Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins Born May 25, 1849; 'The Ballad of Blind Tom' is on Elton John's album 'The Diving Board' due out in September 2013

[The Ballad of Blind Tom, Slave Pianist: America's Lost Musical Genius; Deirdre O’Connell; Overlook Press (2009)]

Elton and drummer Jay Bellerose on stage at

Capitol Records Studio A – April 11, 2013.

(Photo: Joseph Guay)

Deirdre O'Connell answered our inquiry about news of the pianist and composer Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (1849-1908) for our birthday post for May 25:

Hi Bill,

Yes by chance some most interesting news. Elton John's new album The Diving Board is due for release in Sept 2013. It includes a 7 minute piece entitled The Ballad of Blind Tom, a tribute to Blind Tom Wiggins!!!

More details here.

Also Stephanie Jensen-Moulton's article for American Music Review is not particularly new (2011), but it offers some good insights.

http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/isam/publications/AMR/2011_Spring/article2.html

Regards,

Deirdre

Elton John

The next song was Ballad Of Blind Tom, also about an actual person; in this case "Blind Tom" Wiggins: a 19th-century slave whose being an autistic savant and piano prodigy took him off the plantation and made him one of the most popular performers of his time in America. The lyric here shifts from third person in the verses ("His black hands resting on the keys / Hoppin’ like a big old frog / And hissin’ like a train...") to first person in the chorus ("Play me anything you like / I'll play it back to you…") as Motown legend Jack Ashford locks the rhythm down on tambourine. 

Thomas“Blind Tom” Wiggins (1849-1908) was an African American pianist and composer. He was a blind and autistic slave who nevertheless was a musical genius. He is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a complete Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com

Since 2009, interest in the life and music of Thomas Wiggins has been increased due to the work of Deirdre O'Connell, an Australian writer whose highly readable biography is The Ballad of Blind Tom, Slave Pianist: America's Lost Musical Genius.  The book's website is: http://www.blindtom.org/ Performances of piano works composed by Wiggins have become more numerous in recent years.

His profile at AfriClassical.com is based primarily on the book Blind Tom, The Black Pianist-Composer: Continually Enslaved, by the late Professor Geneva Handy Southall, who devoted her academic career to Wiggins. She points out that he never really gained his freedom or the control of his own earnings, even after the Civil War. 

'L'Académie has been able to share the healing joy of music with roughly 100 people each week at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute'

"If I can make a 6 year-old girl smile, I've done my job."          ~Principal gamba player Andrew Arceci

L'Académie has been able to share the healing joy of music with roughly 100 people each week at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The impact is immediate and positive and it’s because of YOUR support. Every chamber music program is carefully curated by our musicians to present the most joyful and healing musical experience. Each performance is received with tears, smiles, words of gratitude and MANY iPhone recordings of the performances.

"Lunch can wait, the patients can wait. I don't know much about music, but THIS is EVERYTHING." ~visiting physician from Brigham and Women's Hospital

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NPR Presents 'Imani Winds: Tiny Desk Concert' with Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring' performed as 'an epic in miniature'

NPR.org
Imani Winds in Tiny Desk Concert

Download Audio 17 min 17 sec

May 23, 2013 Imani Winds' members play David to Igor Stravinsky's imposing Goliath, as they shrink the massive Rite of Spring down to size in a rendition for just five wind instruments. The result is an epic in miniature — and a performance perfect for a Tiny Desk.

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by Tom Huizenga

When Igor Stravinsky began composing The Rite of Spring, his ballet for vast symphonic forces, he could hear the music in his head but couldn't quite figure out how to write it down. It was just too complicated.

Today, 100 years after The Rite's premiere, the fearless musicians of Imani Winds make it all sound remarkably easy, given that they've condensed Stravinsky's massive walls of sound down to just five instruments: bassoon, clarinet, flute (doubling on piccolo), oboe and French horn.

Make no mistake: Many of the jagged rhythms and crunching chords remain viscerally intact, albeit on a more intimate scale. As the group huddled behind Bob Boilen's desk, bassoonist Monica Ellis noted the opposing ratios, saying, "It's apropos in some strange way that we are playing one of the most massive pieces in some of the smallest instrumentation in one of the smallest settings that it could possibly be played in."

The setting might be small, but in this clever arrangement by Jonathan Russell, we learn that a wind quintet, when called upon, can make a mighty and sonorous wail. Just listen to how the Imanis cap off "Dances of the Young Girls" with the entire quintet in full cry (at about 4:30 into the video). The bassoon repeats a fat bass line while the clarinet runs its snaky scales. The piccolo, in piercing chirps, serves as a foil to a frenzied oboe and snarling "whoops" from the French horn.

But not everything in The Rite is all pound and grind. Stravinsky's transparent introduction, almost impressionistic, is a fluttering aviary of winds — even in the original — with individual colorings for each instrument. It's all rendered beautifully here by Imani Winds, musicians brave enough to play David to Igor Stravinsky's imposing Goliath.

Selections from The Rite of Spring:

• Introduction
• Augurs of Spring
• Dances of the Young Girls
• Ritual of Abduction
• Spring Rounds
• Dance of the Earth
• Sacrificial Dance: The Chosen One

Credits

Producers: Tom Huizenga, Stephen Thompson; Editor: Gabriella Garcia-Pardo; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Denise DeBelius, Becky Lettenberger, Stephen Thompson; photo by Marie McGrory/NPR 

New Journal & Guide Online: 'Ches. highway marker honors Free Black' Justin Holland

Justin Holland, featured at AfriClassical.com, was honored by unveiling of the above historical marker on May 2, 2013 by the Norfolk County Historical Society of Chesapeake, Virginia
(Photo: New Journal & Guide Online)

Dr. Ella P. Ward is a Council Member 

of the City of Chesapeake, Virginia

New Journal & Guide Online

Wednesday 22 May 2013

By Dr. Ella P. Ward

Special to the New Journal and Guide

 

    Chesapeake City Council and the Norfolk County Historical Society  unveiled the VDHR Highway Marker WP-13 on Thursday, May 2, 2013 at the corner of George Washington Highway and Shell Road. This historic marker for Justin Holland is the first marker for an African American and for any individual in the city of Chesapeake. Justin Holland, a world renowned classical musician, arranger, and teacher of the guitar and guitar pedagogy, was born a free African in America in Norfolk County (now Chesapeake) on May 19, 1819. Holland published over 300 arrangements and two books that were the premier guitar method for instruction books all over the world for more than 50 years.

     Holland discovered a songbook of words and began creating his own tunes to sing at the age of 8. After the death of both of his parents, Holland, at age 14, left Virginia for Boston, Massachusetts because of its reputation as a city of artistic culture and a city where people of color were faced with fewer obstacles to gaining an education than in Virginia. Holland applied and was accepted at the prestigious Oberlin Collegiate Institute in Ohio in 1841 where he studied and perfected the guitar.

     He also studied and spoke fluently Spanish, Italian, and French. Holland created Holland’s Comprehensive Method for the Guitar instruction book for students and a second smaller text titled Holland’s Modern Method. Both works were acclaimed by critics in New York as the best works of musical instruction that had ever been produced in America or Europe.

Resource: Norfolk County Historical Society Unveiling  Ceremony.

Orlando Chamber Soloists, Including Violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins, Perform 'Scottish Airs and Fantasy' at Piccolo Spoleto Festival 3 PM May 24, 2013

Kelly Hall-Tompkins

as member of

Orlando Chamber Soloists

Perform Opening Concert for the

Piccolo Spoleto Festival

~Spotlight Concert Series~

Scottish Airs and Fantasy

Friday May 25th at 3pm

Trinity United Methodist Church

Charleston, South Carolina

Chicago Sinfonietta's "City-Scapes," June 9 including 'Shards of Serenity' of Jonathan Bailey Holland

Jonathan Bailey Holland

www.jonathanbaileyholland.com/newsite 

On May 4, 2013 AfriClassical posted: Chicago Sinfonietta Concludes 25th Season With 'City-Scapes' Including 'Shards of Serenity' of Jonathan Bailey Holland June 8 & 9, 2013

Sunday, June 9

3:00 pm

At Orchestra Hall of Symphony Center,

220 S. Michigan Avenue

ChiScapes has been curated by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon.  The composers and their architectural muses include:

·        Armando Bayolo: the Modern Wing of the Art Institute Chicago, designed by Renzo Piano

·        Vivian Fung (winner of the 2013 Juno® Award for “Classical Composition of the Year”): the Aqua building designed by Jeanne Gang

·        Jonathan Holland: S. R. Crown Hall, designed by Ludwig Mies van de Rohe

·        Chris Rogerson: Jay Pritzker Pavilion of Millennium Park, designed by Frank Gehry

The City-Scapes program also includes these other urban- and architecture-themed works:

·        Duke Ellington’s Harlem

·        Johann Strauss’ Tales from the Vienna Wood

·        Jennifer Higdon’s river sings a song to trees

·        Michael Daugherty’s Red Cape Tango

Conductor: Sinfonietta Music Director Mei-Ann Chen

Single tickets range from $26 to $50 for the Chicago Sinfonietta at Symphony Center, with special $10 pricing available for students.  Tickets can be purchased by calling the Chicago Sinfonietta at 312-236-3681 ext. 2 or online at www.chicagosinfonietta.org.

[Duke Ellington (1899-1974) is featured at AfriClassical.com]

Eric Conway: 'Joseph Eubanks, former Morgan Music Chair and Choir Director passed away'

Dr. Eric Conway of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland writes:

Hello everyone,

It is with a heavy heart that I must share the news of the passing of Joseph Eubanks, former Morgan State University Chairperson of the Music Department and Choir Director.  Joseph Eubanks passed away on Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 11:45 a.m.  He was 88 years old. His body was donated to science.  

The family will have a memorial service on Sunday, June 9, 2013 at 3:00 PM at Faith Presbyterian Church on 5400 Loch Raven Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21239.  Please share this information with anyone that might want to attend this memorial. Thank you.

Eric Conway, D.M.A.

Fine and Performing Arts Department, Chairperson

Morgan State University

'Symphony No. 1 in E Minor' of Florence B. Price can be purchased from 'A-R Editions, Music of the United States of America'

Florence B. Price: Concerto in One Movement and Symphony in E Minor

Recorded Music of the African Diaspora, Vol. 3

 CBMR/Albany Records TROY1295 (2011)

MUSA: Music of the United States of America, Vol. 19
Florence Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3
Edited by Rae Linda Brown and Wayne Shirley
(Provided by Janet Harper, Reference Librarian, CBMR) 

Florence B. Price (1887-1953) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List and a Bibliography by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com.  Yesterday a visitor to AfriClassical.com asked where the Symphony No. 1 in E Minor of Florence B. Price can be purchased.

We forwarded the inquiry to the Reference Librarians at the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College Chicago, cbmrref@colum.edu.  The CBMR promptly replied that the work may be purchased from the publisher,  A-R Editions for the Music of the United States of America (MUSA) series: https://www.areditions.com/rr/rra/a066.html. 

The publisher notes that the publication consists of Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3, both Edited by Rae Linda Brown

Comment by email:

Bill, Thanks for the entry and for giving us credit.  The attachment is a scan of thecover of the score that you may use if you want to.  People are very visual. 
Though you say it is purchasing information for the score, your readers may still 
think it is purchasing info for the CD.  Janet  [Janet Harper, Reference 
Librarian, CBMR]

'How can we engage young singers to champion repertoire of Langston Hughes among others?'

Langston Hughes (1902-1967)(Wikipedia identifies this as a 1936 photo by Carl Van Vechten)

Today we present excerpts from messages received from Jim Mastracco:

I'm a member of the Washington Men's Camerata - how can we engage young singers to champion repertoire of Langston Hughes among others? 

My thoughts about this, perhaps better stated  -   what is to become of the male choral repertoire - particularly when the 'instruments of performance' are fewer and farther between? 

I came across a recording that featured Sydney Poitier reading poetry of Langston Hughes and others:  

(link about it here -  http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/04/22/specials/hughes-abused.html - 

and here 

http://www.allmusic.com/album/sidney-poitier-reads-poetry-of-the-black-man-mw0001681149

and went out and got the recording.   My admiration for Poitier going back to seeing To Sir With Love as kid, which for sure influenced my interests in becoming a teacher,   -  aside - I was interested in what came of the men's chorus that was also on the recording.   It occurred to me, that it would be interesting to redo - the recording - perhaps as a roadcast, or something  with an assortment of actors -  to the extent that I would be in a position to do this,  as a mechanism, or vehicle to interest younger singers. 

Years ago in college, my glee club sang in a massed chorus with Wendell Whalum directing.   The Camerata, some years ago  (as I may have written) gave a full concert dedicated to Hughes' poetry, so I do have some understanding of the history - and connections, but for sure am by no means a scholar - and your blog is extraordinary.    ( I found it purely researching the life of Henry Lewis.) 

I taught at an urban arts school for a brief period a few years ago, and I was struck that my rudimentary knowledge of this music (not to mention jazz)  was better than young people growing up in and or near the birthplace of Duke Ellington.

Feel free to extract what you wish for your blog.

Jim   

Jessie Montgomery named Sphinx Virtuosi's Inaugural Composer-in-Residence

Jessie Montgomery (Jiyang Chen)

AfriClassical has been writing about Jessie Montgomery, whose website is
www.jessiemontgomery.com,    since 2008, when she was a violinist in the Providence String Quartet.  That same year, we heard a YouTube video of a composition she wrote and performed with the group, Strum.

Sphinx Organization

The Sphinx Virtuosi Composer-in-Residence program serves as an important avenue to engage young composers of color in new commissions and arrangements for the ensemble. The 2013 Sphinx Virtuosi Composer-in-Residence Partnership has been funded by a gift from Linda and Stuart Nelson. "We are incredibly excited about this partnership and the opportunity to share great new music with audiences across the country.  We thank Linda and Stuart Nelson for their vision and commitment to our mission!" said Afa Sadykhly Dworkin, Artistic Director and Vice-President of Programming of the Sphinx Organization.

Jessie Montgomery, Sphinx alumna and violinist of the Catalyst Quartet, has been named the Inaugural Sphinx Virtuosi Composer-in-Residence.  This Fall, Montgomery's works will be featured during the 2013 Sphinx Virtuosi tour which includes the ensemble’s 10th anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall.  "I am thrilled to be selected as the Inaugural Composer-in-Residence for the Sphinx Virtuosi!  I look forward to the opportunity this position offers me to create new works that will further diversify the palette of contemporary American composition." stated Montgomery.  Jessie Montgomery is a New York native violinist, composer and music educator.  She is a composer and performer of film, theater and concert music, performing regularly among New York’s classical and new music scenes.

---

Don’t miss this opportunity to book the Sphinx Virtuosi featuring 

Jessie Montgomery and the Catalyst Quartet!