Black History Month Radio Program Streams Online Sunday Feb. 24, 10 PM ET

But Not Forgotten

Marcus Eley, Clarinet

Lucerne DeSa, Piano

Sono Luminus Records

Tom Quick writes from Kitchener, Ontario, where he broadcasts on www.thegrand101.com:

Greetings from Kitchener, Ontario

Women in Music

The Women’s Philharmonic    Mississippi River Suite.    Florence Price.

Conductor.  Apo Hsu

ER-Gene Kahng:  Violin            Violin Concerto No.2        Florence Price.

Janacek Philharmonic,

Conductor. Ryan Cockerham.

Marcus Eley:  Clarinet.            Night Fantasy.     Dorothy Rudd Moore.

Lucerne DeSa:  piano.

Icy Simpson:  Soprano.            Three Dream Portraits.  Margaret Bonds.

Artina McCain:  Piano.

New Black Music Repertory Ensemble:   Five Movements in Color.  Mary D. Wilson

Conductor. Leslie B. Dunner.

Alan Hobbins:  Piano              Five Gershwin Preludes.

Peter Mintun:  Piano.            Jazz Nocturne.    Dana Suesse.

Hot Springs Festival Symphony Orchestra.

Conductor. Richard Rosenburg.

Kind regards,

Tom www.thegrand101.com

SFCV.org: LA Phil Revives Harlem Renaissance for Black History Month

Thomas Wilkins

San Francisco Classical Voice

By Richard S. Ginell

February 19, 2019

Thomas Wilkins can usually be found in L.A. backing various pop and rock acts as principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, whose role in the great outdoors has been marginalized in recent summers. He deserves a better showcase, and over Presidents Day weekend, he got it — two programs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Walt Disney Concert Hall of mostly underperformed music that was related to the Harlem Renaissance.

While  the Phil shouldn’t have to use Black History Month as an excuse to program music by William Grant Still, Duke Ellington, and George Gershwin indoors, we’ll take it and hope that it leads to more performances from this repertoire elsewhere on the regular calendar.

***

With Still’s Symphony No. 4 (“Autochthonous”), which follows a similar template as his more famous Afro-American Symphony — traditional four-movement symphony with a soulful slow movement and a jaunty Scherzo delivering the strongest jazz influence — we see that Still may have been the most faithful follower of Dvořák’s advice. The Czech composer urged his American counterparts to develop their own classical music from African-American and Native American sources, and Still was only too happy to use both here. Everything cohered in Wilkins’s concept, right to the optimistic chorale at the end. There is a catalogue of about 290 Still pieces in many genres — some with very provocative titles — begging to be played and, again, we shouldn’t have to wait for Black History Month to hear some of them.

Sergio Mims: Sarah Daramy-Williams to perform Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Dulwich

Sarah Daramy-Williams

Sergio A. Mims writes:

Rotterdam based violinist Sarah Daramy-Williams will perform the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Dulwich Symphony Orchestra in England on March 30th starting at 7PM. Ms. Daramy-Williams has performed with the Chineke! Juniors as well as the Chineke! Orchestra among her many other credits and accomplishments.

She began her journey as a violinist at the age of 10 and eventually went on to win the Edith Hemingway Memorial Award to the best young musician living in the North West of England . She later went on to Manchester Chetham School of Music and she studied for her A levels. Later that distinction Kristofer Dolatko and Yumi Sasaki propelled her forward 

securing her place at the Royal College of Music. At the RCM she has played with many chamber groups, opera and the Symphony Orchestra

She is also proud to be a member of the Chineke! 

Orchestra the first and only majority-BME professional orchestra in Europe and performed in several concerts including the critically acclaimed 

one at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in 2015.

Ms. Daramy-Williams is currently undertaking her masters Degree at the Netherlands Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam.

The March 30th concert will also include Florence Price Symphony's No. 3 and Samuel Coleridge- Taylor's Symphonic Variations on an African Air, all conducted by Leigh O' Hara.

30 March 2019 

Mendelssohn

Violin Concerto in E minor
soloist: Sarah Daramy-Wlliams 

Florence Price

Symphony No 3 in C minor

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Symphonic Variations on an African Air

Conductor Leigh O'Hara

The concert starts at 7.00pm 

All Saints' Church
Lovelace Road
West Dulwich, SE21 8JY

Dulwich Symphony Orchestra homepage

John Malveaux: MusicUNTOLD reception for Adolphus Hailstork following STILL HOLDING ON

Adolphus Hailstork 

and Michael Abels

John Malveaux of 

www.MusicUNTOLD.com 

writes:

2-17-19 MusicUNTOLD reception for composer Adolphus Hailstork in Green Room at Disney Concert Hall following world premiere of STILL HOLDING ON commissioned and performed by LA Phil as part of their 100th anniversary season included a brief video recorded conversation between MusicUNTOLD 2017 Composer of the Year, Michael Abels for soundtrack of movie GET OUT and honored composer Adolphus Hailstork. Michael Abels is currently finishing sound track for Oscar winning director Jordan Peele's next movie titled US with March 22, 2019 theatrical release. Please see photo-composer Adolphus Hailstork (left), composer Michael Abels (right) -courtesy of Ethel James Powers.  

WRTI.org: Classical Album of the Week: Black Composers Series, Recordings from 1974 to 1978

Sony has reissued the CBS Black Composers Series of the 1970s

WRTI

Feb. 18, 2019

By Susan Lewis

February 18, 2019.  Between 1974 and 1978, a series of new recordings highlighted symphonic and other orchestral works by Black composers written over two centuries.   Now, these nine albums are being re-released along with a tenth bonus CD of symphonic spirituals.  Featuring major orchestras and soloists, the Black Composers Series 1974-1978 is our classical album of the week. 

Cedille Records: Free Download: William Grant Still: Suite for Violin and Piano: III. Gamin

Cedille Records

FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE WEEK:

William Grant Still: Suite for
Violin and Piano: III. Gamin

http://www.cedillerecords.org/albums/specials/digital-deals?utm_source=Customers&utm_campaign=a0a7d1610e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_15_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3699c741eb-a0a7d1610e-177751693&mc_cid=a0a7d1610e&mc_eid=b94e59ad33

Blues Dialogues: Music by Black Composers
25% OFF this week only!

"Barton Pine and partner Matthew Hagle are to be commended for such a thoughtful, gracious, and inspiring program, recorded in Cedille’s typical robust and clear sound."

— Audiophile Audition

TrentonDaily.com: Capital Philharmonic to Celebrate Great African-American Composers

Florence B. Price (1887-1953)

Samuel Thompson

Trenton Daily

Trenton, NJ

February 17, 2019

Patrick Jones

On Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. Trenton’s Capital Philharmonic will be celebrating great African-American composers with violinist Samuel Thompson.

According to the Trenton Capital Philharmonic, Vicki and Darrell Gatwood were preparing to renovate an abandoned house in downstate Illinois in 2009. Vandals had ransacked the house, a fallen tree had torn a hole in the roof, and the structure was in generally poor condition. However, in a part of the house that was still dry, the Gatwoods discovered piles of books, personal papers, and musical manuscripts – one of which was the First Violin Concerto by Florence Price, who had died in 1953.

The dilapidated house had once been her summer home and these and other works that were thought to be lost were now found. There is no record that this concerto, written in 1939, was ever performed, and in the 10 years since its discovery, it has only once been performed live–in Arkansas.

Thanks to Maestro’s diligent research to obtain this rare unpublished manuscript, the Capital Philharmonic will give the East Coast Premiere of this beautiful concerto. The soloist will be Samuel Thompson.

AaronAsk: Weekly mentoring for a creative life: Do More Than is Required!

http://www.aaronask.com/do-more-than-is-required/

Aaron P. Dworkin writes:

Greetings and welcome to this week's episode of AaronAsk, your weekly mentoring session to live a fulfilling creative life!  This week's episode is titled, Do More Than is Required!  Enjoy, we wish you a creative day and see you for next week's session! 

Comment by email:
Thanks so much Bill… Hope all is well! [Aaron P. Dworkin] 

Eighth Blackbird Comes Home for 2019 Performances in Chicago

Four-time Grammy Award winner Eighth Blackbird, which aims to move music forward with innovative chamber music performance, comes home to Chicago in 2019 with a series of concerts showcasing the ensemble members together and in smaller configurations, performing new works from its international touring program.

Rather than engaging Chicagoans from a single location, as the ensemble did in 2016 with a yearlong MCA residency, this spring Eighth Blackbird brings programs to a variety of venues and neighborhoods on a range of days and times. Between March and October, the ensemble collaborates on a series of events with private and public cultural partners. The trajectory leading to the 2021–22 season, the group’s 25th anniversary, is anchored by Chicago partnerships, old and new, including three projects with Cedille Records.

“We have a deep commitment to bringing new, groundbreaking work to audiences in our hometown,” said ensemble member Nathalie Joachim. “Eighth Blackbird aims to change the circumstances in which concerts occur by removing barriers for new listeners to experience some extraordinary 21st century work and some very special collaborators we’re bringing to the city. The wider the ensemble’s international reach, the greater the opportunity, and obligation, for Eighth Blackbird to bring it all home.” 

Spring performances
Eighth Blackbird’s first major appearance is ice ’n’ SPICE, an eclectic acoustic concert that features the sextet performing together. The concert, which takes its title from a work on the program written by LA-based composer and Blackbird Creative Lab alumna Nina Shekhar, also includes Electric Aroma by Lab alumnus Viet Cuong and Eroding by Iceland-born Lab alumna Fjóla Evans, three of 12 new works commissioned by Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting for the Blackbird Creative Lab in 2017 and 2018. The Clarity of Cold Air by Jon Holland, Lobster Tales and Turtle Soup by Holly Harrison (which won Eighth Blackbird the Performance of the Year award at Australia’s Art Music Awards in 2017), and Stay On It by Julius Eastman round out the evening. ice ’n’ SPICE takes place Monday, March 25 at 7 p.m. at City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph Street, Chicago. Tickets are $22–32 and available at citywinery.com/chicago/eighth-blackbird-7pm-3-25-19.html.

Eighth Blackbird joins the lineup of Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series with DISSOLVE, an evening featuring the six ensemble members performing in their signature full-group form, as well as in smaller subsets showcasing their playful, intimate, and spirited versatility. The program includes works by Chicago Symphony Orchestra Mead Composer-in-Residence Missy Mazzoli, Blackbird Creative Lab alumnus Viet Cuong, Puerto Rican-born Angélica Negrón, 2018–19 Rome Prize winner Jessie Marino, and more. DISSOLVE takes place Friday and Saturday, May 17 and 18 at 8 p.m. at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted Street, Chicago. Tickets are $35 general admission, $15 for students, available through Steppenwolf’s box office later this spring. Ensemble members will join audience members in Front Bar for conversation after the performance.

Other spring activities
Among its priorities, Eighth Blackbird has long been committed to the development of the next generation of performers and composers through commissions, presentations, mentorship, and educational programs including its Blackbird Creative Lab, a professional training program and artistic community for emerging music and interdisciplinary artists.  After two summer intensives in California, in 2019 Eighth Blackbird is focusing on the Lab’s long-term artistic and career development goals for its first 60 alumni with activities including regional showcases for Lab alumni and a reunion in Chicago featuring performances at such intimate venues as Elastic Arts (March 15) and the ACE Hotel (March 17) and an appearance on “Live from WFMT” on 98.7FM (March 18). More information is available at blackbirdcreativelab.org/about/lab/. Lab alumni will also be showcased in June in Chicago and at the Great Lakes Festival in Michigan alongside the sextet.

This week the National Endowment for the Arts recommended Eighth Blackbird for a $20,000 grant to renew its major support for the Blackbird Creative Lab in 2019. The Paul M. Angell Foundation is supporting the weekend of Chicago reunion events, including the free public concert March 17 at the Ace Hotel and the “Live from WFMT” broadcast the following night.

Other spring performances to date include the ensemble’s debut on the Rush Hour Concerts series in a free after-work performance Tuesday, June 18 at St. James Cathedral; New Music Chicago Presents, featuring Lab alumni in a free noon performance Thursday, June 20 at the Chicago Cultural Center; and other June events in collaboration with Chicago civic and cultural institutions to be announced later this spring.

Eighth Blackbird Eighth Blackbird, founded when its members were Oberlin Conservatory students in 1996, has continually pushed at the edges of what it means to be a contemporary chamber ensemble, presenting distinct programs in Chicago, nationally, and internationally, reaching audiences totaling tens of thousands. The sextet has commissioned and premiered hundreds of works by established and emerging composers and perpetuated the creation of music with profound impact, such as Steve Reich’s Double Sextet, which went on to win the 2009 Pulitzer Prize. The ensemble’s extensive recording history, primarily with Chicago’s Cedille Records, has produced more than a dozen acclaimed albums and four Grammy Awards for Best Small Ensemble/Chamber Music Performance, most recently in 2016 for Filament. Eighth Blackbird won the 1998 Concert Artists Guild Competition, received Chamber Music America’s inaugural Visionary Award, and was named Musical America’s 2017 Ensemble of the Year. Eighth Blackbird’s mission—moving music forward through innovative performance, advocating for new music by living composers, and creating a legacy of guiding an emerging generation of musicians—extends beyond recording and touring to curation and education. Eighth Blackbird’s musicians are Nathalie Joachim, flutes; Michael J. Maccaferri, clarinets; Yvonne Lam, violin and viola; Nick Photinos, cello; Matthew Duvall, percussion; and Lisa Kaplan, piano. For information, visit eighthblackbird.org.

All photos of Eighth Blackbird by Saverio Truglia.

Red Clay Dance: Art of Resilience 2.0 May 16–18, DuSable Museum Roundhouse

RED CLAY DANCE PERFORMS WORLD PREMIERE

ART OF RESILIENCE 2.0

MAY 16–18 AT DUSABLE MUSEUM ROUNDHOUSE

Red Clay Dance Company (RCDC),  which creates and performs a  diverse repertoire of Afro- contemporary dance, continues  its 10th anniversary season with  the world premiere of Art of  Resilience 2.0 by Founder and  Artistic Director Vershawn  Sanders-Ward. Performances  are May 16–18, 2019 at 7:30  p.m., co-presented by the  DuSable Museum of African  American History at DuSable  Museum Roundhouse, 740 W.  56th Place, Chicago. Following  the Saturday, May 18  performance, RCDC hosts its  annual Paint the Town Red  fundraiser party.   Art of Resilience 2.0 is a site- specific, mixed-media  performance installation  that re-imagines RCDC’s  2017 repertory work Art  of Resilience. A fully  immersive activation of the  DuSable Museum's  Roundhouse space, Art  of Resilience 2.0 highlights  the architecture of the  historic building constructed  in the 19th century by  visionary architect Daniel  H. Burnham. Using  movement, song, text,  vibrant projections, and  multiple performance  stages, RCDC’s “Urban   Griots” take the audience  on a journey through  Chicago’s South Side.  The work reconstructs  the stories of Chicago’s  “Black Belt,” exploring   themes such as redlining,  housing covenants, the  Stroll, and the  Black Arts Movement  while amplifying the  embodied resilience that  exists today inside  these historically  disenfranchised but  culturally rich  communities. Through  an embodied exploration  of these concepts, the   “Urban Griots” display a  futuristic expression of  black life on the South Side.   The National Endowment  for the Arts has  recommended a $10,000  grant to RCDC to  support the creation and  presentation of Art of  Resilience 2.0. Concluding the 10th  anniversary season is  RCDC’s “Dance4Peace  Youth Concert &   Community Hug Awards”  June 1 at 5 p.m. at Benito  Juarez Community Academy,  1450 W. Cermak Rd.   Red Clay Dance Company  performs the world  premiere of Art of  Resilience 2.0  Thursday–Saturday, May  16–18 at 7:30 p.m.  at  the DuSable Museum  Roundhouse, 740 W. 56th  Pl., Chicago. Performance tickets are  $30, $24 for  seniors and students;  admission to the May  18 performance and  post-show Paint the  Town Red fundraiser is  $100. Tickets, which go on  sale March 1, are  available at  redclaydance.com. All programming is  subject to change.   For more information  about RCDC and the  10th anniversary  season, visit  redclaydance.com.   Red Clay Dance Company Red Clay Dance Company lives  to awaken “glocal” change  through creating, performing,  and teaching dances of the  African Diaspora—change  that transforms cultural  and socioeconomic  imbalances in our local and  global community.  Founder Vershawn Sanders- Ward conceived the idea of  RCDC while on her first trip  to Senegal, West Africa,  when she became  fascinated by the  interconnectedness of  dance and everyday life.  The name Red Clay comes  from her childhood memories  of playing in red earth during  her summers in Mobile,  Alabama.   RCDC’s 10th anniversary  season is supported  by the Chicago Community  Trust, the Field Foundation,  the MacArthur Fund for Arts  and Culture at the  Richard H Driehaus  Foundation, the  Gaylord and Dorothy  Donnelley Foundation,  the Springboard Foundation,  the Polk Bros. Foundation,  the Illinois Arts Council  Agency, and the Chicago  Department of Cultural  Affairs and Special  Events. Corporate  Sponsors include PNC Bank,  The Silver Room, EAmbrose  Photography, and A Social  Life. The 10th Anniversary  Season Host Committee  includes Ebony Ambrose,  Jessica Bell, Amy Clark*,  Leslie Guy, Catrina  Franklin*, Tam Herbert*,  Jada Russell, Brea  Sanders, Marilyn A.  Sanders, and Ira Staples  (* denotes RCDC board  member). Photos of Art of Resilience by Raymond Jerome.