Sunday, July 31, 2016

Angel Joy Blue announces free open air concert with Placido Domingo outside St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest, Hungary on August 10, 2016 at 8 PM

Angel Joy Blue

St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest, Hungary

The website of Angel Joy Blue, 
announces an Open Air Concert with Placido Domingo on August 10, 2016 in Budapest, Hungary.

Daily News Hungary,
reports on July 25, 2016:

"The famous Spanish tenor Placido Domingo is giving a free concert on August 10 at 8 pm outside the St. Stephen's Basilica, in Budapest, operavilag.net reports."

***
"Moreover, several young talents were invited to perform at the concert, such as Angel Blue..."
The famous Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo is giving a free concert on August 10 at 8pm outside the St. Stephen’s Basilica, in Budapest, operavilag.net reports.

Read more at: http://dailynewshungary.com/free-placido-domingo-concert-in-budapest/  
The famous Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo is giving a free concert on August 10 at 8pm outside the St. Stephen’s Basilica, in Budapest, operavilag.net reports. Plácido Domingo is one of the most famous opera singers in the world who is well known for his versatile singing and acting skills. He is also a renowned conductor and currently the general director of the Los Angeles Opera. He celebrated his 75th birthday in January 2016. Besides the popular opera arias, the concert programme contains songs from operettas and musicals, as well as zarzuelas which recall the singer’s Spanish roots. Moreover, several young talents were invited to perform at the concert, such as Angel Blue and Micaëla Oeste from Domingo’s Operalia singing competition, the Hungarian soprano Polina Pasztircsák, and violinist Gyula Váradi from the Hungarian classical music talent show Virtuózók. They will be accompanied by the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Kohn.

Read more at: http://dailynewshungary.com/free-placido-domingo-concert-in-budapest/  

The Harlem Quartet performs at Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Cotuit Center for the Arts, Tuesday, August 16, 2016 at 7:30 PM, 4404 Falmouth Road, Cotuit, MA

Harlem Quartet
(Amy Schroeder)

The Harlem Quartet 

Grieg / Bolcom / Garrido-Lecca / Jobim / Gillespie / Hernandez

COTUIT, Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404  Falmouth Road
Tuesday, 16 August 2016 at 7:30 PM


Order Tickets
Full Season Schedule


Harlem Quartet
Ilmar Gavilán, violin
Melissa White, violin
Jaime Amador, viola
Felix Umansky, cello



EDVARD GRIEG (1843 – 1907)
String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Opus 27
Un poco andante; Allegro molto ed agitato
Romanze: Andantino
Intermezzo: Allegro molto marcato; Più vivo e scherzando
Finale: Lento; Presto al Saltarello


WILLIAM BOLCOM (b. 1938)
Three Rags (1970)


CELSO GARRIDO-LECCA (b. 1926)
String Quartet No. 2 (1988)
Third movement: Interludio


ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM (1927 – 1994)
The Girl from Ipanema (1962) (arranged for string quartet by Dave Glenn)


DIZZY GILLESPIE (1917 – 1993)
A Night in Tunisia (1941) (arranged for string quartet by Dave Glenn)


RAFAEL HERNANDEZ (1892 – 1965)
El Cumbanchero (1946) (arranged for string quartet by Guido Lopez-Gavilan)

Bel Canto Tenor Lawrence Brownlee plays Count Ory in Seattle Opera's production of Gioachino Rossini's "Le Comte Ory" 7:30 PM, August 6, 13, 17 & 20, 2016


Lawrence Brownlee
(LA Opera)

Lawrence Brownlee, 

By Gioachino Rossini
A Seattle Opera Premiere!

Larry will play Count Ory on August 6, 13, 17 & 20

ROLLICKING FARCE. Discover the final madcap comedy from the playful and prolific composer of The Barber of Seville and The Italian Girl in Algiers. A notorious skirt-chaser and his merry-making minions scheme their way into a medieval French castle by means of outrageous disguises, crazy coincidences, and narrow escapes. Plans are foiled, wine cellars are raided, and all is forgiven as the lusty Count presides over the chaos. Our bright, all-new production will feature an exaggerated “Pythonesque” visual style, including whimsical animations and kaleidoscopic colors to start the season with a bang.

BlackPast.org Blog: The Postal Service, Philately, & African Americans [Blacks have been involved in the delivery of mail since the beginning of slavery.]

William H. Carney (1840-1908)

Minnie M. Cox (1869-1933)

Malcolm X


Hazel Singer writes:

Hello friends,
I hope your summer is going well with family, friends, work, and leisure. Please enjoy the new post on the Postal Service and the history of African Americans:

Thanks!

-Hazel

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Blacks have been involved in the delivery of mail since the beginning of slavery. Trusted enslaved blacks had been delivering parcels and letters between plantations. It wasn't until a Congressional Act in 1802 that only free whites were allowed to deliver the mail. Concerns about communication and rebellion amongst enslaved people were the impetus behind this new law. According to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, the ban was expanded in 1828 "to include the regulation that 'if negro labor was required to 'lift the mail from the stage into the postoffice', it must 'be performed in the presence and under the immediate direction of the white person who has it in custody.'" This particular regulation remained in effect until 1862.




Postal records did not keep data on race in the 19th century. However, it is know that during Reconstruction nearly 500 blacks were employed in the postal service, including 116 postmasters. The earliest known black postmaster was James W. Mason, Sunny Side, Arkansas in 1867. He later served as a delegate to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention and became a state senator. Despite the fact that many African Americans "experienced hardships in their jobs, the Post Office Department continued to appoint African Americans to high level positions."  These people included Joshua E. Wilson, George B. Hamlet, and John P. Green. William H. Carney, the first African American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, was a letter carrier in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and served there from 1869 to 1901. 





The early 20th century saw both increased opportunities (that began with the Pendleton Act Civil Service Act of 1883) for blacks in the postal service as well as increased segregation (President Woodrow Wilson's segregation of employment in the federal government). Minnie Cox, (1869-1933) was the first black female postmaster in the United States in Indianola, Mississippi, appointed to this position by President Benjamin Harrison and reappointed by President William McKinley and again reappointed by President Theodore Roosevelt.. Significant controversy erupted over her appointment and she resigned, but President Theodore Roosevelt asked her to remain on. However, the situation was so threatening that  President Roosevelt suspended all mail delivery to Indianola. Mrs. Cox chose to leave in 1903 before the end of her term. The post office reopened in 1904 but at a demoted rank of class 3 rather than class 4 (who knew post offices had class rankings!). In October 2008, the postal service facility in Washington, D.C. was named the Minnie Cox Post Office Building in honor of Mrs. Cox.





The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was made up of 855 enlisted African American women and officers and managed the military's mail amongst other duties. They were lead by Major (later lieutenant colonel) Charity Adams Early (1912-2002), the highest ranking black woman by the end of the war. The battalion was first deployed to Birmingham, England and later to Rouen, France.

In spite of large employment numbers of blacks in the postal service and the long history of their service, there is much evidence into the 1990's that they were assigned to lower paying jobs and dismissed at a higher rate. Despite this, a number of individuals have made it into the upper ranks of the service. Among them was Henry W. McGee, the first African American postmaster of a major facility in Chicago, Illinois in 1966. And,  Emmett E. Cooper, who held the positions of "Chairman of the Board of Appeals and Review, Director of the Postal Management Branch, Bureau of Operations, Manager of the Postal Service’s Detroit District, and Postmaster of Chicago. Cooper held his position of Regional Postmaster General of the Eastern Region from 1977-1983."

first African American Postmaster of a major postal facility, - See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/mcgee-henry-wadsworth-sr-1910-2000#sthash.aftA4tiK.dpuf
first African American Postmaster of a major postal facility, - See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/mcgee-henry-wadsworth-sr-1910-2000#sthash.aftA4tiK.dpuf
first African American Postmaster of a major postal facility, - See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/mcgee-henry-wadsworth-sr-1910-2000#sthash.aftA4tiK.dpuf




This year marks the 70th year that African Americans have been featured on stamps of the United States Postal Service; a complete list through 2014 can be found here and here. And images here. For those interested in philately (stamp collecting), they should explore ESPER, Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections.
The United States Postal Service has been an integral part of African American history and lives.

Retweeted
By Mea Fiadhiglas (@wildwonderweb

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Delos: Tenor Lawrence Brownlee follows up his previous Grammy-nominated release on Delos with opera arias by Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini

Allegro io son
Lawrence Brownlee
Donizetti & Bellini
Constantine Orbelian
Kaunas City Symphony
Kaunas State Choir
Delos DE 3515
Release Date: September 9, 2016

First Listen Audio Sample:

Delos Productions announced this release of the Kaunas City Symphony and Kaunas State Choir, both of Lithuania and both conducted by Constantine Orbelian, on July 29, 2016:

Allegro io son

Bel Canto Arias

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee – overwhelmingly regarded as the world’s leading bel canto tenor – follows up his previous Grammy-nominated release on Delos (Virtuoso Rossini Arias) with this stirring and eagerly awaited new collection of opera arias by Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini.
Brownlee performs a rich and exciting mix of both tried and true favorites as well as less-often heard pieces. Familiar favorites are from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, La fille du régiment and L’elisir d’amore – as well as Bellini’s I Puritani. Lesser-known works featured are Donizetti’s Rita, La Favorite, and Dom Sébastien.
As with his previous Grammy-nominated Rossini release, Brownlee’s fabulous collaborators are Constantine Orbelian and Lithuania’s Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra – with added support this time from the exceptional Kaunas State Choir. The result is a paragon of astounding virtuosity and deep interpretive feeling that is bound to attract worldwide attention and critical acclaim.


Richard Alston opens "Concerts At 7 Series" 7 PM, August 8, Plainfield Congregational, Plainfield, MA; Hear Alston play Dett's "Juba Dance" (2:04) (YouTube)

Richard Alston

was an Afro-French Composer, Violinist & Conductor,
France's Best Fencer & Colonel of a Black Legion

Pianist Richard Alston writes:


Hello Bill,

On August 8th at 7:00pm , I will perform the opening concert for the CONCERTS AT 7 SERIES. The concert will be held at PLAINFIELD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, Main Street (Rt.116) Plainfield, MA 01070


Sonata in e minor K. 9, L. 413      D. Scarlatti
Sonata in E Major K. 20, L. 375     D. Scarlatti
Sonata in D Major K. 33, L. 424    D. Scarlatti
Sonata in d minor K. 141, L. 422   D. Scarlatti
Adagio in f minor     Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Sonata No. 14 "Quasi Una Fantasia"  (Moonlight) Op. 27, No.2    Beethoven
Variations on "Non Piu Mesta" from Rossini's La Cenerentola Op. 60     Herz
In The Bottoms (Suite)    Dett

"The Union" Concert Paraphrase on National Airs       Gottschalk

ADMISSION FREE For additional information

Included on the program will be "In The Bottoms" by Dett. Here is a NJNPBS TV performance of the final movement the famous "Juba Dance."


Musically,
Richard

Friday, July 29, 2016

American Opera Projects is searching for students and recent post-graduates interested in arts management to join the AOP Apprentice Program in Fall 2016


Dear Future Performing Arts Managers:
 
American Opera Projects, the Brooklyn-based company "known for bringing cutting-edge vocal productions to the masses" (New York Magazine), is searching for students and recent post-graduates interested in arts management to join the AOP Apprentice Program in Fall 2016. Apprentices will help coordinate the premieres and development of several new operas and prepare public music workshops in New York City and across the country. Modest stipend and travel available based on hours contributed. Will work with schedule and school credit requirements. 


More information on how to apply can be found at www.aopopera.org/apprentice.html

End your Summer at Six Flags America Washington, DC/Baltimore with Family...Your DC Metro HBCU Alumni Alliance & DMV National Pan-Hellenic Council Family

We Are Family!


End your Summer at Six Flags America Washington, DC/Baltimore with Family...Your DC Metro HBCU Alumni Alliance & DMV National Pan-Hellenic Council Family. The park is 15 minutes from Washington, DC and 45 minutes from Baltimore, Maryland. Bring the entire family for an afternoon of food, fun, and fellowship. Purchase tickets by clicking on the button below and enter the PROMO CODE: ONEFAM

Hope to see you there!

IMI Chamber Players will perform works for woodwinds by African-descent composers at National Flute Association Convention in San Diego on August 11, 2016

Fred Onovwerosuoke

Dances & Rhapsodies: Works for Wind Quintet
Fred Onovwerosuoke
IMI Chamber Players
AGCD 2608

African Musical Arts announces a forthcoming CD from IMI Chamber Players, Dances & Rhapsodies: Works for Wind Quintet, composed by Fred Onovwerosuoke.

Visit www.imusici.net to listen to a PODCAST of Radio Arts Foundation's Kathy Lawton-Brown interview with flutist Wendy Hymes and clarinetist Mary Bryant. While on www.imusici.net, please check out details on their upcoming debut CD, Dances & Rhapsodies!

National Flute Association

St. Louis based IMI Chamber Players will perform works for woodwinds by African-descent composers at the 44th Annual National Flute Association Convention in San Diego, California on Thursday, August 11, 2016 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM:

Celebrating African American, Latin American and Latino Composers
Sarah Frisof, Mariana Gariazzo, Jennifer Grim, Eileen Grycky, Paula Gudmundson, Naomi Seidman, and Adeline Tomasone perform the music of Amancio Alcorta, Esteban Benzecry, Ulysses Kay, Yusef Abdul Lateef, Jeffrey Mumford, Bongani Ndondana-Breen, and David Sanford.

Ulysses Kay

Yusef Abdul Lateef
(Michael Ochs)

Jeffrey Mumford

Bongani Ndodana-Breen

David Sanford

Comments by email:

1) Greetings to all. Gratitude, Bill.  F. [Fred Onovwerosuoke]

2) What a wonderful program - a delight to see Kay next to Yusef Lateef, my college crush.  Thank you Bill, Virginia  [Virginia Kay] 




The Violin Channel: Sphinx Organization and Chineke! Orchestra Founders Honoured in London [Trinity Laban Conservatoire has awarded Honorary Fellowships]

Aaron P. Dworkin

Chi-chi Nwanoku


July 28, 2016

The Trinity Laban Conservatoire has awarded Honorary Fellowships to Sphinx Organization founder Aaron Dworkin and Chineke! Orchestra founder Chi-chi Nwanoku

The Trinity Laban Conservatoire, in London has today announced the presentation of Honorary Fellowships to Sphinx Organization founder Aaron Dworkin and Chineke! Orchestra founder Chi-chi Nwanoku – for their ‘major contribution to the arts in the UK and internationally’.

Aaron Dworkins currently serves as Dean of the University of Michigan’s School of Music – and was the founder of The Sphinx Organization – a US non-for-profit aimed at the encouragement, development and recognition of classical music talent in the Black and Latin communities.

Chi-chi Nwanoku is the founder and Artistic Director of the Chineke! Orchestra – Europe’s first all-black orchestra.

Comments by email:

1) Absolutely great, thanks so much Bill!  Aaron  [Aaron P. Dworkin]

2) That's super Thank you Bill!  Best wishes  Chi-chi  [Chi-chi Nwanoku]

The Strad: Aaron Dworkin And Chi-Chi Nwanoku awarded Trinity Laban Honorary Fellowships [at the Sphinx Global Symposium on Diversity in Classical Music]

Chi-chi Nwanoku
(The Strad)

The violinist and double bassist were honoured at the Sphinx Global Symposium on Diversity in Classical Music



Trinity Laban Conservatoire has presented Honorary Fellowships to violinist Aaron Dworkin and double bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku (pictured) for their ‘major contribution to the arts in the UK and internationally’.

Dr Claire Mera-Nelson, director of music at Trinity Laban, said:
‘Trinity Laban wishes to recognise and celebrate Chi-chi Nwanwoku’s pioneering contribution to music, in particular the inspiration she provides, the commitment she has shown, and the contribution she has made to addressing inequalities within classical music in the UK, most recently through the Chineke! Foundation, her organisation established to champion change and celebrate diversity within classical music.

We wish to recognise and celebrate the internationally significant contribution that Aaron Dworkin has made in advancing opportunity and transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. His commitment to addressing inequalities within classical music and championing opportunities for black and other minority ethnic groups is unparalleled, leading to global recognition.’

Rhinegold Publishing: Chi-chi Nwanoku and Aaron Dworkin receive honorary Trinity Laban fellowships

Photo: JK Photography
L-R: Professor Anthony Bowne, Aaron Dworkin, Chi-chi Nwanoku and Dr. Claire Mera-Nelson

Rhinegold Publishing

Katy Wright

26th July 2016

Trinity Laban has awarded honorary fellowships to Chi-chi Nwanoku and Aaron Dworkin.
The honours were presented at the Sphinx Global Symposium on Diversity in Classical Music at the Southbank Centre on 18 July.
Dworkin is dean of the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance and founder of the Sphinx Organisation, a Detroit-based organisation which aims to transform lives through the power of diversity and the arts.

He was presented with a fellowship in recognition of the ‘internationally significant contribution’ that he has made ‘in advancing opportunity and transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts.

***
Nwanoku is double bassist, principal and founder member of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and founder and artistic director of the Chineke! Foundation.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Tuesday, July 26, 2016, @WintergreenArts in Presque Isle, Maine Tweeted: Joseph Conyers is here, working on Dvorak with our Academy string quintet.

Joseph Conyers

At about 4 PM Tuesday, July 26, 2016, @WintergreenArts in Presque Isle, Maine Tweeted:

Joseph Conyers is here, working on Dvorak with our Academy string quintet.


Bassist Joseph Conyers has been featured in AfriClassical numerous times since 2008, when he was a  member of the Grand Rapids Symphony in Michigan.  His Twitter page indicates he is Assistant Principal Bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Executive Director of Project 440, Music Director of AllCityPhilly, and Adjunct Professor at Boyer College of Music at Temple University: 
Asst Principal Bass | Exec Director | Music Director | Adjunct Prof


Comment by email:
Many thanks, Bill!

Thanks so much for your interest!

Joseph Conyers
Assistant Principal Bass, The Philadelphia Orchestra
Music Director, All City Orchestra
Executive Director, Project 440
Adjunct Professor, Temple University

SphinxConnect: the epicenter for artists & leaders in diversity, February 9-12, 2017, Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, Detroit; 40 sessions, 60 speakers, 250 musicians of color

  • Participate in over 40 sessions dedicated to diversity in classical music
  • Learn from and engage with more than 60 speakers
  • Attend performances by the nation's top musicians
  • Meet more than 250 musicians of color
Don't miss this opportunity to engage in the global conversation on diversity in the arts!

New York Times: Review: Angel Blue Makes Her Met Debut

Angel Blue in the Metropolitan Opera’s Summer Recital Series in Central Park. Credit Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

John Malveaux of 
sends this link about
Angel Joy Blue:



On a balmy Wednesday evening, a large crowd turned up at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park to see the soprano Angel Blue’s first appearance with the Metropolitan Opera.
Ms. Blue, a 32-year-old lyric soprano, is a California native with a flourishing career in Europe, where she has been praised for her interpretations of roles including Mimì and Musetta in “La Bohème.” A protégée of Plácido Domingo, she is also a regular presenter for the BBC.
For the Met, as part of the opening concert for the annual Summer Recital Series, she did her best to make her performance memorable, flirtatiously tossing flowers into the audience as she sang her encore, a zarzuela selection. (She will make her main-stage debut during an unspecified future season.)
Ms. Blue financed her musical training at the University of California, Los Angeles, with prize money from beauty pageants. She was named Miss Hollywood in 2005, and Miss Southern California in 2006. Statuesque in a blue dress, she opened the lineup on Wednesday with “Je veux vivre” from “Roméo et Juliette.” Here, and in ensuing selections, she demonstrated an alluring voice, her dusky lower range seductive in “Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante,” from Bizet’s “Carmen,” and her expressive nuance vivid in “Vissi d’arte,” from Puccini’s “Tosca.” Her honeyed timbre was heard to fine effect in an intimate rendition of “Donde lieta usci,” from “La Bohème.”     

"Too Proud to Bend" by Nell Braxton Gibson: Historical Memoir Links 20th Century Deaths of Young Black Men To Today’s Racially Charged Murders

Too Proud to Bend: 
Journey of a Civil Rights Foot Soldier
Nell Braxton Gibson

Book contrasts author’s childhood experiences in an integrated summer camp to life in the deeply segregated South and chronicles her passionate and growing involvement in the
Civil Rights movement in the twentieth century and beyond

Nell Braxton Gibson’s newly published memoir Too Proud to Bend: Journey of a Civil Rights Foot Soldier reflects her upbringing in the twentieth century Deep South, her profound and consuming response to the evils of segregation, and her awareness that the haunting and horrific 1955 murder of Emmett Till is reflected today in the ongoing murders of black men and boys at the hands of police.
Gibson was just fourteen months old when her family fled a race riot in Beaumont, Texas. She was sixteen when her parents sent her and her younger sister from their home in deeply segregated Mississippi to an integrated camp in New York’s Catskill Mountains to give them an experience different from the one they were living at home.
It was there at Camp Woodland that Gibson got her first glimpse of the kind of life integration could offer. It was the memory of that camp experience that led her to walk picket lines, register first-time black voters, spend time in jail in Atlanta, Georgia, and devote her life to seeking social justice and equal opportunities for all people.
The daughter of two African American educators who worked with civil rights leader Medgar Evers to increase membership in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at a time when you could be killed for belonging to that organization, Gibson went on to work with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and an international group of religious leaders on a five-year plan to dismantle apartheid.
She explains, “My personal experiences provide the background that gives a human face to historical events that later became national headlines, seamlessly blending stories of family life with the relentless undercurrent of the evils of segregation and the long road to freedom.”
She adds, “Too Proud to Bend is a triumphant testament to those civil rights foot soldiers who were willing to give their lives to bring justice and equality to a racially torn segregated South. When people finish reading it, I want them to know that average people like any of us can change our world for the better.”
“This autobiography is not simply a story of one remarkable woman’s life but rather a story of African American life from childhood through young adulthood in the Jim Crow South…Her story ends [with her] dancing with her longtime colleague and friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu on the eve of Barack Obama’s first inauguration. She closes this part of her life’s story recognizing the goal of the Civil Rights Movement was never to elect the first African American president but to open the avenues for social justice and equal opportunity for all people who have been denied equal access. While this is an intimate and moving personal history, it is much more; it is the story of our times. History certainly matters, but for Braxton Gibson, the future is what matters most.” ~ Review by LDT “Critical Eye”

Author: Nell Braxton Gibson holds a bachelor of arts degree in cultural studies from Empire State College and an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University. Following her marriage and relocation to New York City, she and her husband became members of St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery’s Black and Brown Caucus, working with members of the Black Panther Party to offer free breakfast for children on the Lower East Side and to start a liberation school. They also founded the first prison law library in New York State. In the 1980s, Gibson joined the anti-apartheid movement and was among religious leaders arrested outside the South African Consulate in New York City. She was later chosen as one of three members of the Episcopal Church to travel to South Africa and work with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and an international group of religious leaders on a five-year plan to dismantle apartheid. Her work for justice has taken her into the war zones of Namibia and Nicaragua, the Gaza Strip, the townships of apartheid South Africa, and into Cuba, Panama, and alongside migrant workers in upstate New York. 


#   #   # 

Comment by email:
Thank you,  Mr. Zick.  Nelly Gibson

Monday, July 25, 2016

NOBLE Names Seattle Police Department Assistant Chief Perry Tarrant to President

Perry Tarrant, Assistant Chief, Seattle Police Department

July 25, 2016

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Seattle Police Department (SPD) Assistant Chief, Perry Tarrant, has been named national president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) which serves more than 3,000 members worldwide.  The announcement came at the conclusion of NOBLE's 40th Anniversary Training Conference and Exhibition in Washington, DC. In his new role, Mr. Tarrant will be responsible for the strategic direction and leading the efforts to continue the organization's trajectory of strengthening its fiscal resources and infrastructure, while increasing the delivery of program services to ensure there is equity in the administration of justice.
  
Perry Tarrant has law enforcement knowledge spanning decades. Prior to being recruited as an Assistant Chief for the City of Seattle, Perry rose through the ranks in the Tucson Police Department. He started as an officer for the department and became a member of the SWAT team and canine unit. From 1990 to 1997, Mr. Tarrant supervised internal affairs, traffic, SWAT, and other operations. From 1997 to 2005, he served as a lieutenant and oversaw neighborhood crime teams and the department's aviation support section, was patrol commander for two different areas of the City, and was an executive officer in the Office of the Chief. In 2005, Mr. Tarrant was promoted to captain where he was a patrol division commander, specialized response division commander, and investigation division commander. In 2014, Mr. Tarrant was appointed to coordinate the City of Yakima's Gang Free Initiative's prevention and intervention programs and to act as the city's Emergency Preparedness Director. Currently, Mr. Tarrant commands the Special Operations Bureau of the Seattle Police Department. Mr. Tarrant has participated in formal reviews of complex officer involved shootings and uses of force, and is considered a subject matter expert. 

Mr. Perry Tarrant has studied at the FBI National Academy, the Senior Management Institute for Police and is a certified FEMA Incident Commander & Instructor. He also holds a Criminal Justice Graduate Studies Certificate from the University of Virginia and a certificate from the NOBLE CEO Program.
  
Assistant Chief Tarrant expressed enthusiasm in leading the organization at such a crucial point in its history stating, "I look forward to extending NOBLE's member value platforms and working to help transform law enforcement to reflect the requirements and needs of policing in the 21st century." Tarrant continued, "NOBLE intends to leverage its nearly 3,000 members to commit to the 21st Century Policing model." Mr. Tarrant's predecessor also noted the significance of his election coming on heels of multiple police-citizen incidents that will shape the future of policing in America. "Given the recent events around the nation, race and policing are at a pivotal point in our nation's history," stated Gregory A. Thomas, Senior Executive for Law Enforcement Operations at Office of the Kings County District Attorney and outgoing NOBLE National President." Thomas continues, "NOBLE stands at the forefront of the changes that need to take place in training, recruitment and building trust and our leadership is poised to have maximum impact on national policing models. I've been working with Assistant Chief Tarrant for the past year in his role as NOBLE's First National Vice President and I am confident he's fully prepared to carry the baton.  He comes with a wealth of experience, is knowledgeable and certainly capable of taking NOBLE into the next era of policing. I am proud to have him as a successor and look forward to working with him as president."
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