Forward Music Project elevates stories of feminine empowerment through socially-conscious commissioning, raw performances, and educational initiatives.
The music of FMP directly engages with the world we live in by valuing vulnerability and unrelentless realism. These works are performed through the lens of solo cello by FMP founder and performer Amanda Gookin, electronics, video art by S Katy Tucker, and audio interludes by the composers. In performance, Amanda sings, chants, fights, gasps, and breathes life into these new works.
Presented by The Kennedy Center, Park Avenue Armory, National Sawdust and educational programs in the midwest where young women first discover their voices through music, the message of FMP since its inception in 2015 is unwavering: in the fight for radical empathy and feminine empowerment, you are not alone.
During the world premiere of the first seven solo cello and electronics commissions, Bruce Hodges of The Strad magazine wrote, "Gookin's focus and ferocity - coupled with expert technical work - made her message unforgettable."