We Gather - Film and New Music Commission
We Gather: Black Life in Santa Monica told through Music, Visuals, and Narrative is a music-based documentary film produced by Orchestra Santa Monica and created with our talented partners: Derrick Skye (composer), Robbie Jones (community historian, Santa Monica native), and Kevin McCants (fine artist). Set to original music composed by Skye and performed by OSM musicians, historic to present-day scenes tell moving and compelling stories about Santa Monica’s Black community. To view We Gather, you can play the embedded film on OSM’s website or visit “WE GATHER” on Vimeo. Following the introduction, there are three movements: 1) Mending the Chasm [start 2:00], 2) Front Porch View [start 08:17], and 3) Bay Street Beach [start 14:22].
To learn more about this special project and the themes presented in the film, please read “We Gather” film notes.
Live showings of We Gather have been presented at the California African American Museum, Calvary Baptist Church of Santa Monica, the Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium of the Santa Monica Main Library, the Thelma Terry Community Building at Virginia Avenue Park, and more. We Gather has also been featured online by KUSC’s Play On, California! blog, the Santa Monica History Museum, and numerous local cultural arts organizations.
To present this film and for more information, please contact the OSM office. This film is made possible in part by Art of Recovery, an initiative of the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs.
We Gather Suite for Orchestra (New music commission)
Following the film release, OSM commissioned Skye to expand the studio version of We Gather to a full orchestra version which would yield a wider variety of sounds, colors and textures. The result was the piece, “We Gather Suite for Full Orchestra” which had its world premiere in early 2023.