The Nubian Epistle: Conductor James DePreist is Nephew of Singer Marian Anderson

[The Firebird Suite; The Rite of Spring; Igor Stravinsky; James DePreist, Conductor; Delos DE 3278]

“Marian Anderson: The Voice that Challenged a Nation” is a post on the blog “The Nubian Epistle” which explains the family relationship between the legendary singer and James DePreist: “Acclaimed opera singer Marian Anderson is perhaps best remembered for her performance on Resurrection Sunday, 1939 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 27, 1897, (Marian Anderson always claimed she was born on 17 February 1902, however her birth certificate is reported to give her birth date as 27 February 1897). Marian Anderson was the oldest of three daughters born to John and Anna Anderson. Her two sisters, Alice (aka Alyce) and Ethel, also became singers. Ethel Anderson was mother to world renowned orchestra leader James DePreist.” Full Post [James DePreist is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Marian Anderson opera singer
African American opera singer
James DePreist
African American conductor
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony conductor
Juilliard Orchestra conductor

Where Can One Find Sheet Music of R. Nathaniel Dett?

[The Collected Piano Works of R. Nathaniel Dett; Summy-Birchard (1973)]

Today AfriClassical.com received an E-mail inquiry from a visitor in Canada which may be of interest to a number of our readers: “Would you be able to inform where I could purchase the piano scores of Nathaniel Dett?” We replied: “I am delighted to learn of your interest in this composer's sheet music! Sheet music retailers for the piano works of R. Nathaniel Dett include websites such as SheetMusicPlus.com

“The Collected Piano Works of R. Nathaniel Dett is a 203-page paperback book of sheet music with foreword by Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma, Professor of Music, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin. The book was published in 1973 by Summy-Birchard. The website Amazon.com offers a new copy with "slight shelf wear" for US$19.76. I have the book and I strongly recommend it. Only a few copies are left on the market. Please tell your acquaintances of the website AfriClassical.com” We should point out that used copies are also available on the Internet.

R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) was an African American composer and pianist whose tenure as Choral Director at Hampton Institute was legendary. He was born in Drummondville, now part of Niagara Falls, Ontario. He died in Battle Creek, Michigan while touring with a Women's Army Corps chorus as a member of the U.S.O. One of his most popular piano works is In the Bottoms, which includes the lively Juba Dance, his best-selling recording. Five brief audio samples of the work can be heard at the R. Nathaniel Dett page of AfriClassical.com

R. Nathaniel Dett Sheet Music
African American Composer
Collected Piano Works
Summy-Birchard 1973
In the Bottoms
Juba Dance

Kay George Roberts Conducts Opera North in “Egypt's Nights” on Saturday, June 7

Opera North, Inc. will present a performance of the opera Egypt's Nights on Saturday June 7, 2008 at 8:00 pm. The location is the Trinity Center for Urban Life, 2212 Spruce St., Philadelphia. Kay George Roberts, Principal Conductor for Opera North, will conduct the performance. She is a Professor of Music at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

“Egypt's Nights is an opera composed by Leslie Savoy Burrs, based on the novel Egypt's Nights by Barbara Chase-Riboud. The opera depicts the strength and character of a woman, who explores her physical and spiritual relationships with the two men she loves, her interactions with the people she encounters as she travels abroad and the consequences of her independent nature. Her feelings and actions are represented in a musical dialogue between Marc Antony and Cleopatra.”

Kay George Roberts
Opera North Conductor
African American Conductor
Egypt's Nights
Leslie Savoy Burrs
Barbara Chase-Riboud

Fred Onovwerosuoke: 'The first African composer to write for the alto flute'

[African Art Music for Flute: The Music of Ndondana, Nketia, Onovwerosuoke, Tamusuza, and Uzoigwe; Wendy Hymes, flutes; Darryl Hollister, piano; AMP Records AGCD 2081 (2008)]

AfriClassical has previously posted: “African Art Music for Flute: The Music of Ndondana, Nketia, Onovwerosuoke, Tamuzusa, and Uzoigwe”. Today we focus on Dr. Fred Onovwerosuoke, composer of the first three works on the CD, who also founded the St. Louis African Chorus in 1994 and remains its Director. Dr. Wendy Hymes, who plays flutes on the recording, writes in the liner notes at AfricanChorus.org: “Fred Onovwerosuoke’s diverse background gave rise to a varied compositional style. Born in Ghana to Nigerian parents, he has traveled to more than thirty African countries doing field work in African traditional musics, played violin, piano, organ, guitar and became an experienced choir and instrumental ensemble conductor.”

Wendy Hymes writes further: “Fred Onovwerosuoke: Three Pieces for Flute and Piano (Tracks 1-3)” “The piece is a musical setting of a poem by the composer, and uses a combination of pentatonic, hexatonic, and twelve-tone harmonies to portray the poem’s imagery of a forest at night and its bird calls. Two improvisatory sounding flute cadenzas accompany the narration of the poem. Rushing flourishes by the flute and piano at the end of the piece portray the forest’s now awakened joyous birds. Iroro, meaning reminiscences, and draws from the initiation dances of the Igbe priests and priestesses, a cult of the River Goddess in Nigeria. Iroro portrays xylophones and large bamboo flutes in the accompanying piano, with the lead flute played by the alto flute. The first African composer to write for the alto flute, Onovwerosuoke harnesses its haunting timbre in modal and improvisatory-sounding melodies to reflect the trance-like state of the ceremony participants.”

Fred Onovwerosuoke
African Composer
First African Writing for Alto Flute
Three Pieces for Flute and Piano
Just Before Dawn
Iroro & Ayewiomo

Naxos: 'Leo Brouwer is perhaps the most important representative' on Friedemann Wuttke's CD

[Concierto de Volos (28:01); Orquesta de Cordoba; Leo Brouwer, Conductor; GHA Records 126.025 (1998)]

Naxos Blog
Posted by: Kelly in New Releases
20^th Century Guitar – The Art of Modern Guitar
Friedemann Wuttke, guitarist
Compositions by Wedlich, Brouwer, and Domeniconi

“Guitarist Friedemann Wuttke has performed compositions from all periods of music in his concerts and recordings; from the earliest guitar arrangements through Classical and modern contemporary works. Wuttke’s newest album 20^th Century Guitar, features some of the most beloved guitar composers of our time including Ulrich Wedlich, Leo Brouwer, and Carlo Domeniconi.”

“Cuban-born and self-taught composer Leo Brouwer is perhaps the most important representative of 20^th Century Guitar music on the recording. His Concerto Elegiaco for Guitar and Orchestra gives the impression of a large, lush, Romantic era orchestra. In reality, the piece is scored for strings and 2 percussionists; one playing kettle drums, the other playing a drum, tom tom, marimba, and glockenspiel.” Full Post [The Afro-Cuban composer Leo Brouwer is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Naxos 20th Century Guitar
Leo Brouwer
Afro-Cuban Composer
Concerto Elegiaco for Guitar and Orchestra
Strings and 2 Percussionists
Friedemann Wuttke Guitar

Comment on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: “Several first rate recordings have appeared.”

[African Heritage Symphonic Series, Vol. 1; Danse Nègre From African Suite (6:14); Petite Suite de Concert (13:36); Samuel Coleridge-Taylor; Chicago Sinfonietta; Paul Freeman, Conductor; Cedille 90000 055 (2000)]

Yesterday AfriClassical posted “Annotated Photo of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Afro-British Composer, on Flickr”. Mike S. Wright comments: “I heartily disagree with the comment in that blog: 'And yet, the works of this talented composer are now out of fashion; little of his music is available in printed form.' That may have been true some years ago but there is a clear renaissance as witnessed by performances at last year's Henry Wood Promenade Concerts (and more to come this year) Several first rate recordings have appeared. He is not out of fashion!!!”

Comment on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor 1875-1912
Afro-British Composer
Coleridge-Taylor Renaissance
Henry Wood Promenade Concerts
First Rate Recordings

Annotated Photo of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Afro-British Composer, on Flickr

Flickr.com:
He called himself an Anglo-African and fought against race prejudice all his short life. He incorporated black traditional music with concert music, with such compositions as African Suite, African Romances and Twenty Four Negro Melodies. The first performance of Hiawatha's Wedding Feast was described by the principal of the Royal College of Music as 'one of the most remarkable events in modern English musical history', and this work was acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic.

And yet, the works of this talented composer are now out of fashion; little of his music is available in printed form. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is today all but forgotten in the country of his birth. He was born in Holborn, London on 15th August 1875. His father, Daniel Peter Hughes Taylor, came from Sierra Leone to Britain in the 1860s, studied medicine, qualified as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, practiced in Croydon, went back to Africa, was appointed coroner of the Gambia in 1894. [Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is profiled at AfriClassical.com, where 8 brief audio samples of his music can be heard.] Full Post

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Afro-British Composer
Afro-British Conductor
Flickr Photo of Black Composer
Hiawatha's Wedding Feast
Composer of African Descent

Fela Sowande, Nigerian Composer Born May 29, 1905

[Fela Sowande: African Suite for Strings; The New Symphony Strings; Trevor Harvey, conductor; Decca LM 4547 (1952)]

The Nigerian composer, organist and Professor Olufela Sowande was born in Oyo, Nigeria on May 29, 1905. He is profiled at AfriClassical.com Bode Omojola, Ph.D., chronicles his life and career in the 1995 book, Nigerian Art Music, in which he observes: “Fela Sowande is undoubtedly the father of modern Nigerian Art Music and perhaps the most distinguished and internationally known African composer. The most significant pioneer-composer of works in the European classical idiom, his works mark the beginning of an era of modern Nigerian Art Music.”

Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma has posted an excerpt on Fela Sowande from a manuscript on Black composers: http://www.africanchorus.org/Artists/Sowande.htm Prof. De Lerma's biography of the composer includes a detailed Works List and a Bibliography.

On April 11, 2008 AfriClassical Blog posted “African Suite by Fela Sowande Digitally Remastered From 1952 Decca LP”. The article explained that Mike S. Wright, Chair, International Society for African to American Music (ISAAM), had digitally remastered the content of the 1952 LP and planned to issue a CD within a few months.

Fela Sowande Born May 29
Nigerian Composer and Organist
African Suite for Strings
1952 Decca LP
Bode Omojola Biographer
Dominique-René de Lerma

Comment on African American Soprano Hope Foye

Today AfriClassical posted “Soprano Hope Foye Celebrates Black Music Month at California African American Museum Jun 1”. The news prompted a comment from Mike S. Wright, Chair, International Society for African to American Music (ISAAM), who is based in the U.K.: “Very interesting! I did not realise she was still alive let alone still doing 'gigs' wow!”

New York Times: 'Amistad' by Composer Anthony Davis Returns to Stage At Spoleto U.S.A.

[Anthony Davis is composer of Amistad; Thulani Davis is librettist]

New York Times: At Spoleto Festival, Revisiting a Fateful Chapter in Slavery
By Daniel J. Wakin

Published: May 24, 2008
“CHARLESTON, S.C. — Not so often do new American operas find life after birth. But Anthony Davis’s 'Amistad,' a historically inspired exploration of slavery and freedom, has come back to the stage 11 years after its debut at the Chicago Lyric Opera, and in a deeply resonant setting.

“It is the central work at this summer’s Spoleto Festival U.S.A., whose host is Charleston, a city fully freighted with slavery’s legacy. The relevance has not been lost on African-Americans involved: the composer, the librettist, performers and audience members. 'This is one of the main ports of slavery,' said Gregg Baker, who sings the part of Cinque, leader of the band of captive Africans who are the subject of the story. 'To do it down here was a bit, I guess, ironic. Slavery basically built this town.'

“Mr. Baker spoke at an outdoor reception after the opening-night performance of “Amistad” on Thursday at the newly restored Memminger Auditorium, this city’s latest pride and joy and a major performance space of the festival.”

“The opera is based on historical events involving a Spanish slave ship, La Amistad, in 1839-41. A group of West Africans — Mende and Temne people from what is now Sierra Leone — were seized and taken to Cuba for sale as slaves. As the ship moved on to another Caribbean island, they rose up, killed most of the crew and sought to return home, but the ship’s navigator tricked them into sailing toward the United States.

“They were captured on Long Island and put on trial in Connecticut, which was deemed more sympathetic to slavery. Abolitionists took up their cause. John Quincy Adams, a former president, defended them, and the Supreme Court eventually ruled that the Africans should be considered free people.” “Nigel Redden, the festival’s director, said he had long wanted to bring 'Amistad' to Spoleto U.S.A. but only on the condition that Mr. Davis tighten the work. 'I felt this was an opera that needed to be redone,' Mr. Redden said. 'It was too massive in Chicago.'

“Mr. Davis and the librettist, his cousin the writer Thulani Davis, set to work. Several scenes were cut. The characters of President Martin Van Buren, a Spanish minister and a United States senator were discarded. Lines were eliminated. The orchestra was reduced to 45 from 65. Textures were thinned. “Mr. Davis acknowledged that the opera had needed surgery. 'It just involved too many people,' he said.” Full Post

Opera Amistad at Spoleto U.S.A.
Anthony Davis
African American Composer
Thulani Davis
African American Librettist
Charleston, South Carolina

Soprano Hope Foye Celebrates Black Music Month at California African American Museum June 1

John Malveaux tells AfriClassical that the 86-year-old African American soprano Hope Foye will help celebrate Black Music Month in a program at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 1, 2008 at the California African American Museum, located at 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles. The Museum opens at 11 a.m.; the live program begins at 1 p.m. Admission is free. Parking is at 39^th and Figueroa Streets and is $6 per vehicle.

“Join us as we celebrate the voices and harmonious sounds of Black Music Month from a cappella to talented performers of R&B, Broadway and hip hop. We'll have it all! Included in the program will be students from the Culture and Language Academy of Success, spoken word artists Joshua Larnelle and Marcia Parker, soprano Hope Foye, singer Sabrina "Bri" Johnson, classical bass vocalist K.B. Solomon, duo Taniq with their band and Padre Glyn Jemmott.”

Hope Foye was 14 when she won a scholarship to the Hart School of Music, according to an article by Greg Mellen in the Press-Telegram of Long Beach, California on March 20, 2008: “After shining at the Hartt School for four years, a scout from the New York City Metropolitan Opera came to the school, purportedly to audition Foye. When the scout saw Foye was black, he refused even to look her in the eye. Foye's dream of singing for 'the Met' had been dashed.”

California African American Museum
Black Music Month Program June 1
Hope Foye
African American Soprano
86-year-old Soprano
Black Opera Singer

William E. Thomas Conducts His Last Concert of Cambridge Community Chorus

Classical Music Review: A Choral Farewell
By ArtsFuse on May 27, 2009 in Music
By Caldwell Titcomb

“The Cambridge Community Chorus (CCC) was founded in 1990, and has in the past 18 years grown in size and skill under the leadership of William Ethaniel Thomas. Thomas is retiring from his post and led his farewell concert in Sanders Theatre on May 25 before an enthusiastic audience. For his final program Thomas chose two large works: one by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), and one by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912).”

“Following intermission, Thomas turned to Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast by the remarkably gifted Afro-British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Conductor Thomas, who is black, has for years championed the music of Coleridge-Taylor. Wearing his other hat as a cellist, Thomas founded the Coleridge Ensemble and has performed and recorded the composer’s chamber music.

Coleridge-Taylor learned the violin and piano early, and exhibited unusual compositional talent already as a teenager, soon drawing praise from Sir Edward Elgar and Sir Arthur Sullivan. At the age of 23 he became a celebrity with the 1898 premiere of Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast for chorus, tenor soloist and a sizeable orchestra including three trombones, tuba, tambourine, cymbals, bass drum, and harp. For many years the piece was, except for Handel’s Messiah, the most frequently performed choral work.” Full Post

William Ethaniel Thomas
African American Conductor
African American Cellist
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Afro-British Composer
Hiawatha's Wedding Feast

On An Overgrown Path on James DePreist's Absence From The Juilliard Tour of China

Earlier today, AfriClassical posted that the Juilliard Orchestra was touring China without Maestro James DePreist, who had been scheduled to conduct the ensemble from May 26-June 6, 2008. We appreciate the reference to our post on the major U.K. classical music blog On An Overgrown Path: “AfriClassical reports that in a last minute change African American conductor James DePreist, who is Director of Conducting and Orchestral Studies at the Juilliard School and nephew of Marian Anderson, will not, as previously announced, be leading the Juilliard Orchestra in their imminent tour of China which takes in Beijing and Shanghai. Instead the concerts will be led by Chinese conductor Xian Zhang.”

Justinian Tamusuza's Work on “African Art Music for Flute” is “Okwanjula Kw’Endere”

[African Art Music for Flute: The Music of Ndondana, Nketia, Onovwerosuoke, Tamuzusa, and Uzoigwe; Wendy Hymes, flutes; Darryl Hollister, piano; AMP Records AGCD 2081 (2008)]

The longest single track on African Art Music for Flute by Wendy Hymes on flutes and Darryl Hollister on piano is Okwanjula Kw'Endere by the Ugandan composer Justinian Tamusuza (b. 1951). He has often been called one of the most distinguished African composers of classical music. AfricanChorus.org provides the equivalent of a liner note on the composition:

Okwanjula Kw’Endere, meaning “Introduction of the flute,” is the first movement of a larger chamber work Ekivvulu Ky’Endere (“African Festivity for Flute”) written for flute, viola, prepared harp, marimba and maracas and premiered by the Ugandan group, Abaana B’Engoma. The Ugandan bamboo flute called the endere is used widely by shepherds in a pastoral setting as well as in traditional festivals like weddings and as royal court music of the King of Buganda, the kabaka. Tamusuza uses microtonal fingerings, flutter tonguing, simultaneous singing and playing, harmonics pitch bends and key clicks to simulate the spirit of Kigandan endere music. The microtones and pitch slides portray characteristic amateur traditional singers “who join in the communal singing, but now and then go out of tune” and the “vocal music where there is usually an inflectional rise on the final pitch or just before.” Adam Lesnick refers to this music’s “poly-rhythms [which] dazzle the ear with misleading accents, tripping up the happy and complex weave of simple pentatonic melodies.”

Justinian Tamusuza's website chronicles his success in Western classical music: “Tamusuza first came to world attention through the Kronos Quartet, whose CD "Pieces of Africa" features Tamusuza's first string quartet, Mu Kkubo Ery'Omusaalaba. The CD reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical and World Music Charts in 1992. He has since been commissioned by Kronos (for his second string quartet), the International Society of contemporary Music, ISCM (Essen, Germany 1995), the Chamber Symphony of Princeton and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra of Virginia."

African Art Music for Flute
Okwanjula Kw'Endere
Justinian Tamusuza
Ugandan Composer
African Composer
Pieces of Africa

Juilliard Orchestra Tours China Without Maestro James DePreist

The African American conductor James DePreist (b. 1936) is Director of Conducting
and Orchestral Studies at the Juilliard School.  The Juilliard Orchestra was scheduled
to give concerts in Beijing and Shanghai from May 26-June 6, 2008 under his direction.
Gloria Gottschalk, Media Relations Manager for The Juilliard School, informed AfriClassical
yesterday: “James DePreist will not be going on the tour.  Zhang Xian is now the
conductor.”  

Juilliard Orchestra Tours China Without DePreist
James DePreist
African American Conductor
Juilliard Orchestra's Conductor
Zhang Xian Conducts
China Tour May 26-June 6

African Art Music for Flute: Wendy Hymes, flutes, and Darryl Hollister, piano

Shortly before the release of the CD, AfriClassical posted: “African Art Music for Flute: The Music of Ndondana, Nketia, Onovwerosuoke, Tamuzusa, and Uzoigwe”. The recording is AMP Records AGCD 2081 (2008). Today we focus on the performers, Wendy Hymes, flutes, and Darryl Hollister, piano. AfricanChorus.org provides these biographical summaries:

Wendy Hymes holds BA, MM and DMA degrees in music from Principia College, Indiana University and Louisiana State University respectively. Her principal flute teachers have been Marie Garritson Jureit, Jacques Zoon and Katherine Kemler. She has played with Synchronia (a contemporary American music ensemble), St. Louis Philharmonic, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra as well as chamber music with leading soloists such as violinist Rachel Barton, the late organist Lucius Weathersby, with whom she collaborated on the Spiritual Fantasy album (Albany Records). Ms. Hymes is known to exert definitive interpretations to standard repertoire from the Baroque era to 20 ^th-century composers. She sets the pace in intercultural music, especially those by non-European composers from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. She has given over 30 world premieres, including regular feature at the Compositions in Africa & the Diaspora symposia and the Festivals of African & African American Music, and recent Jubilee Celebration Festival in Accra, Ghana. Her doctoral dissertation entitled African Art Music for Flute: Selected Works by African Composers provided the initial inspiration for this CD, and her recent article New Horizons: The World of African Art Music for Flute in the Winter 2008 issue of the Flutist Quarterly (a journal of the National Flute Association) is a continuation of her efforts to give voice to flute repertoire from other parts of the world.

Darryl Hollister received his B.M. and MM from Michigan State University and the New England Conservatory of Music, respectively. He has studied with Ralph Votapek, Deborah Moriarty, and Patricia Zander. He actively serves as accompanist for the Dedham Choral Society, Coro Allegro, the Framingham Heritage Chorale, and Commonwealth School Chorus and Chorale, the Boston College Chorale, Nashua Choral Society, and the Boston Concert Opera. A champion of new music and works by African-descent composers, Mr. Hollister has premiered numerous works, including Gyimah Labi’s Baptism of Fire: Symphony Concertante for Three Pianos and Orchestra, Dialects in African Pianism, The Spring of Esentre, Paul Konye’s Concertino Africana for Piano and Orchestra, Gary Nash’s Three Ivory Magnolia Fantasies, and of course, the works on this CD. His piano recitals have been acclaimed at Harvard University, Cambridge University and the University of London, as well as the Kennedy Center.

African Art Music for Flute
Wendy Hymes flutes
Darryl Hollister
African American pianist
Ndondana, Nketia & Uzoigwe
Onovwerosuoke & Tamusuza

Fanfare: Tania León's “Bailarin” is “the work of a modern composer ringing her changes”

Fanfare Magazine February 11, 2008: David Starobin: FAMILY ALBUM on BRIDGE
Written by Robert Schulslaper
“David Starobin is one of America’s best-known guitarists, the dedicatee of 350 scores by such composers as Elliot Carter, George Crumb, Lukas Foss, Gunther Schuller, Poul Ruders, and Milton Babbitt, among many others, and the founder of Bridge records. His Family Album includes the work of four composers (besides himself) whom the guitarist fondly regards as 'old friends and collaborators—virtually family.'”

“Tania León was born in Cuba, but resides in New York. Bailarín ('Dancer') strikes a Latin pose, but the result is more Cubist than traditional portraiture. In other words, León uses patterns and rhythms that allude to conventional dances, but abstracts and recombines the elements in unexpected ways. Starobin puts it perfectly: 'Bailarín ’s insistent groove might spring from Tania’s Caribbean origins, but the piece is very much the work of a modern composer ringing her changes.'” Full Post

Tania Justina León
Afro-Cuban Composer
Contemporary Classical Composer
Fanfare Review of Family Album
León's Bailarin A Modern Work
David Starobin Guitarist

Nokuthula Ngwenyama Performs At Viola Congress In Tempe, Arizona June 6

Arizona State University in the Community:

“The ASU Herberger College School of Music welcomes viola performers, students, educators, and music enthusiasts for the 36th International Viola Congress, June 4 – 8, 2008. Participants represent more than a dozen countries and five continents.”

“More than 40 featured artists are scheduled to appear, including Heidi Castleman, Donald McInnes, Roland Vamos, and Kim Kashkashian, who is presenting a solo recital opening night of the Congress, June 4.

On June 6, another signature event features internationally-renown artists Paul Coletti, Hsin-Yun Huang, Paul Neubauer, and Nokuthula Ngwenyama, each performing a viola concerto or solo work with orchestra. The June 6, 8 p.m., concerto concert is open to the public. Access for other Congress events is reserved for official registrants.” Full Post Details: http://www.violacongress2008.com

The African American violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama (b. 1976) will perform the Milhaud Concerto No. 1 for viola and 16 solo instruments. Her website is: http://www.Ngwenyama.com/new/home.html She is also profiled at AfriClassical.com

36th International Viola Congress
Nokuthula Ngwenyama
African American Violist
Tempe Arizona June 6
Milhaud Concerto No. 1
Chamber Music

Pianist Greg Kostraba Makes William Grant Still's Kaintuck' & Summerland A “Musical Treat”

[Africa: Piano Music of William Grant Still; Denver Oldham, piano; Koch 3 7084 2H1 (1991)]

May 21, 2008

Change in LSO's final concert leads to special musical treat
By DICK JAEGER
Special to The Journal & Courier, Lafayette and West Lafayette, Indiana

The cancellation of the appearance of the Purdue Glee Club as the guest artists for the final concert of the Lafayette Symphony's season resulted in a significant change in the program. Since the concert was dedicated to the observance of Armed Forces Day, much of the original programming included music that filled that bill.

However, one of Lafayette's former residents agreed to fill the gap and the result was a musical treat for the audience and the orchestra alike. Former radio broadcaster for WBAA-Purdue, Greg Kostraba, came back to town and once again appeared with the LSO as he had on other occasions. With the cooperation of the orchestra and Maestro Nicholas Palmer, he brought along music by the American composer William Grant Still and the ever-pleasing "Rhapsody in Blue" of George Gershwin.

Kostraba is a pianist of fine reputation having participated in several major piano competitions over the years. He also can claim the honor of helping to found the Tippecanoe Chamber Music Society which has been pleasing audiences for the past decade.

The music of composer Still fills a large catalog of compositions ranging from serious music to at least one movie score. All of it has a definite feeling of jazz, African-American blues, and a touch here and there of gospel. He composed in all musical media including orchestra, band, choral, solo instruments and vocal music. The orchestra beautifully supported Kostraba in "Kaintuck" a tone poem reminiscent of W. C. Handy of "St. Louis Blues" fame and for whom Still made various orchestrations. Kostraba caught the mood of the piece. The flashy and demanding work proved a delight to the audience rewarding him and the orchestra with prolonged applause.

Other selections by this composer proved to be equally exciting causing one to wonder why orchestras do not choose to play more of this Ellington-era composer. A solo piano encore "Summerland" also by Still quietly closed the evening's program. Full Post

Pianist Greg Kostraba
Lafayette Symphony Orchestra
William Grant Still
African American Composer
Still's Kaintuck' and Summerland
Why is More Still Not Played?

Dallas Symphony Will Perform “Primary Movements” of Jonathan Bailey Holland June 20

Pegasus News: Dallas Symphony Orchestra to put on African American Festival
By Pietro Elina of North Dallas Gazette

“The Dallas Symphony Orchestra announced plans for the 15^th Annual 2008 African American Festival last Monday.” “ Unexpectedly, this year’s Festival will feature collaborations with Flint, Michigan’s renowned black composer Jonathan Bailey Holland, and our own community’s Dallas Black Dance Theater, who will perform Holland’s original, Primary Movements.”

“Proceeds from the African American Festival will be benefiting the Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Summer Enrichment Program and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Young Strings Program.

The Young Strings Program is a unique, nationally recognized program, which promotes musical talent in young African American and Hispanic string players.” Full Post

William Grant Still Opera Suggestion Elicits Comment from Composer's Daughter

Earlier today AfriClassical posted “William Grant Still Among Composers Suggested for Washington National Opera”. An enthusiastic E-mail comment has been received from Judith Anne Still, the composer's daughter, who operates William Grant Still Music, WilliamGrantStill.com: “SO TRUE! Yes! The suggestion is right on.”

William Grant Still's “Danzas de Panama” Performed by Alexa Still and the Berlin Symphoniker

[William Grant Still: La Guiablesse, Danzas de Panama, Quit Dat Fool'nish, Summerland; Alexa Still, flute; Berliner Symphoniker; Isaiah Jackson, conductor; Koch 3 7154 2H1 (1993)]

AfriClassical previously posted this news from Detroit's Chamber Music at the Scarab Club for Sunday, June 1, 2008: “Our 10th season comes to an exciting close with Danzas de Panama for string quartet by William Grant Still, Quintet No. 1 in D Major for flute and strings by Friedrich Kuhlau, and Theme and Variations for flute and string quartet by Amy Beach. Musicians include: Laura Larson - flute, Velda Kelly and Andrew Wu - violins, John Madison and Scott Stefanko - violas, Nadine Deleury – cello. For more info visit http://www.ScarabClub.org/chambermusic

Today we take a look at a unique CD by the African American Conductor Isaiah Jackson and the Berliner Symphoniker. Two of Still's major dance works are found on Koch 3 7154 2H1 (1993). The first is La Guiablesse (18:35), consisting of nine brief dances. The second major composition is Danzas de Panama (14:00). The four dances are titled: Tamborito, Mejorana, Punto and Cumbia. The liner notes are by Dana Paul Perna: “As its title implies, Danzas de Panama derives its melodies from Panamanian dance themes collected by Elisabeth Waldo. Still took these dance themes and cast them for string quartet, quintet or, as heard on this recording, for string orchestra. He made every effort to approximate the sounds of native instruments thereby giving this piece an arresting character.”

Danzas de Panama
William Grant Still
Chamber Music at the Scarab Club
June 1 2008
African American Chamber Music
Chamber Music of Black Composer

William Grant Still Among Composers Suggested for Washington National Opera

[William Grant Still's Opera Troubled Island was performed in 1949 by the New York City opera company]

Garth Trinkl writes on the blog Renaissance Research: “A distinguished American conductor has posted a comment below suggesting that our Washington National Opera should consider staging American operas by American classical composers Deems Taylor, William Grant Still, Howard Hanson, Robert McBride, and Nicholas Flagello – among others.” “Remember, our Washington National Opera promised the Congress of the United States, and the American people, that it would stage one American opera each and every season.” [The African American composer, oboist, arranger and conductor William Grant Still (1895-1978) wrote the opera Troubled Island, TroubledIsland.com, which was staged by the New York City opera company in 1949. Still is profiled at AfriClassical.com] Full Post

American Opera Composer
William Grant Still
African American Composer
Troubled Island
Washington National Opera
Black Composer of Opera

Dr. Fred Onovwerosuoke: “Twenty-Four Studies in African Rhythms” and “Sonata No. 3”

AfriClassical has received an update from Dr. Fred Onovwerosuoke:
“Last Thursday (May 15, 2008) was a milestone in the life of my Twenty-Four Studies in African Rhythms Volume I. It was one year old from the publication date and we’ve since topped $5000 selling the scores and audio rendition CDs as fundraisers for the African Chorus organization! Now, that’s a feat even the big publishing firms would be proud of, but it was achieved with our little outfit, African Music Publishers, a fundraising unit for the St. Louis African Chorus. Something is clicking out there, I don’t know exactly what yet, but something is clicking…

And I should never forget to thank each of you for your promotional efforts. I really am indebted to you all, especially some of you our benefactors who’ve preferred to remain anonymous. But let me single out the efforts of pianists William Chapman Nyaho (http://nyaho.com/) who in the last year has performed selections of the Studies in concerts around North America and Silvia Belfiore (http://www.silviabelfiore.it/) who’s attracting new friends for the Studies around Italy. I’ve since released some of my scores to our Amazon.com storefront. That link at http://www.amazon.com/shops/african-music-publishers

Volume II is now being compiled. Five studies down now; seven more to go… Naturally, I’ve dedicated Study 24 to William Chapman Nyaho and Study 20 to Silvia Belfiore. Oh, keep your ears perked for the release of Nyaho’s new CD, Asa, on MSR Classics label….”

He adds: “[T]here is a practice CD for all 12 Studies in Volume I of the Twenty-Four Studies in African Rhythms. And Nyaho’s new CD, Asa, includes six of the Studies.”

Dr. Onovwerosuoke has completed Sonata No. 3 for Two Pianos, commissioned by the Nyaho/Garcia Piano Duo. The St. Louis African Chorus has also compiled a new choral anthology, Songs of Africa, which has been edited by Dr. Onovwerosuoke. It will be published this Summer by Oxford University Press.

Fred Onovwerosuoke
Nigerian Composer
African Chorus Director
Sonata No. 3 for Two Pianos
Nyaho/Garcia Piano Duo
Songs of Africa

“Grade A” Review of “Bloch and Lees: Violin Concertos”, Conducted by John McLaughlin Williams

John McLaughlin Williams tells AfriClassical of a May 15, 2008 review by Donald Rosenberg, Cleveland Plain Dealer Music Critic: “This is a capsule review in last weekend's Cleveland Plain Dealer. The cd is still so new that it will be a while before the reviews start rolling in.”

Bloch and Lees: Violin Concertos
Elmar Oliveira, John McLaughlin Williams
Artek
Elmar Oliveira is the exceptional soloist on this disc of poignant and powerful violin concertos by Ernest Bloch and Benjamin Lees. Bloch, the first president of the Cleveland Institute of Music, wrote his concerto in 1939 for the Cleveland Orchestra and violinist Joseph Szigeti. It is a rich fabric of moody thematic material, with violinist as forceful protagonist. Lees' 1958 concerto abounds in poetic and impassioned material. John McLaughlin Williams leads the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in fine, elastic performances. Grade: A

John McLaughlin Williams
African American Conductor
CD Rated Grade A
Bloch and Lees Violin Concertos
Donald Rosenberg Music Critic
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine

Paul Konye Composes and Conducts “A Tone Poem for Africa” for Award of Honorary Degree

Today AfriClassical learned of A Tone Poem for Africa, composed by Dr. Paul Konye, Assistant Professor of Music at Siena College. It was commissioned for the May 18, 2008 award of an honorary doctorate to Ms. Immaculee Ilibagiza. The Siena Commencement Orchestra was conducted by Paul Konye, who writes: “I thought I should let you know that over this past weekend, Siena College honored Ms. Immaculee Ilibagiza (The miraculous survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and the author of the New York Times best seller "Left to Tell”) with an honorary doctorate. For this occasion the College Commissioned me to write her a special musical tribute. The video of this music is available at my website at http://www.siena.edu/konye Thanks again for all your activities for the common cause.

A Tone Poem for Africa
Dr. Paul Konye
Nigerian Composer
Nigerian Conductor
Immaculee Ilibagiza

John McLaughlin Williams on Suburban Symphony's Performance of “Afro-American Symphony”

[Afro-American Symphony; William Grant Still; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Karl Kruger, conductor; Bridge 9086 (1999)]

On May 19, 2008 AfriClassical posted: “Suburban Symphony's Co-Principal Trumpet Conducts Still's Afro-American Symphony”. We learned of the article from the African American conductor John McLaughlin Williams. Following the post, Williams commented: “There was supposed to be another Ukrainian-American Festival in Kiev this spring, in which I was to perform the Still Symphony (never performed there), but it's been rescheduled for next year, so I'm glad to know it's being programmed elsewhere. It really needs to be played anytime except February.”

John McLaughlin Williams Comment
African American Conductor
Afro-American Symphony
William Grant Still
African American Composer
Suburban Symphony Concert

Celso Machado's “Folguedo” is Performed by Zagreb Guitar Quartet, to Whom it is Dedicated

[Éditions Henry Lemoine; LEMOI04108 (2007)]

Zagreb Guitar Quartet: Grgic, Mak (Guitar); Ivkovic, Melita (Guitar); Pehar, Krunoslav (Guitar); Vasilj, Tomislav (Guitar)

Sunday, 25 May 2008 - 7:30 PM

Zagreb, Croatia
Zagreb Guitar Days (festival)
Venue: Galerija Kranjčar
Address: Kaptol 26
Tickets: phone +385916354824

ZAGREB GUITAR QUARTET

Works of Georg Friedrich Händel, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Johann Sebastian Bach, Tomislav Uhlik, and Joaquín Turina are accompanied by Celso Machado's “Folguedo”.

(All compositions are arranged for four guitars by Ante Čagalj, except pieces by Uhlik and Machado which are dedicated to the Zagreb Guitar Quartet)

It is the opening event of this year’s Zagreb Guitar Days Festival. [The Afro-Brazilian Composer Celso Machado (b. 1953) has a personal website, CelsoMachado.com, and is also profiled at AfriClassical.com] [Full Post]

Celso Machado's Folguedo
Afro-Brazilian Composer
Afro-Brazilian Guitarist
Zagreb Guitar Quartet
Zagreb Croatia Guitar Festival
Éditions Henry Lemoine 2007

NPR's “News and Notes” Features Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit

Stephan Bobalik is Manager of Foundation and Media Partnerships for The Sphinx Organization. He tells us: “Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit is one of our organizational 'friends' here in Detroit and their newest show 'Sing Jubilee,' the story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, was on NPR’s News and Notes on Friday. Mosaic, while not exclusively focused on classical music, has a great theatre and choir program for Detroit students." [The Founder/President of The Sphinx Organization is Aaron P. Dworkin, who is profiled as an outstanding Musician of African Descent at AfriClassical.com]

NPR's News and Notes
Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit
Sing Jubilee! Fisk Jubilee Singers
Sphinx Organization
Theatre and Choir Program
Aaron P. Dworkin

Suburban Symphony's Co-Principal Trumpet Conducts Still's “Afro-American Symphony”

[William Grant Still (Photo is the sole property of William Grant Still Music, and is used with permission.)]

The Cleveland Plain Dealer
MUSIC
Suburban Symphony concert trumpets gifts of composer William Grant Still
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Donald Rosenberg
Plain Dealer Music Critic
“Eric Dina could hardly ask for anything more. Not only will the Suburban Symphony Orchestra's co-principal trumpet have the honor of conducting his colleagues today at Beachwood High School Auditorium, he'll also get to lead a piece he's long loved: William Grant Still's Symphony No. 1 (Afro-American).”

“When someone suggested rounding out the concert with music by George Gershwin, Dina suggested Grant Still’s symphony. His peers welcomed the idea.”

“Dina, 31, parallels the late composer beyond their African- American heritages. Both were educated in Ohio — Grant Still at Wilberforce University and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Dina at University School and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

And Dina, instrumental music director and Performing Arts Department chairman at University School’s Shaker Heights campus, shares Grant Still’s belief — epitomized by the Afro-American Symphony — that music transcends stereotypical categories.

'As an African-American, I’ve always found that too often we separate things into different races,' he said. 'We think of R&B as an African-American thing and classical as Caucasian. I’ve always liked classical music. So I like the melding of both traditions into one form.

'It’s not a forced thing. It seems natural. When William Grant Still put this together, it musically made sense and harmonically made sense. It was true to both roots.'” Full Post [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Suburban Symphony's Co-Principal Trumpet
Eric Dina Conducts
William Grant Still
Afro-American Symphony
African American Composer
African American Classical Composition

Duke Ellington Among Performers Profiled in “The Cotton Club” by Jim Haskins

[The Definitive Duke Ellington; Sony 61444 (2000)]

Confessions of a Book Junkie
The Cotton Club by Jim Haskins
“This is a spectacular look at the history of Harlem's Cotton Club. The author writes passionately about the club, it's performers, it's mob affiliations and it's history. He also includes a good deal of information on the historical rise of Harlem itself. Haskins discusses its opening all the way through to the day the doors finally closed. The book is littered with historic images of the club and famous performers such as Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, and Cab Calloway.” Full Post

[Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]
The Cotton Club
Book by Jim Haskins
Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington
Jazz and Classical Composer
African American Composer
Black Composer

American Record Guide Says of Damase, Dring & Still CD: “This is a great recording”

[Spectral Trio; Blue Griffin Recording BGR125 (2008)]

Dr. Sergei Kvitko, Producer and Sound Engineer for Blue Griffin Recordings, which produced Spectral Trio, has informed us: “Just to let you know, that there is another wonderful review of this CD on the latest issue of American Record Guide.”

American Record Guide May/June 2008
Spectral Trio
The Spectral Trio performs works by Madeleine Dring, William Grant Still, and Jean-Michel Damase that could be classified mostly as parlor music – enjoyable to play and hear. Their performances are exquisite, and a few of the pieces (by Damase) new to me are a delight. Spectral Trio has a full-bodied and unified sound that is comparable only to the most seasoned musical collaborators, and their sense of the style and balance is ideal.

The two works by Madeleine Dring, her Trio and Danza Gaya, bring a sometimes carefree, sometimes sappy, but usually delightful tone to the program. William Grant Still’s Incantation and Dance for oboe and piano and the popular Miniatures are light-hearted but substantial pieces; and the Four Divertissements and Trio by Damase – my favorite on the program – exemplify that wonderful salon music style.

In every piece, one hears a refinement of style in each of the instruments, and each of their styles blends with the others. No one musician plays his or her line above the others where it is merely subordinate, and no one line ever seems to be covered up or lost in the texture. In their interpretation of the music they seem to have clearly picked up on the occasional influence of other composers, such as Francaix, Poulenc, or Stravinsky. More important, they pick up on the essence of the pieces. And in their performances they have brought out all the right elements so that the music might sound as natural as possible.

This is a great recording, and I recommend it to all chamber music enthusiasts. It is a tragedy that pianist Kimberly Schmidt passed away at a young age before this was released; but it is heart-warming to think that his beautiful performance on this recording, issued lovingly in his memory, will live as a legacy for the Spectral Trio.
SCHWARTZ

American Record Guide Review
Spectral Trio BGR125
William Grant Still
African American Composer
Incantation and Dance
Miniatures for Flute, Oboe and Piano

Williamette Valley Concert Band Plays William Grant Still's “Folk Suite for Band” on YouTube

[Africa: Piano Music of William Grant Still; Denver Oldham, piano; Koch 3 7084 2H1 (1991)]

The blogger who writes Terry's Worklog recorded William Grant Still's Folk Suite for Band: Deep River and Get On Board Little Children (5:37) as performed yesterday at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. He posted it on YouTube The Williamette Valley Concert Band is conducted by Dr. Richard Sorenson. The performers include the blogger's wife on flute.

“I personally have no musical talent, but my wife happens to be a very good flutist. The band that she plays in (Willamette Valley Concert Band) is one of many community bands that participates in this event. The format is simple — each groups gets about 45 minutes to play (what works out to about 6 arrangements) before letting the next band play. For my wife’s band — this is kind of like a rehearsal for their Memorial Day event.

So with that in mind, we packed up the kids and headed up to Newberg and George Fox. Now, we have active little boys so when they come, I rarely get to see an entire concert and today was no exception. I got to watch about a 1/2 hour and decided to try recording some of the pieces and uploading them to Youtube for a few family that missed the event." [The African American composer William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com] Full Post

William Grant Still
African American Composer
Folk Suite for Band
Williamette valley Concert Band
Maestro Richard Sorenson
African American Chamber Music

CMU to help celebrate African-American culture, history during Idlewild weekend

The News @ Central
Friday, May 16, 2008
IDLEWILD - In a popular vacation spot with a storied history as a resort for African-Americans during the era of segregation, Central Michigan University will help present a weekend of events celebrating diversity in classical music.

CMU professor emerita Sandra Seaton's play The Will, along with a variety of educational sessions, will be presented May 30 through June 1 at the Idlewild Historic Cultural Center, 7025 Broadway Ave. in Idlewild, as part of 'The Will' at Idlewild: Classical Connections to African-American Culture."

“Organized by University of Michigan musicologist Naomi Andre, the "Conversations on African-American Culture and Classical Music" symposium will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. May 31 and will focus on the African-American presence in opera from the late 19th century to the present day. Admission is free to play ticketholders.

Other participants in the weekend's events will include Sphinx Organization President Aaron Dworkin; National Public Radio journalist Celeste Headlee, a former Michigan Opera Theatre performer and the granddaughter of composer William Grant Still; U of M composer Eric Santos; CMU professor of piano Alexandra Mascolo-David; U of M Joseph Edgar Maddy Distinguished University Emeritus Professor of Voice George Shirley; and The Harlem Quartet: A Sphinx Ensemble.” Full Post

Central Michigan University
The Will at Idlewild
African-American Culture and classical Music
Sphinx President Aaron Dworkin
Professor Emerita Sandra Seaton
William Grant Still

Audiophile Audition: “The Spectral Trio delivers a fine program” of Damase, Dring & Still

Audiophile Audition reviews the CD “Spectral Trio”, which includes “Miniatures for Flute, Oboe and Piano” of William Grant Still (1895-1978) alongside works of Jean-Michel Damase and Madeleine Dring:

The Spectral Trio delivers a fine program of British, American and French works for this elegant chamber aggregation.

Published on March 17, 2008
I’ve long felt the combination of flute and oboe to be one of the loveliest in chamber music, and with the piano we have a trio that is perfect for the sort of repertory this delightful CD offers. Madeleine Dring was an extremely versatile British artist who lived until 1977. Her husband was principal oboe of the London Symphony so she wrote many works for the instrument. She was also a violinist, pianist, singer, actress, lyricist and cartoonist. Her works are usually in a lighter vein and often rather jazzy. Both works by her on this disc are most charming and full of fine melodies.

Noted African-American composer Still used six American and South American folk melodies for his Miniatures, including I Ride an Old Paint and Froggie Went A-Courtin.’ Damase is a current French composer, pianist and teacher who has written numerous chamber works. Both of his efforts here are tuneful, elegant and sophisticated, with a touch of French wit. The three performers have connections to the Michigan State University College of Music. Both performances and sonics are exemplary. - John Sunier [Full Post] [Spectral Trio is available at such music websites as Amazon.com, ArkivMusic.com and HBDirect.com, as well as the website of Blue Griffin Recording, BlueGriffin.com]

Spectral Trio CD
Still's Incantation and Dance
William Grant Still's Miniatures
I Ride an Old Paint
African American Composer
African American Chamber Music

Still's “Song of a New Race” and Dawson's “Negro Folk Symphony” On WHPK-FM May 27

[Symphony No. 2 (Song of a New Race), William Grant Still; Negro Folk Symphony,William Levi Dawson; Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Järvi, Conductor; Chandos 9226 (1993)]

Here is our latest word from the radio host Sergio Mims of WHPK-FM in Chicago:
“I wanted to give you and your readers a heads up that on my Tuesday May 27 classical music radio show on WHPK-FM (88.5 FM - Chicago) I will be playing William Grant Still's Symphony No. 2 (Song of a New Race) and William Levi Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony, both conducted by Neeme Jarvi with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. And of course the show can also be heard on-line at http://www.whpk.org from 12 noon to 3 PM (Central Time).”

The CD which will be heard on May 27, Chandos 9226 (1993), is still in print and is widely available at music websites such as Amazon.com, ArkivMusic.com and HBDirect.com The African American composer, oboist, arranger and conductor William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, as is the African American composer, professor and choral director William Levi Dawson (1899-1990). Works lists and Bibliographies for both composers have been compiled by Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma, principal adviser to AfriClassical.com, who has specialized in Black Classical Composers for four decades and who has generously made his research available for the benefit of the website's visitors. His professional resume is at http://www.casamusicaledelerma.com

Sergio Mims WHPK-FM May 27
Classical Music Radio Program
William Grant Still
Song of a New Race
William Levi Dawson
Negro Folk Symphony

Girma Yifrashewa's Work “Ambassel” From CD “Elilta” Is On YouTube

[Elilta: Ethiopian Classical Music By Girma Yifrashewa; Girma Yifrashewa, piano; Doroteya Dimitrova, violin; Lyubomir Nikov, cello; Mikhail Zhivkov, clarinet; Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra; Dian Tchobanov, Conductor; Balkan Multimedia Center (2006)]

“Elilta”, which means “Cry of Joy”, is the second classical recording of the Ethiopian pianist and composer Girma Yifrashewa (b. 1967). As we reported recently, individual tracks can now be purchased for download at Girma's website. AfriClassical has learned that Track 2, “Ambassel” (9:40) can be heard in its entirety on a YouTube video.

Celso Machado Presents Brazilian Guitar Festival in Apt, France May 18

If you are in Apt, France on Sunday May 18, Celso Machado will welcome you with open arms to a Brazilian Guitar Festival at 17h30, at the salle des fêtes. In the first part of his solo concert, he will direct ensembles composed of guitarists, teachers and students from music schools of the Vaucluse. They will perform his compositions for four and eight guitars. Price: 10€/5€. Contact: Culture section 84400 Apt 04 90 04 52 47 [Celso Machado (b. 1953) is an Afro-Brazilian guitarist, singer and composer who now lives in Canada. His personal website is http://www.CelsoMachado.com He is also profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Celso Machado
Afro-Brazilian Guitarist and Composer
Brazilian Guitar Festival
May 18 17h30
Solo Guitar Concert
Composer of African Descent

Afro-Cuban Composer Tania Justina León and Finnish Cellist Juho Laitinen Perform May 15

Interpretations is excited to present two movers-and-shakers in the international New Classical scene. Both León and Laitinen are world-travelers and new music thrill-seekers, tirelessly promoting their works and performing the works of others for new audiences and die-hard fans around the globe. Ask them where they’ve been lately.

A rising star on the new music scene, Finnish cellist Juho Laitinen returns to New York with a solo program featuring his fellow Finns Tapio Tuomela, Kaija Saariaho, and Jukka Tiensuu, plus a brand-new work from Brooklyn composer Michael Rose.

The celebrated composer and conductor Tania Justina León (b. 1943) presents an evening of recent chamber works: a new foray into live musician+electronics and two song cycles with texts by Margaret Atwood and Derek Walcott.

Featuring: Airi Yoshioka, violin; Elizabeth Farnum, soprano; Adam Kent, piano; Diana Herold, marimba. Thursday, May 15 at 8pm. Roulette: 20 Greene Street (between Canal and Grand). General admission: $15 ($10 students, seniors, Harvestworks & DTW members; free for Roulette and Location One members). For reservations, call 212-219-8242.

Tania Justina León is an Afro-Cuban composer and conductor of contemporary classical music. Born in Havana, she is Director of Music Composition at Brooklyn College, where she has been a member of the faculty since 1985.

Nyaho/Garcia Piano Duo Performs in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands May 18

The Nyaho/Garcia Piano Duo of Dr. William H. Chapman Nyaho (b. 1958) and Susanna Garcia will perform at Island Center for the Performing Arts, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, on Sunday, May 18, 2008. Dr. Chapman Nyaho was born in Washington. D.C. but was raised in his parents' native Ghana. Recent successes include the release of Volume 3 of his landmark anthology, Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora, published by Oxford University Press.

The website http://www.Nyaho.com gives this background for the Duo: “The two pianists bring their own rich cultural backgrounds to their repertoire, exploring the fascinating music of composers of African or Hispanic heritage... music that in many cases is otherwise neglected, but which flowers in their hands. The duo similarly sheds welcome light on the works of women composers, American composers, and contemporary composers.

In November 1998, Nyaho and Garcia released their first compact disc recording of the complete transcriptions of Aaron Copland for two pianos for Centaur Records. Classical Magazine wrote then that the duo, 'form a perfect match in their style of playing, their tone, and in their genuine feeling for and understanding of the Copland pieces... This CD will be the standard against which any future performances of these dances will be measured'." [William H. Chapman Nyaho is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Nyaho/Garcia Duo in St. Croix
Island Center For The Performing Arts
St. Croix U.S. Virgin Islands
Ghanaian-American Pianist
Black Classical Pianist
Sunday May 18 2008

Music of Black Africa on Future Radio

The classical music blog On An Overgrown Path is written from the U.K. by Pliable, aka Bob Shingleton, a staunch ally of AfriClassical Bob tells us a special Future Radio broadcast is planned for 12:01 AM (Local Time), Monday, May 26. On An Overgrown Path will run a series of features on the broadcast in the coming weeks. AfriClassical is proud to post the initial press release:

Norwich radio station’s world music premiere
Norwich’s FM and internet station Future Radio scores another first over the holiday weekend with the broadcast premiere of a complete traditional African trance ritual recorded in the Medina of Marrakech, Morocco. The performance is played by traditional gnawa musicians (photos above and below) and has been made possible by a collaboration between the Norwich community station Future Radio 96.9FM and KamarStudios who are based in Marrakech and New York.

Marrakech is known as the Gate of Black Africa and gnawa music came to Morocco from sub-Saharan Africa with the slave trade. For centuries gnawa has only been played in secret spirit-possession and healing ceremonies called lilas that evolved from ancient African animistic and Islamic Sufi rituals. In these religious rites healing spirits are said “to mount” the possessed, who whirl and writhe in an ecstatic trance which sometimes reaches such a frenzy that they self-harm.

Recordings of the gnawa trance rituals are very rare as they are performed in private. But KamarStudios have worked with leading gnawa musicians to record the complete ‘black’ section of the twelve hour long Nights of the Seven Colours trance ritual which celebrates the creation of the universe. The ‘black’ ritual lasts for two hours and in a broadcast first will be aired on Future Radio without interruption.

Gnawa music, which combines vocals with intricate rhythms and cross rhythms created by hand-held drums, African lute and iron castanets, has many connections with contemporary music and now has its own festival at Essaouira on the Moroccan coast which attracts an international audience, while Steve Reich and many other contemporary composers have been influenced by African drum rhythms.

To reflect these contemporary connections the broadcast of the sacred lilas is being paired with a one hour set which combines the traditional musicians with two young Marrakech DJs for a twenty first century ‘minimalist trance’ take on centuries-old gnawa. The electro-acoustic set will conclude the three hour programme which is being presented on Bob Shingleton’s Overgrown Path programme over the holiday weekend starting at one minute past midnight on the morning of Monday May 26^th.

For further information and photo opportunities contact Bob Shingleton on overgrownpath@hotmail.co.uk phone or Tom Buckham on t.buckham@nr5project.co.uk

Future Radio background here - http://www.futureradio.co.uk/

KamarStudios and gnawa background here - http://kamarstudios.com/wordpress/index.php?cat=3

Bob Shingleton’s arts and music blog here - http://www.overgrownpath.com/

Photos of the Master Musicians of Marrakech courtesy KamarStudios .

Music of Black Africa
African Trance Ritual
On An Overgrown Path
Future Radio Internet Program
Marrakech Morocco
KamarStudios gnawa

Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges: A Leading Composer of Symphonies Concertantes

[Le Chevalier de Saint-George: The Complete Symphonies Concertantes On 2 CDs; CD2 276018; Avenira (2008)]

A recent AfriClassical post read: “The Complete Symphonies Concertantes of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges Released”. The composer's eight works in this musical form are now available on Le Chevalier de Saint-George: The Complete Symphonies Concertantes On 2 CDs; CD1 276017 and CD2 276018; Avenira (2008). The CDs are now in stock at numerous music websites, including Amazon.com, ArkivMusic.com and HBDirect.com

The liner notes for both CDs are by Michelle Garnier-Panafieu: “With Giuseppe Maria Cambini and Jean-Baptiste Davaux, Saint-George was among the composers who excelled in the genre that was to survive the Revolution and to persist into the nineteenth century under the title of double concerto or triple concerto (we are, of course, thinking of Beethoven).

Saint-George composed eight symphonies concertantes: two Opus 6, two Opus 9, two Opus 10, one Opus 12 and one Opus 13. They were published between 1775 and 1782, his most productive years as a composer, when he was at the forefront of Parisian musical life as conductor of the Concert des Amateurs, then of the Concert de la Loge Olympique. So it was after acquiring ample experience in the composition of violin concertos — by 1775, when his two Concertos Opus 5 were published, he had already brought out six — that he explored the expressive possibilities of this new hybrid genre, half-way between the symphony and the concerto.”

Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Afro-French Composer
Complete Symphonies Concertantes CDs
Avenira AV 276018 (2008)
New Saint-Georges CDs from Avenira
Black Classical Music Recording

WHPK-FM Chicago Airs Sodi Braide's CD of Piano Works of César Franck May 13

[Sodi Braide: Franck, œuvres pour piano; Lyrinx\Talents LYR 249 (2006)]

AfriClassical recently posted “U.S. Debut of Nigerian Pianist Sodi Braide's CD: WHPK-FM Chicago May 13”. Today we are happy to relay a message from Sergio Mims, the Chicago radio host who has scheduled portions of Sodi Braide's César Franck CD for broadcast tomorrow: “HELLO! I hope you'll be able to listen to my classical music radio show Tuesday on WHPK-FM in Chicago (88.5 FM) and on-line on www.whpk.org (12 noon - 3PM U.S. Central time). The show will be devoted to French music with piano music by César Franck performed by Sodi Braide, Paul Dukas' Symphony in C major and Hector Berlioz' Messe Solennelle, among other works.”

WHPK-FM Airs Sodi Braide's CD
Sodi Braide Nigerian Pianist
Sergio Mims Radio Host
WHPK.org Online Radio
May 13 Classical Program
Radio Debut of CD

Duke Ellington Among Black Artists Banned From Films by Memphis Censor

BattlePanda.blogspot.com, Saturday, May 10, 2008
Banned in Memphis
This week's Memphis Flyer contained a wonderful history article on Lloyd T. Binford, who was
head of the Memphis Censor Board from 1928 to 1956.

But it was Binford's attitude toward blacks that caused him — and Memphis — the most condemnation. Binford was absolutely opposed to movies showing blacks and whites together on the same social level. In 1945, he blocked the hit musical Annie Get Your Gun from Ellis Auditorium because there were blacks in the cast "who had too familiar an air about them." For the same reason, he banned the film Imitation of Life (1934) with Claudette Colbert and Brewster's Millions (1945) with Eddie "Rochester" Anderson because certain scenes "gave too much prominence to Negroes."

To show the films in Memphis, local distributors had to delete these scenes. As a result, some movies shown here were minutes shorter than the same films shown in other cities, because Binford ordered the complete removal of scenes featuring prominent black performers like Duke Ellington or Cab Calloway. Memphians probably never realized that Lena Horne's segment, for example, was snipped completely out of the 1946 picture Ziegfield Follies, as was Pearl Bailey's role in the 1947 Variety Girl.

In 1947, Binford axed Curley, a Little Rascals-type comedy distributed by United Artists, simply because it included one scene that showed black and white children in a classroom together. In his official letter to the United Artists distributors, Binford explained, "The Memphis Censor Board ... is unable to approve your picture with the little Negroes, as the South does not permit Negroes in white schools nor recognize social equality between the races, even in children."

UK's Black Cultural Archives, With Score of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Awarded Building Funds

[African Heritage Symphonic Series, Vol. 1; Danse Nègre From African Suite (6:14); Petite Suite de Concert (13:36); Chicago Sinfonietta; Paul Freeman, Conductor; Cedille 90000 055 (2000)]

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) was an Afro-British composer and conductor who is profiled at AfriClassical.com HistoryToday.com brings us this news:
Archives chronicling the history of African and African-Caribbean descendants in the UK have been awarded a major grant. The £4 million Heritage Lottery Fund award was announced today for the Black Cultural Archives, which will be housed permanently in Raleigh Hall, Brixton. The Grade II listed building in south London is currently derelict but will be removed from the English Heritage ‘Buildings At Risk’ register. Writer and broadcaster Kwame Kwei-Armah said: ‘I’ve been a huge fan of the BCA since it was first set up in 1981 – it’s a goldmine of information about black cultural identity in Britain.’ The archives contain over 8,000 items, mainly from the post-1945 era, and include photographs, letters and other memorabilia, such as a score by 19th-century composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor. Councillor Steve Reed, Lambeth Council Leader, said: ‘Brixton is popularly known as the African Caribbean capital of Britain and this proud history makes it fitting that the BCA should be permanently based here.’ (May 8th) [Full Post]

UK Black Cultural Archives
Heritage Lottery Award Fund
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Afro-British Composer
Coleridge-Taylor Score

Horn Player In Danbury Community Orchestra Comments on 'Afro-American Symphony'

[Afro-American Symphony; William Grant Still; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Karl Kruger, conductor; Bridge 9086 (1999)]

AfriClassical has received this E-mail comment on yesterday's post on the Danbury Community Orchestra's performance of the opening movement of William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony: “I am Nancy Sudik, the executive director of the Danbury Music Centre. I also played horn in the William Grant Still "Afro-American Symphony" last Sunday. I want to thank you for commenting on the review. We enjoyed playing this beautiful piece and our director, Stephen Michael Smith, is considering programming it in its entirety for a future concert.

How did you come upon this review? I see you live in Ann Arbor - that's not close to Danbury, Conn. Since you are obviously a music lover, are you familiar with the Price family from Ann Arbor? Richard Price was raised in Ann Arbor, MI, played horn professionally, and is now the music director of the Danbury Concert Chorus. It is a small world. Perhaps you knew him or his family. Nancy F. Sudik, Executive Director, Danbury Music Centre [The African American composer William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

William Grant Still
African American Composer
Afro-American Symphony
Danbury Music Centre
Stephen Michael Smith conductor
Nancy Sudik executive director

News-Times: Danbury Concert Features Part of William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony

[Symphony No. 1 (Afro-American); William Grant Still; Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Järvi, Conductor; Chandos 9154 (1993)]

Jan Stribula, Contributing Writer for the Danbury, Connecticut News-Times, writes on May 9 about a performance of the Danbury Community Orchestra under its musical director and conductor Stephen Michael Smith. Here is an excerpt: “Soloist Thoensen didn't let his reed dry up as he was playing his English horn again in the opening movement for "Afro-American Symphony," by William Grant Still (1895 -- 1978). Loaded with historical significance, this was the first symphony by a black composer to be performed by a major American orchestra at its premiere in 1930.

Still was born in Mississippi and traded musical ideas with Gershwin and Ellington, creating an amalgam of blues and jazz. I can't do justice to the intrinsic involvement of race in American musical history here. Ken Burns just scratched the surface in his 10-part documentary "Jazz." The 1930s were a delightful period in music from the standpoint of today's listener, but maybe not so joyous for the musicians living through it back then.

The DCO used muted trumpet, two pianos offstage, and some nice clarinet work to give a bluesy feeling with lots of rhythmic swing. I believe Smith succeeded in motivating the audience to go out and get a recording to hear the rest of Still's wonderful symphony.” Full Post [William Grant Still is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

William Grant Still
African American Composer
Afro-American Symphony
Danbury Community Orchestra
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Chandos 9154 (1993)

Myrtle Hart Society: Record Review – William Chapman Nyaho – Senku

[Senku: Piano Music by Composers of African Descent; William Chapman Nyaho, piano; Musicians Showcase 1091]

From the May eNewsletter of the Myrtle Hart Society, MyrtleHart.org:
Nyaho's CD is Overpowering! For some of us, the name of William Chapman Nyaho came to attention only recently, but this has been a major and most happy discovery. He had begun his musical studies in his native Ghana, to be followed with degree work at Oxford University and the Conservatore de Musique in Geneva, the Eastman School of Music, and finally with his doctoral study at the University of Texas-Austin.

The first of what must be a series of CDs was issued on Musicians Showcase MS 1091 not long ago. Three well-known works appear in fresh interpretations: Margaret Bond's Troubled water, the tenth of Coleridge-Taylor's 24 Negro melodies, Deep river, and Dett's beloved In the bottoms. We need not feel guilty of infidelity to Natalie Hinderas, who returned the Dett suite into the repertoire (and her Juba has more laughing-barrel tongue-in-cheek), but Nyaho gives the music new life.

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, whose stock shot up, and rightfully so, before his death, is represented by a dynamic Scherzo. Nothing is more delightful than the Three Jamaican dances of Oswald Russell, now a resident in Switzerland. Three composers are introduced: Gyimah Labi, from Ghana, is represented by a movement from his Six dialects in African pianism - that movement espoused by Akin Euba, J. H. Kwabena Nketia, and so many contemporary African composers seeking a totally new approach to texture and rhythm in piano composition. This is further illustrated by Joshua Uzoigwe, an enormously gifted Nigerian, whose Talking drums is offered here. It will be a tremendous boost to recorded literature for history classes and individual students in piano and composition. This CD is as exciting and informative as any I have heard in recent times. Dominique-René de Lerma, Lawrence University

William H. Chapman Nyaho
Senku: Piano Music
Composers of African Descent
Dominique-René de Lerma
Ghanaian-American Pianist
Musicians Showcase 1091

Danielle Belen Nesmith's Winnning Sphinx Performance on “Performance Today” May 9

Danielle Belen Nesmith, the first-place Laureate of the 2008 Sphinx Competition presented by Chase will be featured on Performance Today. Her performance of Mother and Child from William Grant Still's Suite for Violin will be broadcast on Friday, May 9.

As a Sphinx Laureate, Danielle will perform with major orchestras around the country during the upcoming year, including the Boston Pops, Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Florida Orchestra. A native of California, Danielle is a recent graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music, and plays a 1709 Allessandro Gagliano violin from the Mandell Collection of Southern California.

Performance Today is heard by 1.4 million people each week on 250 public radio stations across the country. In addition, many stations offer streaming audio over the internet. Visit Public Radio Fan to find stations that broadcast and stream Performance Today.

Founded in 1996, the Sphinx Organization is the national arts and youth development organization dedicated to building diversity in classical music. In the past ten years, the Sphinx Competition has awarded over one million dollars in prizes and scholarships and provided performance opportunities to promising young musicians of color.

The Sphinx Organization envisions a world in which classical music reflects cultural diversity and plays a role in the everyday lives of youth.

Danielle Belen Nesmith
2008 Sphinx Laureate's Performance
Performance Today May 9
William Grant Still
Mother and Child
Still's Suite for Violin

Myrtle Hart Society: Pianist Francis Paraïso Performs in France

From the May eNewsletter of the Myrtle Hart Society, MyrtleHart.org:
On Friday, his MySpace page said that he was "deciphering Coleridge-Taylor's piano music." Twenty-four-year-old French Beninese Francis Paraïso began his piano studies at age 12 at the 'Conservatoire National de Région d'Angers'. Three years later, he began to compose for his instrument. In 2001, he obtained his final degrees in piano, chamber music, music theory and musical analysis. He obtained the same degrees in 2004 in a National Music School in Paris.

After his French high school diploma, Francis enrolled in The University of Musicology where he obtained his 'Maîtrise' of Musicology (fourth year of university study) in 2005. By 2006, he had earned his 'DESS' (fifth year of university studies in Direction and Management of Music). In 2007, Francis earned the pianist accompanist degree.

Often concertizing his own piano works and chamber music concerts, he is also the accompanist for the opera and the orchestra and teaches piano in a national music school.

Francis Paraïso's works contain piano pieces, chamber music, a musical, duos voice/piano. His favorite composer is César Frank and among his influences are French composers such as Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Jean Cras, Paul Le Flem, Gabriel Fauré, Guy Ropartz, Louis Vierne, Charles Koechlin, Edvard Grieg, Joaquin Turina, Albert Roussel, Gabriel Dupont, Marcel Labey, Florent Schmitt.

Francis favors impressionist music adding, "I think with Ravel, Debussy and many others, it's rather simple to travel from "classic (impressionism)" to "jazz" (early style). This a very colorful music full of misty landscapes, tumultuous oceans, soft winds and luminous tomorrows. It has touched my heart since the first note. In some way, it's by this style that I express in my music pieces all my 'Africanity' (not sure about the spelling in English...)". He performs in France. If you are in France or will visit this month, support Francis Paraïso.

Saturday, May 10 at 8:30 PM, Francis Paraïso will perform his own works at Juigné sur Loire Rabelais Festival. Program--Turina: piano quartet op 67; Fauré: piano quartet op 15; Bach: suites for violin solo and cello solo; and Paraïso: piano solo pieces.

Friday, May 30 at 8:30 PM in Angers at “Grand Théâtre”. Program—Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue for piano and wind orchestra among others.

Francis Paraïso
French Beninese Pianist
Black Pianist
May Performances in France
Black French Classical Pianist
National Music School Teacher

U.S. Performances of Sodi Braide, Nigerian Pianist

AfriClassical recently posted "U.S. Debut of Nigerian Pianist Sodi Braide's
CD: WHPK-FM Chicago May 13".  Sodi Braide has sent an E-mail to us and the
radio host, Sergio Mims: "Thank you indeed for this and thank you, Sergio,
for broadcasting my cd.  I thought you might like to know of two upcoming
performances scheduled in the US: I shall be performing in the Impulse
Artists Series in Houston, Texas from September 12th to 17th (including
chamber and outreach programmes, with a solo recital on the 17th); and then
in the Dame Myra Hess recital series in Chicago on February 18th, 2009.
I'll send more info later.  Best regards, Sodi."  The Impulse Artists Series
is a project of the African American classical pianist Jade Smalls Simmons,
whose website is http://www.JadeMedia.org  The Dame Myra Hess Memorial
Concerts are held at the Chicago Cultural Center, 
http://www.imfchicago.org/hessmain.html 

Sodi Braide Nigerian Pianist
Sodi Braide's U.S. Performances
Impulse Artists Series
Jade Simmons African American Pianist
Dame Myra Hess Recital
Sergio Mims WHPK-FM Chicago

'Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora', Vol. 3, by Dr. William H. Chapman Nyaho

New York, NY, 30 April, 2008- Oxford University Press is pleased to announce the release of the third volume in this unique collection dedicated to the piano music of the African Diaspora. The series is available in five separate volumes for easier accessibility. Included alongside well-known works are pieces which are hard to find, out of print, or have never been published.

The collection is graded - Volume 1: Early-intermediate; Volume 2: Intermediate; Volume 3: Early-Advanced; Volumes 4 and 5: Advanced - and includes pieces by African composers now living in Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Egypt, Nigeria, USA, Congo, Ghana, South Africa, Cuba, Brazil, Virgin Islands, and Haiti. This collection can be used as a supplement to keyboard literature courses in universities and colleges.

Dr. William Chapman Nyaho is an active international performer, scholar, teacher, and clinician. Born in Washington, D.C., raised in Ghana and now living in Seattle, Chapman Nyaho holds degrees from Oxford University, Conservatoire de Musique de Geneve, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Texas, Austin. He is a winner of prizes from the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition and the Ibla Grand Prize International Competition in Italy. He is a regular guest clinician, giving master classes, presentations, lecture-recitals, and workshops advocating music by composers of the African Diaspora in elementary to high schools, and also colleges and universities.

For more information, please contact the Oxford Music Department at (212) 726-6109 or email music.us@oup.com. Vol. 3 is available now at the price of $19.95.

'These important publications will bring immeasurable pleasure to musicians and music lovers and limitless credit to Dr. Chapman Nyaho. He has done a Herculean job finding, identifying and collecting this rich music. Without his skill and fervor, this precious trove of music may have been lost.' - Dr. Maya Angelou [Dr. William H. Chapman Nyaho (b. 1958) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Piano Music of Africa & African Diaspora
Oxford University Press Anthology
William H. Chapman Nyaho
Edited by Chapman Nyaho
Ghanaian-American Classical Pianist
Composers of African Descent

May 1 Aspen Public Radio Podcast Includes Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges

The NPR Podcast Directory lists two Classical Music Podcasts. We recently subscribed to both. One is “Aspen Public Radio: Classical Music From Aspen”, from 1 PM – 3 PM (MDT) weekdays: “Host Nikki Boxer invites listeners to join her every weekday for music at midday. Providing an interesting cross-section of styles, genres and musical periods, Classical Music from Aspen features everything from popular favorites to rarely-heard gems by obscure composers. Through a unique collaboration with the Aspen Music Festival and School, Classical Music from Aspen brings the community inside and backstage, with interviews, live broadcasts and more.”

Taking advantage of the time flexibility made possible by podcasting, we listened to the May 1, 2008 program today. “The Miraculous Mandarin” by Bela Bartok was the title feature, but what interested us most was a “Violin Concerto in D” of the Afro-French composer Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799), who is profiled at AfriClassical.com The work was performed by violin soloist Qian Zhou and the Toronto Camerata under Kevin Mallon. The CD was Naxos 8.557322 (2004), from the independent label known for high quality sound and budget pricing.
Classical Music from Aspen
CMA Podcast May 1
Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Saint-Georges on Podcast
Podcast Host Nikki Boxer

Classic in Black Radio: Tuesday 6 May 2008 at 8 PM Berlin Time

African Culture Meets Western Classical Music
The Classic in Black Radio Show Program on Offener Kanal Berlin 97,2 Mhz presents a special radio show, within the XXIII. Black International Cinema Berlin Festival 2008 in Cinema Movimiento 8-12 May (Berlin/Kreuzberg); a program accompanied with music. Date: Tuesday 6 May 2008 at 8 PM (Live). The Classic in Black Show Program is also available Live Stream on the Offener Kanal Website: http://www.okb.de Look under the section Radio live stream.

Offener Kanal Berlin Website: http://www.classicinblack.de/

Harry Louiserre/Producer and Moderator CIB Radio Show, Email: info@classicinblack.de

Classic in Black Radio
Black International Cinema Berlin
8pm Berlin time 6 May
Live Stream Offener Kanal
Classic in Black Berlin
Black Classical Music

U.S. Debut of Nigerian Pianist Sodi Braide's CD: WHPK-FM Chicago May 13

[Sodi Braide: Franck, œuvres pour piano; Lyrinx\Talents LYR 249 (2006)]

AfriClassical was delighted to receive this message from Sergio Mims, an African American host of a classical music radio program in Chicago and online: “HELLO! This is Sergio again at WHPK-FM in Chicago (88.5) and live stream on-line http://www.WHPK.org and I just wanted to let you know that I will be playing selections from Sodi Braide's César Franck solo piano CD on Tuesday May 13^th. I will be playing the Prelude, Choral and Fugue and the Prelude, Aria and Final by Franck along with Paul Dukas' Symphony in C major and Hector Berlioz' Messe Solennelle. My show airs 12 noon- 3PM (Central Time).”

A prior post on AfriClassical was entitled: “Piano Works of Franck on CD by Nigerian Pianist Sodi Braide”. The CD is: Sodi Braide: Franck, œuvres pour piano (Franck, Works for Piano); Lyrinx\Talents LYR 249 (2006). It is presently available from selected European and Japanese music websites. Here is a one-minute Audio Sample

The Nigerian pianist Sodi Braide is the son of two college professors, born in 1975 in the U.K., where his father was a graduate student. He studied piano from the age of three. The family returned to Nigeria in 1979, where no classical conservatory existed and qualified teachers were so difficult to find that his parents had to drive him as far as 100 kilometers for his weekly lessons. At a 1987 competition in Nigeria, Sodi was not the winner but he so impressed the pianist Éric Heidsieck, a member of the jury, that at age 13 he received a 2-year renewable scholarship to study in France. Sodi studied hard, and was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique (CNSM) of Paris at 16. In an interview in French with PianoBleu.com, he is quoted as saying: “I had already played one or two times in South Africa, and I remembered that most of the South Africans, at the time, had never seen seen a Black pianist of classical music, 'music of the Whites', what's more in the finals of such a competition. It was just after the end of apartheid, and some were really thunderstruck to discover that in fact there was not a cultural barrier due to skin color!'” [AfriClassical congratulates Sodi Braide on his decision to record the beautiful but little-known solo piano pieces of César Franck, a composer who is generally known as a composer of works for organ. Likewise, we congratulate radio host Sergio Mims of WHPK-FM on presenting the U.S. radio debut of excerpts from the CD.]

Nigerian Pianist Sodi Braide
César Franck Piano Works
U.S. Debut Lyrinx 249
May 13 WHPK-FM
Sergio Mims Radio Host
Sodi Braide Audio Sample

Leo Brouwer Playing "Death of an Angel"

Where The Pieces Fall, Cyber-Palimpsest by Javier Hernandez-Miyares:
A YouTube video of the Afro-Cuban Classical Guitarist Leo Brouwer playing La Muerte De Un Angel [Death Of An Angel] (4:51) was posted in Cuba at 12:16 am by mbumba. [Leo Brouwer is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

The Young Eight Will Perform in New York State on May 8, 9 & 12

The Young Eight, http://www.theyoungeight.com, America’s only African-American string octet, will present three concerts in New York State which are free and open to the public, on May 8, 9 and 12:

Thursday, May 8 – 12 noon – The Young Eight will be in concert at Hudson Valley Community College’s Maureen Stapleton Theatre, 80 Vandenburgh Avenue in Troy, New York as part of the college’s Cultural Affairs Series. For more information, call (518) 629-8072 or visit https://www.hvcc.edu/

Friday, May 9 – 8 PM – The Young Eight will be appear on the Main Stage Theater of the Performing Arts Center on the campus of York College CUNY – 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd, Jamaica, New York. For more information, call 718-262-3750 or visit http://york.cuny.edu/centers-institutes/performing-arts/events

Monday, May 12 – 7:30 PM - The Young Eight will perform at Advent Lutheran Church, 2504 Broadway at 93rd Street in Manhattan. For more information, call 212-866-2100 or visit http://www.adventnyc.org/musicmondays

Imani Winds In Reading, Pennsylvania May 9

[The Classical Underground; Imani Winds; Koch International Classics 7599 (2005)]

On Friday, May 9 at 8:00 PM, Imani Winds will perform at Albright College Center for the Arts, Wachovia Theater, in Reading, Pennsylvania. The program is Eugene Bozza: Scherzo; Liduino Pitombeira: Suite Hermetica; Villa-Lobos: Quintet en Forme de Choros; Pixiguinha/Lacerda/de Geus: Descendo Serra; Gyorgy Orban: Wind Quintet.

Imani Winds, ImaniWinds.com, is an innovative wind quintet comprised of African American musicians: Valerie Coleman, flute; Torin Spellman-Diaz, oboe; Mariam Adam, Clarinet; Jeff Scott, French horn; Monica Ellis, bassoon. The website Albright.edu says: “These five Grammy-nominated musicians have been enriching the traditional wind quintet repertoire with European, African, Latin American, and American music flavoring since 1997.” [To see the complete Philadelphia area calendar of Black Classical Musicians and Concerts, click Here]

African American Quintet
Valerie Coleman flute
Torin Spellman-Diaz oboe
Mariam Adam clarinet
Jeff Scott French horn
Monica Ellis bassoon

Pianist Roy Eaton on TV in Manhattan May 5 at 2:30 PM

The African American pianist Roy F. Eaton, RoyEaton.net, is well known for performing and recording the works of the African American ragtime and classical composer Scott Joplin, and for interpreting the piano works of other composers, including Chopin and William Grant Still. Roy Eaton tells AfriClassical his appearance on the program “Active Aging” will be repeated on Monday, May 5 at 2:30 PM on Time Warner Channel 56. The broadcast will also be accessible on line at the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, www.mnn.org [The African American composers Scott Joplin and William Grant Still are profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Roy F. Eaton
African American Pianist
Works of Scott Joplin
William Grant Still
Active Aging
May 5 2:30 PM

Works of Henry T. Burleigh, R. Nathaniel Dett & William Grant Still at Richmond Festival May 2

[Afro-American Symphony; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Karl Kruger, conductor; Bridge 9086 (1999)]

Clarke Bustard is a music critic and cultural writer based in Richmond, Virgina. He writes
Letter V: the Virginia Classical Music Blog, whose May 1 edition presents the complete program of the May 2 concert which includes Henry T. Burleigh: Andante from “Southland Sketches”;
R. Nathaniel Dett: “In the Bottoms” (Excerpts); and William Grant Still: “Gamin” from "Suite for Violin and Piano". Full Post

VocalEssence Celebrates 40 Years With 'Gala: Serengeti Serenade' May 3

[Philip Brunelle, Founder and Artistic Director of VocalEssence]

From the May eNewsletter of The Myrtle Hart Society, MyrtleHart.org:
VocalEssence celebrates its 40th Anniversary Season with Philip Brunelle, Founder and Artistic Director. The 130-voice VocalEssence Chorus and 32-voice Ensemble Singers invite you to their 'Gala: Serengeti Serenade' on Saturday, May 3 at 6:00PM at The Historic Milwaukee Depot. The magnificent landscape of the Serengeti region and the invigorating music of Africa inspire the 2008 vocalessence Gala, led by co-chairs Gayle Fuguitt and Julie Zelle. There will also be a drum and dance troupe performing music of Ghana! Program includes Rosephanye Powell: Sorida (A Zimbabwe Greeting); Keep Your Lamps - arr. André Thomas; Duke Ellington, arr. Sanford Moore: Come Sunday. [Duke Ellington is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

VocalEssence 40th Anniversary
Philip Brunelle Founder and Director
Gala: Serengeti Serenade
Music of Africa
Duke Ellington
African American Composer