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Two musical duos experimenting with sonic proximity. Two trombones playing through each other, two cellists playing one cello. Shared air, shared strings. What do we learn and unlearn in the closeness of touch? What gets organized and disorganized by nearness? The play with each other in at P.P.O.W. Gallery and then have a conversation about proximity, sound, embodiment, and politics. The faculty meeting was held during “Airhead” (June 28 - August 9, 2024) where it was broadcast live for Montez Press Radio.

The listener is not addressed.

-Teaching is an instrument that is not an extension of an individual

-Teaching is unreliable.

-Teaching is a proximity that is pushing apart, like a conflict of air.

-Teaching is a kind of resonance that is close but not quite.

Selendis Sebastian Alexander Johnson is a vibraphonist and trombonist. She organizes and leads performances of Black-American improvisation based music.

aj medeiros is a poet, musician and fine artist. She curates a monthly cross-collaborative show series in Queens.

Ethan Philbrick is a cellist, performance artist, writer, and curator. He holds a PhD in performance studies from New York University and has taught performance theory and practice at Pratt Institute, Muhlenberg College, New York University, Wesleyan College, Yale University, and The New School. He is currently curator-in-residence at The Poetry Project.

Justin Wong is a New York-based artist, educator, researcher, and arts worker. He has collaborated on choral and orchestral compositions and performances by artists including Holly Herndon, Lyra Pramuk, and Colin Self that have been performed at the Wiener Festwoche in Vienna, with the Rundfunkchor and Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, and MoMA PS1.

Miss Othmar is the name of that teacher of Charlie Brown that’s heard and never seen. Her voice carries no words and transmits no facts. Her professing is an undulating song. Nevertheless C.B. and his classmates seem to follow along.

Miss Othmar is teaching over radio. "Miss Othmar's Meetings with Teachers" is a series that collects the voices of different teachers and facilitators from a variety of fields and their approaches to leading the listener through exercises over radio.

Timmy Simonds is an artist interested in the ways we perceive education and our expectations of the teacher cross culturally. He broadcasts regularly with Montez Press Radio and Wave Farm's WGXC 90.7-FM.