannon Giddens.
“Build a House”: A Sit Down and Signing with Author Rhiannon Giddens
YOU BROUGHT ME HERE TO BUILD YOUR HOUSE…
African Americans were forcibly enslaved and brought to this land to build houses they were not allowed to live in, tend to families who were not their own, and sow the seeds that fed a nation — while being left with only scraps themselves. They were not expected to thrive. But they did.
In her picture book debut from Candlewick Press, MacArthur Fellowship recipient, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and Southern Futures Artist-in-Residence Rhiannon Giddens depicts a family’s resilience in the face of violence and sorrow. They are determined not just to survive, but also to tell their own story.
Based on the song “Build A House,” composed for the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth and performed with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Giddens’s stirring text is paired with moving illustrations by Monica Mikai. Build a House confronts the history of slavery in America by telling the story of a courageous people who would not be moved and the music that sustained them through untold challenges. Steeped in sorrow and joy, resilience and resolve, turmoil and transcendence, this dramatic debut offers a proud view of history and a vital message for readers of all ages: honor your heritage, express your truth, and let your voice soar, even — or perhaps especially — when your heart is heaviest.
Epilogue Book Café, Candlewick Press, and Carolina Performing Arts are thrilled to present this family event.
Rhiannon Giddens will be in Chapel Hill to continue her Southern Futures research. As an artist-in-residence at Carolina Performing Arts, Giddens is focused on celebrating the cultural contributions and the impact of Black and Indigenous populations that resided — and helped to build — Chapel Hill.
Carolina Performing Arts will present Giddens’ powerful new opera, Omar, Feb. 25-26, 2023. The spring season will be announced Nov. 1, 2022. Public on-sale for Omar and other spring events begins Nov. 15, 2022.
