JUDICANTI RESPONSURA is a Los Angeles based chamber music ensemble formed in
1984 by tubaist William Roper and percussionist Joseph Mitchell.
Other personnel are added as need dictates. Our purpose is to perform our own
compositions and generate works from area composers.
We specialize in works incorporating Euro-Classical and
African-American improvisational traditions. Our repertoire
ranges from purely musical compositions to multi-media,
multi-disciplinary works.
Typical of our programing was our performance on March 2 when we presented Joseph Mitchell's setting of Walt Whitman's Ethiopia Saluting the Colors. Followed by William Roper's Clarinet Rap, originally a monolog from the one-act Instruments of Decision, a collaboration with Dan Kwong. That was followed by Glenn Horiuchi's Epitaph for a Hangman, composed for William Roper. Lewis Anderson's lyrics to Strange Fruit accompanied Glenn's music. Next was NOT my familiar rendition of Myron O'Higgins' Blues for Bessie, with Joseph's composition of the same name, but a wilder version backed and interspurced with free improvisation. Our half of the program closed with Duke Ellington's Come Sunday. This program was presented on the Vocal Lounge series at the Salvation Theater in Los Angeles.
An example of a program without spoken word was our March 3 performance, that for the most part was an evening of music by Joseph Mitchell. We opened with his second line inspired Regal Leasoning followed Roper's tuba solo Juneteenth. Next was Mitchell's vibraphone feature Use Perfect English. Closing with Joseph's new composition Requiescat in Pace.
This program was presented by the Open Gate Theatre Sunday Evening Concert Series at the Eagle Rock Community Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
contact: William Roper - kyanite@pacbell.net
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