[Flutist
Julietta Curenton will give her solo debut in one of three concerts
Saturday in Astral's Spiritual Voyages Festival. (Joanna Williams)]
Philly.com
Feb.
16, 2012
David Patrick Stearns, Inquirer Classical Music Critic
“The one-day festival's three programs - at 1, 4, and 8 p.m. at
Church of the Holy Trinity on Rittenhouse Square - are putting much
of Astral's young-artist roster, not to mention its staff, in foreign
territory. How it goes down with Philadelphia audiences -
historically conservative, if surprisingly progressive of late - is
'a big question mark,' said Vera Wilson, Astral Artists founder.
'It's a bit of a risk, but that's what we do.'
“The two-year
project, supported by the Knight Foundation and Philadelphia Music
Project, was the brainchild of Julian Rodescu, Astral's artistic
director. Before his sudden death at 58 in October, Rodescu already
had worked to bring Astral's young artists out of concert halls and
into clubs, and welcomed into the organization soloists who didn't
play the usual classical-music instruments.
“The Spiritual
Voyages Festival was his boldest endeavor yet. The impetus was the
flutist Julietta Curenton, who wanted to play more African American
repertoire. And indeed, her solo recital debut - the second of
Saturday's three concerts - has music by William Grant Still among
such modern European works as Henri Dutilleux's Sonatine.
“The
first and third programs will stray furthest from traditional
classical concerts. The 1 p.m. performance mixes the African
Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Chancel Choir, composer/pianist Evelyn
Simpson-Curenton (longtime Philadelphia cultural leader and the
flutist's mother), Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra founder Jeri Lynn
Johnson, poems by Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes, as well as works
by African American composers such as George Walker and Alvin
Singleton.” [George Walker (b. 1922) and William Grant Still (1895-1978) are featured at
AfriClassical.com]
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