'Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra announces its 2010-11 concert season'

[Jeri Lynne Johnson, Founder and Conductor, The Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra]

Julia Rubio, Executive Director of The Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra,

http://www.blackpearlco.org, sends AfriClassical a Press Release on its upcoming season:

Philadelphia, PA - August 16, 2010 – The Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra announces its 2010-11 concert season. The orchestra will present a 3-concert series at The Baptist Temple and Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia.

On the heels of a very successful Inaugural Season, the BPCO is back with an unforgettable 3-concert season that celebrates musical heritage, artistic excellence and a new vision for diversity in classical music. Hispanic heritage, black history and a partnership performance with the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts rounds out the BPCO's second season. BPCO's Executive Director Julia Rubio states, "few other towns would work so ardently to make an idea like the BPCO happen, especially in this economic climate. We are so proud to make Philadelphia our home."

Drawing from the very best classical musicians representing the region's ethnic and cultural diversity, the BPCO will perform under the baton of award-wining conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson, who states "for 2010-2011, the BPCO is all about making musical connections – connections that span genres, nations, continents, and centuries."

The season launches on September 16th with a free concert entitled Tiempos y Música celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at The Baptist Temple on Temple University's Main campus. This concert explores the turbulent political history shared between Beethoven’s epic overture Leonore #3 and the music of 20th century Mexican composers.

The season continues on February 19th as the orchestra honors Black History Month with a concert entitled Burleigh, Brahms and Dvořák's New Musical World. The performance will feature works by African-American composer Henry Thacker Burleigh and Czech composer Antonin Dvořák's Symphony #9 From The New World to showcase Burleigh's influence on Dvořák's epic work. It is said by Burleigh that "The first time a Negro song became a major theme in a great symphonic work was in 1893, when Antonín Dvořák''s New World Symphony was played."



The season concludes on April 28th with a concert entitled Paris: When it Sizzled. Stravinsky, Milhaud and "Le Jazz Hot" as part of the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts and will explore the impact of Dixieland or “hot” jazz on the emerging modern styles of two of Paris’s most iconic composers: Igor Stravinsky and Darius Milhaud. The program will feature Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite, Milhaud's Creation de Monde, and will sample some of the sizzling sounds Black musicians were cooking up in America at that time. The February and April concerts will be held at the Independence Seaport Museum and ticket prices range from $10-$35.

Ticket and Concert info:

http://www.blackpearlco.org

Phone: (215) 717-7103

[Henry Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University Conservatory]