NEW YORK — Composer Troy Anthony often says “Rehearsal is The Thing."
His moto means everyday we call practice ways to be excellent and honor the ways we may fall short.
Rehearsal, perhaps, comes naturally to him.
Growing up as a Seventh-Day Adventist, Anthony says his mom would host choir rehearsal at her house.
There, he saw people come together to support one another through all of life’s hardship and grow stronger through music.
“When it came down to what I would write, what came out of me was this mixture of, like, gospel and R&B and all these other things, Anthony said. "Even though Christianity, it's not something I really subscribe to anymore, it surprised me how much that music really stuck with me."
From a Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS) graduate to singing in the West Louisville Boys Choir, the soul of Louisville crafted Anthony's talents.
"I had a lot of beautiful musical influence and when I looked back, I realized how incredible those experiences were, how rich the culture was that I was getting in Louisville," he said.
Far away him his mother's living room choir practices, Anthony created a new music home in New York with the Fire Ensemble, a pop-up choir where like-minded voices can come together and express themselves.
Now, people from all walks of life are invited to rehearsal, whether they come in for one practice or come to all 10 during the season.
“Spaces where we can practice, where we don't have to be perfect all the time, where we get to say, ‘let me try that again’, where we offer grace to each other. Where we help each other out, and say, ‘I think I know the note…let me help you’…and if we can figure out how to translate that into everyday life, into the real world, I think we would be a better place,” Anthony said.
Recently, the West End native was selected as the 2024-2025 Helen Stambler Neuberger Artist-in-Residence by National Dance Institute (NDI). Here, he'll continue his work of bringing people together through music.
Anthony is also the first musician awarded a residency with NDI.
"Over time, I've just developed this way of working that I think is interesting and unique. That really centers collective liberation, that centers an intergenerational sort of healing experience, that centers radical relationships, and also that we can be excellent, that we are innately creative, and we can do things really well, even if we're not professionals,” he said.
This artist residency also coincides with Anthony’s newest work called "The Revival: It Is Our Duty” coming out in summer 2025.
It’s a blend of gospel, R&B, jazz, and musical theater traditions, all things he learned while growing up in Louisville.
“I knew that I wanted to make something that felt like a celebration or joyful, but I also knew that a lot of people, especially in the pandemic, were really not feeling that or feeling kind of low, and so I knew I needed to write the only thing that I could think of that takes people from point A of sadness to point B of joy, was a revival,” he said.
Joy is the center of Anthony’s work.
For him, as a Black queer man, joy is revolution but like everything else in his life: he is in rehearsal.
“I’ve learned sometimes that joy is hard won. You know, it doesn't mean everything is going well. Sometimes, in my darkest nights, I need to remember that joy is possible, joy is available. And so there's a resilience inside of it that I think makes it more potent, but it also says, there are no limitations on the joy and how I express it,” he said.
He says he does plan to bring some of this joy back to Louisville if given the chance. Anthony said it might be a bit scary because the talent in Louisville is unmatched.
“I might be a little intimidated, but I also would do it with an open heart and as a thank you. I think people in Louisville would resonate with what I'm doing, literally, because I've made it from the soil of that place, and so I think it would be so fun to do a concert there or a workshop choir leading to a concert,” Anthony said.
If you want updates on his upcoming projects like his upcoming album "The Revival: This is Our Duty" or to learn more about the Fire Ensemble you can check out Anthony's Instagram and website.
