MaineHistory.org: 7 PM Oct. 16, Charles Kaufmann Moderates as Six Historians and Scholars Discuss 'Who Was Samuel Coleridge-Taylor?'

Charles Kaufmann, Director of the Longfellow Chorus of Portland, Maine, writes:

Tuesday, October 16, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

In partnership with the Longfellow Chorus

Roundtable Discussion: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and His Music in America, 1900–1912

Moderated by: Charles Kaufmann, Director, Longfellow Chorus

Some say that Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's single claim to fame rests on his opera-like setting of Longfellow's epic poem, Song of Hiawatha, which was performed numerous times during the composer's lifetime. But 100 years after his death on September 1, 1912, Afro-English composer Coleridge-Taylor’s larger impact and influence on American culture remains largely unsung. The list of his musical works includes over 100 compositions written in the classical style of the late-Victorian and Edwardian periods—nearly two dozen are settings of Longfellow's poetry.

Join us as six noted historians and scholars gather in a roundtable discussion to answer this question: "Who was Samuel Coleridge-Taylor?" The event will be filmed as a scene for Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912) and His Music in America, 1900–1912, a documentary being produced by The Longfellow Chorus for premiere in Portland during the March 12–17, 2013, Longfellow Choral Festival. 

Round table participants include Jeffrey Green, English historian and author of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a Musical Life (2011); William Tortolano, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts at Saint Michael's College in Vermont; Karen Shaffer, president of the Maud Powell Society; Wayne Shirley, former music specialist at the Library of Congress; Ann Havemeyer, PhD, historian of the Norfolk (CT) Historical Society; and Thelma Jacobs, historian of the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church in Washington, D.C.

[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List and a Bibliography by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com. We are collaborating with the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Foundation of the U.K., www.SCTF.org.uk]