Penn faculty Brooke O’Harra (center, standing), director, collaborated with Tyshawn Sorey (center, seated), music composer, to create a production of the book-length poem “Be Holding” by Ross Gay, in partnership with Girard College in Philadelphia. The quartet Yarn/Wire performed the music, including pianists Julia Den Boer (left) and Laura Barger (second from left), and percussionist Sae Hashimoto (right). (Image: Ryan Collerd)

Ross Gay’s Be Holding takes over Girard College’s Armory gym

Photo by Ryan Collerd

Poetry in the Paint

An iconic NBA Finals shot inspires a breathtaking meditation on Black genius

Photo by Ryan Collerd

Ross Gay’s ode to Julius Erving and the legacy of Black genius is the basis of a new music composition and performance at Girard College.

Photo by Emma Lee/WHYY

Tyshawn Sorey, front, the composer and multi-instrumentalist, who wrote the music for “Be Holding,” a show opening in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Credit...Rachel Wisniewski for The New York Times

FILE - Philadelphia 76ers center Julius Erving (6) goes up and around the basket to score against Los Angeles Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) during first period action in fifth game of NBA Championships in Los Angeles, Ca., May 14, 1980. (AP Photo, File)

Be Holding Logo

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TL: Brooke O’Harra; TR: Ross Gay; BL: Yarn/Wire; BR: Tyshawn Sorey

Photos by Various

The Creative Team behind Be Holding

Photo by Max Pendergast