Reimagine Virtual Candlelight Vigil with Ricky Ian Gordon
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Reimagine has been hosting candlelight vigils since March 2020, the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to break down taboos and hold space for all that we've lost. This gathering features Ricky Ian Gordon, award winning composer and author of the new memoir Seeing Through: A Chronicle of Sex, Drugs and Opera. The book spans his tumultuous youth on Long Island, his artistic collaborations and obsessions, the creation of his compositions, his addictions and the abuses he endured, and the loss of his partner to AIDS and the devastation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Our other featured guest is thom mason, a transformational coach, a survivor of sexual abuse, and a Reimagine community collaborator.
Ricky Ian Gordon was born in Oceanside, NY and raised on Long Island. After studying piano, composition, and acting, at Carnegie Mellon University, he settled in New York City, where he quickly emerged as a leading writer of vocal music that spans art song, opera, and musical theater. Gordon’s songs have been performed and recorded by Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Nathan Gunn, Judy Collins, Kelli O’Hara, Audra MacDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, and many others. His works include Dream True, Orpheus and Euridice, Green Sneakers for Baritone, String Quartet, Empty Chair, and Piano, The Grapes of Wrath, Intimate Apparel, Seeing Through, and This House, which receives its world premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis on May 31.
thom mason
thom is a recognized transformational coach who helps people find their inner joy. He holds certificates as a peer recovery specialist for those with substance-use disorder as well as a recovery support practitioner for those living with mental health issues. thom was licensed in North Carolina for seventeen years as a craniosacral massage therapist and offered prenatal massage care.
thom experienced childhood sexual abuse from age eight to age nineteen. Every single year since 2008, thom has lost someone close to him: family, friend or partner. Some very unexpectedly, some through terminal illness, and some through beautiful old age. Understanding trauma and understanding grief firsthand, thom knows exactly what it is like to live with, and more importantly, live through these debilitating seasons in our lives. His mission and passion is to lead others on their path to wellness using tools he has assembled to help ground others and help them experience joy once again.
thom lives in Ocean County, NJ with his fiancé Aniell, and their cat, Kitsu.
About Reimagine
Reimagine is a nonprofit organization catalyzing a uniquely powerful community–people of different backgrounds, ages, races, and faiths (and no faith) coming together in the hopes of healing ourselves and the world. We specifically support each other in facing adversity, loss, and mortality and – at our own pace – actively channeling life's biggest challenges into meaningful action and growth.
