Saturday, May 31, 2014

NYTimes.com: "Reading Genesis, the Jazz Piano Edition: The Pianist Jon Weber Offers ‘From Joplin to Jarrett’"

is featured at AfriClassical.com

is featured at AfriClassical.com

The New York Times

Art of Élan Features 'The Myriad Trio' of Demarre McGill, flute; Julie Smith Phillips, harp; and Che-Yen Chen, viola; at Lux Art Institute 7 PM, June 9, 2014


The Myriad Trio is Demarre McGill on flute, Julie Smith Phillips on harp, and Che-Yen Chen on viola

The Eye of Night
The Myriad Trio
(2012)
Now available for download only from
www.themyriadtrio.com

Demarre McGill and Kate Hatmaker

Art of Élan makes its highly anticipated return to Lux Art Institute on June 9th with a program that features The Myriad Trio

This colorful program opens with the folk-like melodies of Jan Bach's "Eisteddfod," continues through the sumptuous harmonies and textures of Debussy's famed "Sonata for flute, viola and harp" (the piece that paved the way for future flute/viola/harp works), and concludes with "The Eye of Night" by David Bruce, the enchanting work that was written for and premiered by The Myriad Trio in 2011 and which was recorded on their debut album. 

Like all Art of Élan concerts at Lux, the evening includes a pre-concert reception with the musicians as well as a meet-and-greet with resident artist Beverly Penn.

6pm-- Reception with the musicians and resident artist Beverly Penn
7pm--Performance in the studio

Complimentary valet parking available.

Eric Conway, D.M.A.: Day 10 of the Morgan State University Choir Middle East Tour



















Eric Conway, D.M.A.:

Today was a good day.  Quite like Oman, we have two very fine guides for the the country of the United Arab Emirates.  Given that we have two buses on this tour, one for the choir, and one for the "shadow group", each guide is assigned to each group.  After a very exhausting Carmina Burana performance on last night, the group was given some latitude for the activity for the first part of the day.

One group wanted to sleep in, and not have any formal commitments until our group dinner at 5:30 PM. This was an excellent option, as this City Seasons Hotel is the finest of hotel of the tour, with exceptional amenities with free and fast Wi-Fi!  Another option lobbied by the students was for one bus to go to the beach. This surprisingly was a popular option among the students, however I could not understand going to the beach in this heat.  I have not spoken about the temperature in these emails, but as you can guess it is extremely hot in this area of the world in late May.  Today the temperature reached 113 degrees Fahrenheit.  The water is not warm but hot, however, the students said that they had a great time, although no shade was to be found.  The shadow group & I went to the Abu Dhabi Mosque led by our guide, considered one of the greatest in the world.  One will see many photos of the mosque in this email with extraordinary architecture and opulent appointments.  Due to the oil money in this region, the Mosques that we have visited are much more opulent than any cathedrals that we have visited over the years.  As much money as Dubai is known to have across the world, Abu Dhabi has even more.  

We then visited the Emirates Heritage Club where we were able to purchase some souvenirs, and learn a little more about the region.

After the mosque visit and Heritage Club visit, in 113 degree weather, we were poised to find some good air conditioning. We visited another mall - the Marina Mall where we had lunch on our own.   You will see several photos from this mall attached.

The architecture of the buildings of the urban centers of this region is an architect's paradise.  Imagine given the opportunity to design any building that you could imagine with your mind, and have the funding to make it a reality. That is what one sees in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  You will see many photos in this email of many futuristic buildings and hotels.  Many buildings have solar panels for energy on the top of the buildings with a slant towards the sun - which makes perfect sense given that the sun beams down virtually every day, with very little rain.  Some buildings have retractable shells to reduce the sun in the buildings and reduce air-conditioning costs.   The society in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi are very much more advanced (or better funded)  than the US.  Little things like escalators in the malls that only move when a person approaches the escalator (motion sensitive) gives a sense of an advanced civilization - or metro trains that are driverless, but do not collide with any pedestrians or cars.  The list could go on, but my goal is to inform everyone that those in the Middle East are not all terrorists, but persons who are perhaps even more respectful of others than Westerners, and certainly many Americans.  It's the media that has given us this perception of those from this region because of a very few individual extremists or radical subgroups within the culture are all sinister.  They worship God as others in the world, and perhaps are more pious in many ways than we are.  

After the mall, we had a few hours to rest, eat and leave for our last concert of the tour at the Brighton College. This concert's format was similar to others where the local choirs sang a small portion prior to our presentation.  Tonight's concert featured an all female group called Voices of Harmony and a small mixed chorus named Blue Fever.  Both were good opening acts to our set.  

Originally, there was concern over the sacred nature of our music, and we did amend our program somewhat, however after a few concerts, we realized that the audiences really wanted us to sing our Gospel music!  Tonight, we added much new music that we did not sing all tour.  One of these new songs was an arrangement by one of the Morgan students Jasmine Barnes of Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" with human percussion effects and all!  We added two new Gospel favorites as well "Celebrate!"  and "Lord You are Good!"  See links to video below. 

The truly amazing thing about tonight's performance was that in an Islamic country, we were singing our American Gospel songs, and we were all worshipping God (Allah) all together - what a wonderful sight!  One would never know that we were from different tribes as we were singing.  Music is the universal language.  

Tonight's concert was special on many levels.  Tonight's concert was quite emotional for the choir as this was the last concert for many persons who have been with me for years!  Although we have enjoyed this tour, and learned a great deal about Middle Eastern culture, many are ready to get back home to our families as I am.  See links below to a couple of the performances this evening.

I Know I've Been Changed YouTube Link:

Rock With You YouTube link:

Celebrate YouTube link:

Lord You Are Good YouTube link:

*****************************
Eric Conway, D.M.A.
Fine and Performing Arts Department, Chair
Morgan State University

'In Memory of Maya Angelou,' Pianist Richard Alston, Violinist Christopher Lee & Cellist Ellison Artisson Perform 'Deep River' arranged for Piano Trio

AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List and a Bibliography by Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma, www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com.  We are collaborating with the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Foundation of the U.K., www.SCTF.org.uk]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goj5DiA8Fhk&feature=em-share_video_user


Richard Alston, pianist; Christopher Lee, violinist and Ellison Artison, cellist perform the Negro Spiritual "Deep River" based on the arrangment by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor included in his 24 Negro Melodies. Arranged as a trio by Karl Rissland.

Sergio A. Mims: Afro-Venezuelan Conductor Rafael Payare Appointed Chief Conductor of Ulster Orchestra From September 2014

 Rafael Payare 
(Ulster Orchestra)

Rafael Payare 
(Elgin Symphony Orchestra)

Sergio A. Mims writes:
I've been remiss in telling you the great news about Afro-Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare and that back in January he was named chief conductor of the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, Northern Ireland starting this year:



In what industry insiders are calling a major coup for Northern Ireland, one of the world’s most exciting emerging conductors has been appointed as the new Chief Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra. Rafael Payare, 33, from Venezuela, is regarded internationally as one of the most talented of the new generation of conductors. Winner of the 2012 Malko Conducting Competition, Maestro Payare has already worked with some of the leading orchestras of Europe and North America.
Maestro Payare will join the Ulster Orchestra in September, when New Yorker JoAnn Falletta’s three-year contract comes to an end.
Dr Rosa Solinas, Chief Executive of the Ulster Orchestra, said: ‘The past twelve months have been exciting, especially given our key role in the Derry~Londonderry inaugural UK City of Culture year, but the immediate future promises to be even more so: Rafael’s exceptional musicality and his natural command and energy on the podium have impressed everyone. We can’t wait to begin working with him in earnest. We think his fresh approach to music-making – not only in the concert hall but throughout the community – is great news for Belfast and for the whole of Northern Ireland.’
Maestro Payare added: ‘From the moment I first conducted the Ulster Orchestra in October, the players made a great impression on me. The chemistry was immediate and a very special bond was formed. I am really looking forward to embarking on the wonderful journey that is about to start and I am thrilled to share and be part of the Orchestra’s future!
- See more at: http://ulsterorchestra.com/news/post/ulster-orchestra-announce-rafael-payare-as-chief-conductor-from-2014-15#sthash.9DcsonRA.dpuf

In what industry insiders are calling a major coup for Northern Ireland, one of the world’s most exciting emerging conductors has been appointed as the new Chief Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra. Rafael Payare, 33, from Venezuela, is regarded internationally as one of the most talented of the new generation of conductors. Winner of the 2012 Malko Conducting Competition, Maestro Payare has already worked with some of the leading orchestras of Europe and North America.
Maestro Payare will join the Ulster Orchestra in September, when New Yorker JoAnn Falletta’s three-year contract comes to an end.
Dr Rosa Solinas, Chief Executive of the Ulster Orchestra, said: ‘The past twelve months have been exciting, especially given our key role in the Derry~Londonderry inaugural UK City of Culture year, but the immediate future promises to be even more so: Rafael’s exceptional musicality and his natural command and energy on the podium have impressed everyone. We can’t wait to begin working with him in earnest. We think his fresh approach to music-making – not only in the concert hall but throughout the community – is great news for Belfast and for the whole of Northern Ireland.’
Maestro Payare added: ‘From the moment I first conducted the Ulster Orchestra in October, the players made a great impression on me. The chemistry was immediate and a very special bond was formed. I am really looking forward to embarking on the wonderful journey that is about to start and I am thrilled to share and be part of the Orchestra’s future!
- See more at: http://ulsterorchestra.com/news/post/ulster-orchestra-announce-rafael-payare-as-chief-conductor-from-2014-15#sthash.9DcsonRA.dpuf

In what industry insiders are calling a major coup for Northern Ireland, one of the world’s most exciting emerging conductors has been appointed as the new Chief Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra. Rafael Payare, 33, from Venezuela, is regarded internationally as one of the most talented of the new generation of conductors. Winner of the 2012 Malko Conducting Competition, Maestro Payare has already worked with some of the leading orchestras of Europe and North America.
Maestro Payare will join the Ulster Orchestra in September, when New Yorker JoAnn Falletta’s three-year contract comes to an end.
Dr Rosa Solinas, Chief Executive of the Ulster Orchestra, said: ‘The past twelve months have been exciting, especially given our key role in the Derry~Londonderry inaugural UK City of Culture year, but the immediate future promises to be even more so: Rafael’s exceptional musicality and his natural command and energy on the podium have impressed everyone. We can’t wait to begin working with him in earnest. We think his fresh approach to music-making – not only in the concert hall but throughout the community – is great news for Belfast and for the whole of Northern Ireland.’
Maestro Payare added: ‘From the moment I first conducted the Ulster Orchestra in October, the players made a great impression on me. The chemistry was immediate and a very special bond was formed. I am really looking forward to embarking on the wonderful journey that is about to start and I am thrilled to share and be part of the Orchestra’s future!
- See more at: http://ulsterorchestra.com/news/post/ulster-orchestra-announce-rafael-payare-as-chief-conductor-from-2014-15#sthash.9DcsonRA.dpuf
ULSTER ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCE RAFAEL PAYARE AS CHIEF CONDUCTOR FROM 2014-15 - See more at: http://ulsterorchestra.com/news/post/ulster-orchestra-announce-rafael-payare-as-chief-conductor-from-2014-15#sthash.9DcsonRA.dpuf

Friday, May 30, 2014

Opera News: 'Rosalyn M. Story traces the emergence of black classical singers to their musical origins in the church choirs of the South'

Members of the Bethel AME Church Choir in Eastville, Virginia, 1982
© Nathan Benn/CORBIS 2010

[Leontyne Price: The Prima Donna Collection
RCA Victor Gold Seal (1992)]

June 2010
Rosalyn M. Story

Not all great opera divas take root in such hothouses of high culture as New York, Vienna or Rome.  Some take another path to success, coming from the smallest American towns buried deep in the piney woods of the South, where sawmills outnumber concert halls.  In the town of Laurel, Mississippi, in the 1930s and '40s, a voice that would later prompt choruses of "Brava!" from the gilt-trimmed balconies of Europe's opera houses first brought forth shouts of "Amen!" from the hardwood benches of the black church.  It was in St. Paul Methodist Church, on Jefferson Street in the heart of Laurel's black community, that a young midwife's daughter first sat at a piano to accompany the congregation's anthems and hymns, sang in the young people's choir and found a voice that would make history.

If Leontyne Price was not the first of a long tradition of extraordinary singers to ascend from the choir loft of a southern black church to the European opera stage, she is, arguably, the most outstanding.  It was a tradition whose origins lay in the bittersweet history of black life in the American South, where Christianity, taught to Africans by their white masters, inspired hopes for a better life beyond bondage, "in the sweet bye and bye."  Black churches became a refuge of hope, emerging from the camp meetings and prayer circles of sprawling southern plantations.  After Emancipation, in hardscrabble freedmen's towns, clapboard churches were erected with hands blistered by the plow and the cotton plant.  And even without the benefit of piano or hymnal (or the ability either to play or to read), voices were lifted in worship and song.

By the time of Price's arrival at St. Paul's, several generations after Emancipation, great singing had become a hallmark of the African-American church, and Price's rise from choir stand to concert hall became legend.  Born to Katherine Baker and James Anthony Price in 1927, Leontyne's earliest musical memories were of her mother's high, silvery soprano filling up St. Paul's, where worship services were musical celebrations, and everyone, blessed with talent or not, sang in the choir. "The church was the cornerstone of our community, and everyone was involved in spirituality," recalls the soprano's younger brother Brigadier General George Price, U.S. Army (Ret.).  Devoutly religious, the family maintained a closeness to the church that was more than figurative; "Öur church," as George Price recalls with modest exaggeration, "was about a hundred feet from our front door."

It was in the church that Price's voice, perhaps divinely destined for greatness, caught the attention of a visiting minister, who, after hearing her sing, suggested she apply to Wilberforce University in Ohio.  At the nation's first historically black college owned by the African Methodist church, Price excelled as a star pupil before going on to the Juilliard School.    

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History 99th Annual Convention Call for Papers, Deadline May 31, 2014

 May 30, 2014 

 
The DEADLINE for submission of proposals is TOMORROW: MAY 31, 2014

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History 99th Annual Convention Call for Papers.

The Peabody Hotel
Memphis, TN
September 24-28, 2014

Proposals must be submitted electronically on the

All-Academic website. This link can also be found at http://asalh.org/callforpapers.html.   

Call for Papers
2014 National Black History Theme:
Civil Rights in America 

The revolutionary Thomas Paine held that "civil rights are those which appertain to man in right of his being a member of society." From the beginning of our Republic, free people of African descent have seen themselves as citizens, members of society, and therefore due equal rights. From the nation's origins, Americans believed that religion should not be a basis for abridging a citizen's rights, but very few believed color should be treated similarly. And gender and sexual orientation were not even open for discussion. The resulting struggles over civil rights have remade our nation for more than two centuries. Read more.

Requirements
All participants must be members by May 1st and registered by August 1st. There are no refunds for membership dues and none for registration fees after August 20th, 2014. Early Bird Panels-those received by March 31st-and accepted for the program will receive preference in selecting the day and time of their sessions. May 31st is the deadline for all proposals.
Proposals must be submitted electronically on the
All-Academic website. While individual papers will be accepted, please note that all papers and presentations will be grouped together and formed into multi-presentation sessions (with rare, pre-approved exceptions). Moreover, a decided preference will be given to complete panels. Please refer to the FAQ page for what constitutes a complete panel.
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History has selected this theme to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and we invite all Americans and the global community to join us in exploring the history of equal rights for all.

Sincerely,
Cornelius Bynum, Ph.D. bynum@purdue.edu and Lionel Kimble, Ph.D. lkimble@csu.edu
Academic Program Committee Co-chairs

Kenton Rambsy,
Academic Program Committee Coordinator program@asalh.net


Association for the Study of African American Life and History | 202-238-5910 | info@asalh.net | http://www.as

John Malveaux: 'Maya Angelou had a very militant perspective very different than her current image.' at time of CD 'Black Pearls: The Poetry of Maya Angelou'

Black Pearls: The Poetry of Maya Angelou

John Malveaux of www.MusicUNTOLD.com 
writes:

Deceased composer and friend Ed Bland produced five jazz interludes on an album featuring poetry of Maya Angelou when she was less known. During that period Maya Angelou had a very militant perspective very different than her current image. See http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1118549/a/Black+Pearls%3A+The+Poetry+Of+Maya+Angelou.htm

Thanks
John Malveaux

Comment by email:

Thanks very much for this!   (It is very impressive how the news of her passing has hit everywhere.  She was quite a gal!)  Dominique-René de Lerma

Pacifica Quartet Partners with Met Opera's Anthony McGill for Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets on Cedille Records

Mozart & Brahms Clarinet Quintets
Anthony McGill www.anthonymcgill.com
& Pacifica Quartet
Cedille CDR 90000 147 (2014)

On May 27, 2014 AfriClassical posted:


Today we post a press release on the recording from CedilleRecords.org:



Thursday, May 29, 2014

Charles Kaufmann: 'Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Outtake: Rod Dixon Sings J. Rosamond Johnson's 'Nobody Knows The Trouble I See' (2:55) on YouTube

[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) is profiled at AfriClassical.comwhich 
features a comprehensive Works List and a 
Bibliography by Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma, www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com.  We are collaborating with the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Foundation of the U.K., www.SCTF.org.uk

Rod Dixon Sings J. Rosamond Johnson's
Nobody Knows the Trouble I See

Longfellow Chorus
May 28, 2014
[Excerpt]
[Melanie Edwards, granddaughter of J. Rosamond Johnson, discusses JRJ with tenor Rodrick Dixon in October 2012 in Portland, Maine, during filming of "Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and His Music in America, 1900-1912." In the background, photos from her grandfather's papers, left: George Walker, vaudeville performer, in a photo signed "Best wishes to friend Johnson from 'Bon Bon Buddies' June 1st 1908"; center: the team of Charlie Hart and JRJ in vaudeville performance getup (ca. 1912); right: JRJ and Charlie Hart in a formal photo. (Hart replaced JRJ's longtime partner Bob Cole after Cole's death in 1911.)]

J. Rosamond Johnson was one of many black American composers influenced by the music and life of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Among others were Scott Joplin, Will Marion Cook, Robert Nathaniel Dett, Harry T. Burleigh and Clarence Cameron White.

I've just released on YouTube a music video outtake from the huge film archive of my documentary film Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and His Music in America, 1900-1912, in which Rodrick Dixon presents a personal and very moving performance of J. Rosamond Johnson's arrangement of the spiritual Nobody Knows The Trouble I See.

This is the alternate tune to the more familiar version, and it appeared in The Book of American Negro Spirituals, 1925, compiled by J. Rosamond Johnson and his brother, James Weldon Johnson. JRJ writes above the music of Nobody Knows, "Note: This is a rare version," and he dedicates his arrangement to the musicologist Henry Krehbiel.

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor had used this melody twenty-six years earlier to provide the thematic basis for his Overture to The Song of Hiawatha (1899).

Rodrick Dixon was born in Queens, where his father is a minister, and he now lives in Chicago. He recently sang as tenor soloist in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's performance of Nathaniel Dett's oratorio, The Ordering of Moses, as part of Spring for Music at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The soloists were "fine singers," according to The New York Times, who as "black artists lent additional poignancy to the occasion." The New Yorker praised the performance, noting that James Conlon "and his Cincinnati forces, augmented by the tenor Rodrick Dixon and the soprano Latonia Moore, conveyed the moment with precision and fervor." My video of Rod Dixon singing Nobody Knows presents a performer of substance with an impeccable ear and the ability to transform written music into powerful emotion.

John Malveaux: 'soprano Jennifer Lindsay, meeting renowned soprano Renée Fleming...backstage at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion during run of "Street Car Named Desire"

Renée Fleming and Jennifer Lindsay

John Malveaux of www.MusicUNTOLD.com 
writes:

Please see Long Beach resident, soprano Jennifer Lindsay, meeting renowned soprano  Renée Fleming (red outfit) backstage at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion during run of "Street Car Named Desire" starring Renée Fleming.

John Malveaux

John Malveaux: NPR.org: 'Poet, performer and political activist Maya Angelou has died' at 86

Maya Angelou
 (Credit: Dwight, The National Book Foundation)

John Malveaux of www.MusicUNTOLD.com 
sends this link:


National Public Radio
May 28, 2014

Poet, performer and political activist Maya Angelou has died after a long illness at her home in Winston-Salem, N.C. She was 86. Born in St. Louis in 1928, Angelou grew up in a segregated society that she worked to change during the civil rights era. Angelou, who refused to speak for much of her childhood, revealed the scars of her past in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first of a series of memoirs.

Growing up in St. Louis, Mo., and Stamps, Ark., she was Marguerite Johnson. It was her brother who first called her Maya, and the name stuck. Later she added the Angelou, a version of her first husband's name.

Angelou left a troubled childhood and the segregated world of Arkansas behind and began a career as a dancer and singer. She toured Europe in the1950s with a production of Porgy and Bess, studied dance with Martha Graham and performed with Alvin Ailey on television. In 1957 she recorded an album called "Calypso Lady."

"I was known as Miss Calypso, and when I'd forget the lyric, I would tell the audience, 'I seem to have forgotten the lyric. Now I will dance.' And I would move around a bit," she recalled with a laugh during a 2008 interview with NPR.

"She really believed that life was a banquet," says Patrik Henry Bass, an editor at Essence Magazine. When he read Angelou's memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, he saw parallels in his own life in a small town in North Carolina. He says everyone in the African-American community looked up to her; she was a celebrity but she was one of them. He remembers seeing her on television and hearing her speak.


"When we think of her, we often think about her books, of course, and her poems," he says. "But in the African-American community, certainly, we heard so much of her work recited, so I think about her voice. You would hear that voice, and that voice would capture a humanity, and that voice would calm you in so many ways through some of the most significant challenges."

Fela Sowande, Nigerian Composer, Organist and Professor, Was Born May 29, 1905


Alan Ashton provides this photo from 
the "1946 Theatre Organ World publication"

Fela Sowande: African Suite, The Negro in Sacred Idiom
Originally on Decca LM 4547 (1952) LP, 
Now on Naxos mp3

The African composer Olufela Sowande was born in Oyo, Nigeria on May 29, 1905.  In the book Nigerian Art Music (1995) Bode Omojola, Ph.D., observes:
"Fela Sowande is undoubtedly the father of modern Nigerian Art Music and perhaps the most distinguished and internationally known African 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 lengthy excerpt on Fela Sowande from a manuscript on Black composers at a Website: www.africanchorus.org/Artists/Sowande.htm

During the past two years, new facts and photos of the performances of Fela Sowande in London have come to our attention from Alan Ashton, as related at the website.  Audio clips in mp3 format have also been provided by Mr. Ashton and added to the Sowande page.  Fela Sowande spent the final years of his teaching career at Kent State University in Ohio, the state in which he died in 1987.

African Suite has become widely known through radio broadcasts in the U.K. and Canada, and through a Decca LP and a CBC CD.  The work is currently available in mp3 format from Naxos, as pictured above.