Bed-Stuy Teens Take on Beethoven

A collaboration of six Bed-Stuy teens known as “The Swaggbrarians,” from the , have been named as a finalist in ’s Beethoven Remix Project.

Brooklyn Phil put out an open call to Brooklyn-based DJ’s and sound artists in the summer of 2011 to remix the finale of Beethoven’s Third Symphony (the Eroica). The Swaggbrarians were among the five finalists selected late February, making them the youngest contenders and the only group.

The other finalists include composer and multi-instrumentalist Dan Friel; electronic musician and cultural activist Boima Tucker; composer Andrew “Komplexx” McLean; and DJ and producer DJ Eddie Marz.

Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony was performed by the Brooklyn Philharmonic at its very first concert in 1857. As a tribute to the orchestra’s 154 year-old history, it will play one movement of Eroica at every concert throughout 2012-- each one intended to reflect the neighborhood in which it will be performed.

The winner will be announced later this month, and their remix will be arranged by chamber and orchestral composer Andrew Norman,  whose work has been praised by The New York Times as “pulsing with adrenalin and rich in vigorous bowing effects and antiphonal give-and-take.”  

The final arrangement will be performed by Brooklyn Phil at its Bed-Stuy Orchestra Concert on June 9. In addition, Brooklyn Phil plans to distribute 2,000 free copies of the finalists' remixes to the audience at the June 9 concert.

The orchestra already has performed the opening movement of Eroica at the Brighton Beach Orchestra Concert where it was paired with a Russian film by Akop Kirakosyan. And March 24 and 25, the scherzo will be performed in a 19th-Century reimagining during the Brooklyn Village concerts at Roulette, as part of the Brooklyn Phil’s Downtown Brooklyn Series.