'New Classical Tracks - African-American Voices': Marcus Eley Interviewed by Julie Amacher on Minnesota Public Radio

[Marcus Eley, clarinet; Lucerne DeSa, piano - "But Not Forgotten" (Sono Luminus 92156) (Courtesy of Sono Luminus)]

The following excerpt is from an interview with Marcus Eley, clarinetist.  It can be heard or read online:

New Classical Tracks - African-American Voices
by Julie Amacher, Minnesota Public Radio
September 11, 2012
St. Paul, Minn. — As an African-American musician, clarinetist Marcus Eley says he's in a perfect position to champion the works of African-American composers, and that's precisely what he's does on his latest release titled But Not Forgotten. "One of the things I wanted to do in this recording is to salute the unsung heroes of music composition by people who are African-American," he explains. "And this recording is dedicated to those composers that I've had the pleasure of working with or those composers that I've admired over the years."

This recording actually came together about three years ago, while Marcus Eley was performing at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa. "And luckily for me, the emphasis of that festival was the music of the Diaspora," he says. "And I thought, I've done similar recitals before in the past of African-American composers. But I wanted to, in this case, do something unique. I need something to hook the audience to the recital, to encourage them to come, as it were. And I said a world premiere would be great. So that's how one of the pieces I put together on the CD happened."