jeffrey martín (mar-teen) — As a Black, queer, non-binary artist from the American South, Jeffrey utilizes filmmaking, musical composition, text, sculpture, and performance to create short films and video installations that interrogate and reposition the myths and realities of Southern Black, queer, and trans life. They situate their work in collective histories of black pop culture and political action, which Jeffrey visually reinterprets and conceptually remixes through various mediums; from experimental and documentary filmmaking to musical/technological improvisation. Jeffrey uses archival research, footage, images and musical improvisation as entry points to broadened narratives of black grief and joy.
A recent 2022 Halcyon Flagship Fellow for their work founding ENROOT Agricultural Management Cooperative — a farmer-owned development company transforming under-utilized real estate to combat the negative impacts of climate change and food apartheid — and candidate for Master of Fine Arts in Film Directing at the California Institute of the Arts, Jeffrey’s meditations on their Black body being used as an “institutional critique” has received honors from Forbes 30Under30 — winning their $1M Change the World Competition, Wharton Magazine 40 Under 40 — for their leadership as an alumnus, and been named on the Echoing Green Social Impact Talent Report — for their work in education, policy, start-ups and technology workforce development. Jeffrey is a contributing writer at 032c — a media and fashion company, and magazine that covers culture, art, music, fashion, and politics — based in Berlin, Germany. Jeffrey has a Master of Arts in Urban Education Policy from Brown University and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School.
david mccormick — Leading the charge for early music in the 21st century, David McCormick is a multi-instrumentalist, scholar, and educator recognized for curating imaginative performances, creating educational opportunities for students of all ages, and guiding prominent arts organizations through the challenges of our time.
In 2021, David takes the helm of Early Music America as its sixth executive director, with the ambition of creating a more inclusive, equitable space for all who engage with historical performance. He was previously executive director of Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival and Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, shepherding both organizations through pandemic-era challenges by creating dynamic virtual platforms.
As artistic director of Early Music Access Project, David plays baroque violin and vielle (medieval fiddle) and transforms thoughtful research into dynamic programming. He has adapted his research on 17th-century composer Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi as a Case Western Reserve University graduate student into a one-act murder mystery play, slated for performance at the 2022 Indianapolis Early Music Festival. In 2020, David was awarded a fellowship with the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies to investigate the repertoire of free and enslaved Black musicians associated with Monticello, culminating in an ongoing series of live and virtual concerts, the “Expanding the Narrative” web series, and an executive producer credit for the feature film Black Fiddlers (in production).
David is a founding member of Alkemie, a medieval ensemble based in New York City, with whom he has appeared at Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Music Before 1800, and Amherst Early Music Festival. He was also founding artistic director of Charlottesville-based baroque ensemble Three Notch’d Road, and has performed with Washington Bach Consort, Mountainside Baroque, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, and as featured guest artist for the Bach-Handel Festival at his alma mater, Shenandoah University. He is a 2017 recipient of Shenandoah Conservatory’s Rising Stars Alumni Award.
jeffrey martín + david mccormick
black fiddler, 2022
video | 3840 × 2160 | 10m:28s
jeffrey martín + david mccormick | directors + producers
jeffrey martin | research, archival, story, voiceover narration
david maccormick | research, archival, musician
beaux xavier | artist, animator
lanese love | editor