[The Irving Bunton Singers (Photo from Duke Ellington's 1963 musical revue My People provided by Barbara Wright-Pryor, President, Chicago Music Association)]
The life and career of Duke Ellington (1899-1974) are featured at AfriClassical.com. This is Part 3 of the commemoration by Barbara Wright-Pryor of Duke Ellington's 1963 musical revue My People:
In 1963, Robert Morris was a young undergraduate music major at DePaul University's School of Music and a member of the Irving Bunton Singers. Duke appointed him arranger for all of the choral music for My People.
The Irving Bunton Singers were Duke's hand-picked chorus for the 1963 production which included Alvin Ailey and his Dance Company, the Talley Beatty Dancers, and briefly, the Arthur Mitchell Dance Company. Mr. Bunton, a pianist and conductor par excellence, was Duke's choral director for that production and subsequently became Supervisor of Music for the Chicago Public Schools.
I remember Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899-May 24, 1974) with great love and affection. He was indeed a "genius beyond compare" and America's most prolific composer with an oeuvre of more than 3000 compositions. His autobiography, Music is My Mistress, is yet available at online book stores.
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