Julius Eastman was a trailblazing minimalist composer and a young, gay, and Black artist who challenged the norms and conventions of his time. Eastman was one of the most overlooked and underappreciated composers of the 20th century, and a pioneer of “organic music,” a compositional style that combines repetition, improvisation, and gradual transformation of musical material.

Los Angeles-based musical collective Wild Up, founded by University of Michigan alumnus Christopher Rountree, is dedicated to celebrating Eastman’s legacy by actively performing and recording his catalog of known works. Days after Wild Up’s UMS performance of Femenine in April, the ensemble filmed this 20-minute digital presentation featuring two additional pieces by Julius Eastman.