Patrick D. McCoy, Examiner.com: 'Stanley J. Thurston named Artist in Residence at Washington National Cathedral'

Stanley J. Thurston

Examiner.com

Performing Arts

July 29, 2013

By: Patrick McCoy

In a press release this morning, the Washington National Cathedral announced the appointment of conductor Stanley J. Thurston as Artist in Residence. His appointment will be effective September 1. Thurston is highly regarded in the D. C. area and nationally as an outstanding conductor, pianist and arranger.

The cathedral's announcement was a part of its announcing of the 2013-14 concert series highlighting both the Cathedral Choirs under the direction of Canon Michael McCarthy and The Heritage Signature Chorale, which was founded and is conduced by Thurston.

Thurston has appeared as conductor on NBC’s Today Show and at such venues as Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He has performed with notable artists including Denyce Graves, Kathleen Battle, the Canadian Brass, and Wynton Marsalis. He was commissioned to compose a musical tribute for the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service at the Cathedral, which he conducted during the service with President Barack Obama.

Cosmas W. K. Mereku: 'What a great resource to teachers of musical composition like us who are trying our best to sustain classicism in our countries'

Akin Euba (b. 1935), Nigerian Composer, Professor & Author, is featured at AfriClassical.com

Cosmas W. K. Mereku of The University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, writes in the Guest Book at AfriClassical.com on Sunday, July 28, 2013:

You have a fantastic website. What a great resource to teachers of musical composition like us who are trying our best to sustain classicism in our countries as well as on the continent where majority of our elite musicians (ethnomusicologists, music educators, traditional music performers, etc., alike) think classical music is foreign (a culture that was forced on the continent -Eurocentricism). Now my students will know how both Africans as well as those in the diaspora of African descend had contributed to this wonderful genre we aspire to nurture in Africa. After all, the melodic, harmonic and percussive qualities of our instruments make them a perfect vehicle for the expression of the multi-musicality African composers are striving to achieve in today¿s multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-interdisciplinary world of globalization.

John Malveaux, MusicUNTOLD.com: Martin Luther King Jr. 50th Anniversary Concert ‘SYMPHONY of BROTHERHOOD’

 Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004): A Celebration

Chicago Sinfonietta et al. 

Paul Freeman, Conductor

Cedille 90000 087 (2005)

John Malveaux of www.MusicUNTOLD.com sends the program for SYMPHONY of BROTHERHOOD:

Martin Luther King Jr. 50^th Anniversary Concert

‘SYMPHONY of BROTHERHOOD’

Music UNTOLD String Quartet

(Clavis Ballard-cello, Jennifer Lindsay-violin, Darrel Sims-violin, Joseph Taylor-viola)

Roy Harris (1898-1979) arrangement - The Star-Spangled Banner

Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim, Violinist Annelle Gregory

William Grant Still (1895-1978) arrangement - Here’s One (Talk about a child that do love Jesus)

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) arrangement - Deep River, op. 59 no. 10

Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim, Soprano Jumi Kim

Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) Paride ed Elena (Paris and Helen) / Paride(Paris): O del mio dolce ardor (Oh my sweet love)

Pianist David Rubinstein, Flutist Laurel Zucker

Julio Racine (b. 1945) Tangente au Yanvalou for flute and piano

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004) arrangement - Lil' Lite O' Mine / Sparklin for flute and piano

Pianist Richard Thompson, Bass-Baritone Mark Steven Doss

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) Lucia di Lammermoor / Enrico: Cruda funesta smania (A cruel terrible restlessness)

Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim, Soprano Jumi Kim

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) Lucia di Lammermoor / Lucia: Regnava Nel Silenzio (Reigning In Silent Darkness)

Pianist Polli Chambers-Salazar, Bass-Baritone Cedric Trenton Berry

Hall Johnson (1888-1970) arrangement - Ride on King Jesus

William Grant Still (1895-1978) Troubled Island / Martel: I Dream A World

Margaret Bond (1913-1972) arrangement - He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands

Intermission

Pianist Richard Thompson, Soprano Anita Johnson

Richard Thompson (b. 1954) I, Too, Sing America

Duke Ellington (1899-1974) Second Sacred Concert:

Heaven

T.G.T.T (Too Good To Title)

Almighty God

Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim, Cellist Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun

David Baker (b. 1931) Sonata for Cello and Piano, II. Blues (slow)

Cellist Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun

Coleridge Taylor-Perkinson (1932-2004) Lamentations: Black Folk Song Suite for cello solo, IV. Perpetual Motion

Pianist James Lent, Soprano Juliana Gondek

Charles Osborne (b. 1927) arrangement - Ki Eleicha

John Carter (1932-1981?) arrangement - Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees

Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim, Soprano Jumi Kim

Dong-Jin Kim (1913-2009) Cho-Hon (Invocation)

Pianist Polli Chambers-Salazar

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) Valse Suite: Three-Fours, Op 71

II. Andante

IV. Vivace

VI. Allegro assai

Pianist Richard Thompson, Bass-Baritone Mark Steven Doss

Louis Gruenberg (1884-1964) The Emperor Jones / Brutus Jones: Oh, Lawd Jesus, heah my prayer (Standin’ in de Need of Prayer)

J. Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954) arrangement - Go Down, Moses

Jacques Brel (1929-1978) Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris - If We Only Have Love - English Lyrics: Mort Shuman & Eric Blau

Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim, Soprano Jumi Kim

Joopoong Kim (b. 1958) Candlelight for Soprano (World Premiere)

Program Note:

This piece was composed to commemorate and honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose vision and leadership helped our society to advance towards greater civil equality for all. This piece attempts to capture the fragility of a candle’s flame, vulnerable to being extinguished by the slightest of winds. Yet with consistent care and protection, even this fragile flame can light the way in the darkest of times. Dr. King was that care and protection, kindling the fragile flame of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. That flame grew stronger and brighter, and ultimately lit the way towards greater equality for the entire nation. This piece is, therefore, titled “Candlelight” to express Dr. King’s legacy.

The melody attempts to express the equality of all men and women through its harmonious sounds, while the vertical harmony of the accompaniment is structured as a dissonant chord, composed using the homophonic texture. We may have heard the phrase “The night is darkest before the dawn.” The interaction between the harmonious melody and inharmonic accompaniment represents the struggle and darkness that faced Dr. King and his followers during the Civil Rights Movement. Yet the piece concludes by reaching an overall harmony. This ultimate harmony represents not only the achievements of Dr. King’s vision, but also this composer’s hope that the advances in civil rights we enjoy today continue to strive so that Dr. King’s vision of equality for African-Americans extends to equality for all minority groups.

'Tangente au Yanvalou' of Haitian composer Julio Racine added to 50th Anniversary MLK Jr. 'SYMPHONY of BROTHERHOOD' Concert

Julio Racine is a Haitian composer, arranger and flutist who is featured at AfriClassical.com. He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on February 4, 1945.  He now lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

John Malveaux of www.MusicUNTOLD.com writes:

Although both are beautiful compositions, Flutist Laurel Zucker will substitute Tangente au Yanvalou for flute and piano by Haitian composer and flutist Julio Racine  for Sonatina for flute and piano  by Adolphus Hailstork during 50th Anniversary MLK Jr. 'SYMPHONY of BROTHERHOOD' Concert, Sunday, August 18, 2013, Zipper Hall-Colburn School, downtown Los Angeles.

 

Thanks

John Malveaux 

African American history is still largely neglected in American history. BlackPast.org is a major attempt to address that need.

Dr. Quintard Taylor writes:

Friends and Colleagues:

I am sharing with you a letter of inquiry that Allison Shirk, our grant writer, just sent to the Delmas Foundation over my signature.  Allison in short, crisp language captured the essence of what BlackPast.org is about.  This is what we do and why we do it.  That’s why I want you to see her letter.

Quintard

July 25, 2013

Ms. Rachel Kimber, Foundation Administrator

Delmas Foundation

275 Madison Ave., 33rd Fl.

New York, NY 10016-1101

Dear Ms. Kimber:

Every year in February, teachers spotlight the contributions to our country made by African Americans. Yet at the same time, many legitimately question whether Black History Month is yet another form of segregation. Why set aside a month to teach a subject that should be incorporated into the curriculum all year long? Although textbooks are improving in their inclusion of under-represented groups, African American history is still largely neglected in American history.

BlackPast.org is a major attempt to address that need. At more than 10,000 pages, it is currently the largest Internet site dedicated exclusively to African American history. BlackPast.org, a nonprofit organization founded in 2007, operates with a staff of twelve volunteers and over 500 volunteer contributors from six continents. The mission of BlackPast.org is to provide the inquisitive public with comprehensive, reliable, accurate information concerning the history of African Americans in the United States and people of African ancestry throughout the rest of the world. Our goal is to make this information available to an international audience to foster understanding through this knowledge which in turn will generate constructive change in society.

BlackPast.org’s vast array of information includes 3,000 encyclopedia entries, 120 full text primary documents, and over 5,000 books in African American history including rare texts such as the 1927 publication, Who’s Who in Religious, Fraternal, Social, Civic, and Commercial Life on the Pacific Coast. BlackPast.org also has full text primary documents and major speeches of black activists and leaders from the 18th Century to the present. There are links to hundreds of websites that address the global history of people of African ancestry including major black museums, newspapers, magazines, and archival research centers in the United States and Canada. Our most recent addition is a list of more than 100 state or nationally recognized landmarks or monuments reflecting African American history. In every category listed above and many more that are not included, BlackPast.org is the most comprehensive repository of information available on the Internet today.

BlackPast.org has received awards and distinctions for which we are very proud, including: the Charles Payton Award for Heritage Advocacy from the Association of King County Historical Organizations, 2011; Best Free Reference Websites for 2011 by the American Library Association; Best Hybrid Print and Electronic Resources by the New York Public Library, 2009; and was featured on American Historical Association's website, 2007. On April 2, 2010, BlackPast.org became one of a select group of websites archived by the Library of Congress. Our most important distinction is the growth of our global audience. In 2012, just under three million people from more than 120 nations visited the pages of BlackPast.org.

We are writing to respectfully request your consideration of a grant of $10,000 to provide operating support for BlackPast.org. This funding would be used during fiscal year 2013. We are currently operating on a conservative budget made possible by the time and talents of hundreds of volunteers, and we are actively and strategically building organizational capacity to preserve and sustain this resource beyond its present status. Our organizational budget for 2013 is $79,345. We have received funding from the following foundations this year to date: 4Culture $9,060; Seattle Foundation\ GiveBIG Campaign $8,085; Starbucks Company $1,000; Wyman Youth Trust $8,000; Walt & Rita Braithwaite Family Foundation $1,000.

The goal of this project is to build organizational capacity for BlackPast.org to preserve, disseminate, and integrate African American history. The following objectives are practical steps to further the mission of BlackPast.org: 1) To seek out and digitally archive new and existing information on African American history; and 2) To continually update and incorporate interactive components into the website to facilitate learning; and 3) To build organizational capacity including board recruitment and development, diversifying revenue to provide greater financial stability, and completing a five-year strategic plan.

Our long term goal (2-3 years) is to upgrade from the current software - Drupal 5 to the latest version, Drupal 7. Drupal is an open source content management platform used to host the data on our website. In order to upgrade the software, a four step process is needed: Planning, Preparing the current site for upgrade, Upgrading, and Testing, with each step including a lengthy process of checks and balances to ensure success.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 206-985-8553 or quintardjr@comcast.net. I realize that you receive hundreds, if not thousands of grant applications, so with all sincerity, thank you very much for your time and consideration. We are aware of your particular interest in Venice and have chosen the excerpt in the box to the right as an example from our website. We hope you can help us.

Warmest regards,

Dr. Quintard Taylor, Ph.D.

President, BlackPast.org

NJ.com: 'Centenary Stage in Hackettstown welcomes Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, July 27' 8 PM

[Scott Joplin Treemonisha; The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and Singers; Rick Benjamin, conductor; New World Records 80720 (2011)]

Scott Joplin (c. 1867-1917) is featured at AfriClassical.com.  His opera Treemonisha has been recorded by The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and Singers

NJ.com
June 30, 2013

By Warren Reporter 

It’s time to explore the world’s only year-round, professional ensemble re-creating “America’s Original Music.” The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra will fill the Centenary Stage this summer with the syncopated sounds of early musical theater, silent cinema, and classic dance rhythms. Centenary Stage Company’s Jammin’ in July Summer Concert Series will continue on July 27 at 8 p.m. at the Sitnik Theatre in the David and Carol Lackland Center with the world-famous Paragon Ragtime Orchestra.

...

Tickets for The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra on Saturday, July 27, at 8 p.m. range from $20 to $27.50 in advance and $25 to $32.50 for day of purchases, with discounts for seniors, students, and children under 12.

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra is part of Centenary Stage Company’s Jammin’ in July Summer Concert Series, which will also include An Evening With Groucho, Masters of Motown, and New Jersey Youth Theatre’s Production of West Side Story with a Flex Pass available to all four events at $90 per person.

Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival starts this Sunday!

Imani Winds

July 28, 7pm OPENING CONCERT: IMANI WINDS with guest artist LARA ST. JOHN, Violin

   Christ & St. Stephens Church, $20 admission

August 2, 7pm IMANI WINDS & SIMON SHAHEEN, Oud/Violin "The Zafeer Project"

   Bryant Park, Free Concert sponsored by Chamber Music America

August 3, 7pm  SUMMER SYMPOSIUM 2013 - Open to the public

TRANSATLANTIC ENSEMBLE, PROJECT TRIO, ZODIAC TRIO

   Mannes College of Music, $10 suggested donation

August 4, 7pm VISIONARIES: COMPOSERS OF GENERATION NOW!

   Mannes College of Music, $10 suggested donation

August 5, 8pm THE MUSIC OF JEFF SCOTT

   Christ & St. Stephen’s Church, $10 admission

August 7, 12pm  “A TASTE OF ERIC EWAZEN", composer in residence

   The Juilliard School, $10 suggested donation

For more details on locations & tickets click HERE.

For a full detailed schedule of all masterclasses, concerts and events click HERE.

SPHINX STARS: DETROIT: 'Tune in on Sunday, July 28 at 7:30 PM on WADL-TV Detroit for the Grand Finale'

Learn more at 

www.SphinxStars.orgGrand Prize

---

WFDD.org: 'National Black Theatre Festival Announces 2013 Schedule' July 29 - August 3, Winston-Salem

National Black Theatre FestivalCredit Kathryn Mobley / WFDD

88.5 WFDD

June 4, 2013

Performers from around the world will entertain people in the Triad for six days and nights.

 

Winston-Salem will host the National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF) July 29-August 3. During the week, more than 100 shows will be performed across the city. Tickets are now on sale and range between $8 and $45. Executive Producer, Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin, is the wife of the festival's founder, the late Larry Leon Hamlin. She says this biennial event has a strong economic impact on Winston-Salem because it attracts thousands of people from across the country to the city, and all of them spend money staying in the hotels, eating at restaurants, renting cars and shopping. "In 2011, we had an economic impact of nearly $10 million," says Sprinkle-Hamlin. "Also, we love having the festival in Winston-Salem because it is The City of the Arts. So we’re bringing great, professional theater to this community. These shows deal with the real challenges of life in ways people of all racial, economic and personal background will be able to relate to.” Artistic Director Mabel Robinson agrees. “It’s important we bring in from around the world artists, technicians, singers and dancers, directors and playwrights here so they can appreciate their similarities and differences to create unique experiences that audiences will remember for a lifetime,” explains Robinson. “The festival is a vehicle to a reunion of spirit that I believe Winston-Salem is open to receiving.”

 

 A star-studded gala will kick off the biennial event at the M.C. Benton Convention Center. It will be followed by the opening show, The Eve of Jackie: A Tribute to Jackie Wilson. Broadway dancer, singer and performer, Chester Gregory, returns with a portrayal of this American musical icon whose career spanned the late 1950's through 1975. "This is the last full concert Wilson did before his career abruptly ends," says Gregory. "And during it, he reveals some very personal things." Gregory debuted on the NBTF stage in 2001 and he says it’s very special to him. "In 2001, we got to headline the festival with The Jackie Wilson Story. It was an awesome experience and I got a chance to meet the incredible Larry Leon Hamlin,” explains Gregory. “One night, he (Hamlin) spoke a powerful word into my life. Hamlin said, 'In 2003 you won’t be able to come to the festival because you’ll be on Broadway.' That was true, because in 2003 I was cast in Hair Spray on Broadway in the role of Sea Weed.” Gregory performed in that show for 2 1/2 years. The show he’s bringing to Winston-Salem will run in the University of North Carolina School of the Arts Steven’s Center for five nights. 

'RISING FROM ASHES: An Inspiring True Story about Rwanda and Redemption through Cycling, as told by Forest Whitaker'

New Documentary Executive Produced and Narrated by Forest Whitaker

Captures a Long, Amazing Ride to the 2012 Olympics

Opening in New York City and Los Angeles on August 2

From director T.C. Johnstone and told by Forest Whitaker comes RISING FROM ASHES, which will have its worldwide theatrical premiere on August 2 in New York and Los Angeles. 

In RISING FROM ASHES, two worlds collide when cycling legend Jock Boyer moves to Rwanda to help the first Rwandan National Cycling Team in their six year journey to compete in the Olympic Games in London. Setting out against impossible odds both Jock and the team find new purpose as they rise from the ashes of their past.

Executive produced and narrated by Forest Whitaker, this stunningly shot film follows Jock (the first American to compete in the Tour de France) and his Rwandan riders as they slowly but steadily learn what it means to be a professional cyclist - how to train, how to compete, how to live the life of a top level athlete. As they get better and better, the riders of Team Rwanda give their countrymen a vision of something greater than themselves and their history: hope for a future.

In Rwanda, ‘The Land of a Thousand Hills’, the bicycle is essential to life. It is how you move. It is how you work. And during the Genocide, it is how you survived. Stand on any corner of any village throughout the country, and farmers will scream down hillsides barefoot on 25 year old bikes loaded with 100 pounds of potatoes, taxi drivers peddle diligently with a mother and daughter in tow, and a child amuses himself for hours guiding a bent wheel down alleyways. It seems natural that bike racing has a rich history in Rwanda. For decades the country has participated in the sport, hosting local races for bragging rights, riding barefoot, many times without brakes or gears. During 100 days in 1994, as Rwandans were systematically murdered, thousands escaped certain death on their bikes. When the dust settled and the perpetrators were subdued, the country mourned the death of nearly one million of their countrymen. Amidst the heartache and trauma, a committed group of young cyclists began importing racing bikes into the country with the hopes of resurrecting the sport. In 2005, legendary bike builder Tom Ritchey explored the country on his bike, and upon meeting a group of cyclists who called themselves Team Rwanda, left with the vision there was potential for a National Team, and a question. What if they could make it to the Olympics?

Jock Boyer is one of America’s most fabled cyclists. He grew up battling Tom Ritchey in Northern California’s competitive cycling leagues, out of this rivalry a mutual admiration and friendship was born. At the age of 17, Jock left the U.S. to compete professionally against the World’s elite in France, and in 1981 he made history as the First American to ever ride in the Tour de France. Upon his return to the United States, after a prolific racing career, he would lose it all. In this period of darkness Tom reconnected with his long lost friend with an unlikely proposition, an offer to become the Coach of Rwanda’s first National Cycling Team.

The star of Team Rwanda is Adrien Niyonshuti. Adrien lost 60 family members in the Genocide, including six brothers and his mother’s entire line of heritage. Maybe because he sought purpose behind his pain, maybe he just had a gift, but Adrien started cycling. In 2006, he rode a mountain bike for the first time -- catching Jock and winning a local race, which forged the beginning of a relationship between two broken men. In 2011, Adrien qualified for the Olympic Games, a bold achievement that would send shockwaves throughout Rwanda, a living example that the ghosts and demons of our past have no power over our future.

RISING FROM ASHES was produced by two partnering non-profit’s, Gratis 7 Media Group and Project Rwanda. They in turn support Team Rwanda.

Team Rwanda started out as a cycling organization however they quickly learned they had to care for the greater needs of each athlete. Many of the riders could not read or write, lived in homes without fresh drinking water, were malnourished, and had never received healthcare. But there was still a greater issue, the issues of the heart. These riders were all recovering from the traumatic psychological effects of the 1994 genocide. Team Rwanda had to look deeper.

Team Rwanda has not solved all of these problems but it is making a difference.

- Riders are provided a modest salary to help provide for themselves and their families.

- Riders are given English lessons and taught how to read and write.

- Health care is provided for the ongoing issues of malaria and water-borne diseases.

- When funds are available, the riders are given regular health checks and dental care.

While the team has taken care of the physical and mental issues it has provided something greater: Hope.

Rwanda is a country recovering from one of the world’s most devastating genocides and they have longed for heroes. The riders of Team Rwanda have become more than just a cycling team; they have become ambassadors of hope and men to look up to. They have given the country a vision of something greater then themselves and a renewed sense of purpose.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

T.C. Johnstone (Director / Producer / Editor) began making films in Steamboat Springs over 10 years ago. After producing his first feature he moved to California and began working as a DP and documentary director on a wide variety of projects ranging from national television (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Discovery) to independent films. He currently focuses on independent documentary feature films.

RISING FROM ASHES

80 minutes, documentary, English, 2013
DCP, 16:9, Color, Dolby Digital 5.1
Directed and Produced by T.C. Johnstone
Edited by T.C. Johnstone, Elisa Bonora
Narrated by Forest Whitaker
Executive Producers: Forest Whitaker, Jon Halbert , Linda Halbert , Peb Jackson, Dan Cooper
Producer: Greg Kwedar
Composer: Joshua Myers
Cinematographers: David Eggerichs, Ryan Scheer Jeremy Rodgers, Jeffrey Waldron
Press kit, photos, & more available at www.firstrunfeatures.com/risingfromashes_press.html

BlackPast.org Posts Survey 'To Help Determine The Future Direction of This 10,000 Page Resource'

Prof. Quintard Taylor, Founder, BlackPast.org

Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History
The University of Washington, Seattle

Prof. Quintard Taylor writes:

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

I need your help. Our BlackPast.org team has put together a survey to help determine the future direction of the website.  If you wouldn’t mind, could you please take five minutes to complete this survey? Participating is easy: simply visit BlackPast.org (www.blackpast.org) and click on the Survey Banner located at the top of any page on the site.

BlackPast.org is now over seven years old and is in serious need of both a technological and design upgrade. By being brutally honest with us, describing what you like and don’t like about the website, we’ll have a clear roadmap for improving this 10,000 page resource. Your assessment will help us chart the future for this global resource now accessed by nearly three million visitors each year. We appreciate your perspective as we work to provide the best learning tool possible.

By the way, a $100 gift certificate will be awarded to one lucky survey participant, but we hope you will complete the survey regardless because we want to know how you feel about the website itself. 

Quintard 

Pianist Mikael Darmanie to Attend 'Catskill High Peaks Festival' as First Recipient of 'Jerome Wright Scholarship' for an African American Student

Mikael Darmanie

The Catskill High Peaks Festival

The Catskill High Peaks Festival (Artistic Director, Yehuda Hanani) is a performing and teaching summer institute bringing together renowned musicians, pedagogues and exceptionally gifted international students. It is held in the majestic Northern Catskill Mountains, surrounded by the iconic scenery – mountain peaks, water falls and charming hamlets – that inspired the Hudson River painters, and that continues to inspire generations of artists, musicians and writers.  The intimate scale and highest level of talent make possible an invigorating ten days of discovery, exploration, bonding, and growth. 

First recipient of the Jerome Wright Scholarship

Pianist Mikael Darmanie began his music studies at age 12 in Trinidad and Tobago. Mikael continued his studies as a student of Clifton Matthews at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he received his Bachelor of Music.  He went on to receive his Master of Music and an Artist Diploma at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Awadagin Pratt. In the fall he is beginning his doctoral studies with pianist Gilbert Kalish in New York.

Mr. Darmanie has performed throughout the United States, France, Switzerland, Germany and the Caribbean.  As a soloist, he has won first prize in a number of competitions, including the Southeastern Regional Piano Competition, Bearcat Festival Chopin Competition, Eurterpe Scholarship Competition, and the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs Competition. He also won Second Prize in the North Carolina MTNA Solo Piano Competition and was a Laureate at the New York Chopin Competition.  He has performed at several festivals, including Pianofest in the Hamptons, Art of Piano Festival, and L'Acadèmie de Musique de Sion (Switzerland).  Mr. Darmanie has also recently performed in Master Classes for Leon Fleisher, Paul Schenly, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Jerome Lowenthal, Joseph Kalichstein, and Menahem Pressler.

A versatile musician, Mr. Darmanie is equally adept as a soloist and chamber musician.  As a member of the Transverse Trio, he won First Prize in the North Carolina MTNA Chamber Music Competition. He has performed at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music as part of the Apple Hill Fellowship Trio.  In 2010, he performed in unique programs of Brazilian and French music for violin and piano at Lincoln Center Institute's Kenan Fellowship performance series.  In 2012, Mikael performed on the Taft Museum of Art Chamber Music Series (Cincinnati) with members of the Cincinnati Symphony.  He is a Graduate Assistant under the direction of Sandra Rivers at CCM, and works as a collaborative pianist performing a wide variety of repertoire.

Mr. Darmanie studied conducting with Serge Zehnacker, Robert Moody, and Ransom Wilson. He has given performances in North Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio conducting various piano concerti from the keyboard and has also conducted symphonic works by Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Haydn and Liszt. He has composed a handful of works, primarily for piano, and has performed his music throughout the United States and Western Europe. 

ConnectionNewspapers.com: 'Obituary: Dr. Thomas Wilkins Dies at 83. For more than 40 years, Wilkins worked to better lives of those around Reston.'

Dr. Thomas Wilkins with Reston founder Robert Simon. Wilkins, a longtime Reston resident and civil rights activist, passed away Saturday, July 20 at the age of 83. Photo by Alex McVeigh. 

The Connection

By Alex McVeigh
Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Reston — When Dr. Thomas Wilkins moved to Reston in 1969, he said he did so because it was “an island of equality in a sea of inequality.” Wilkins passed away Saturday, July 20 at the age of 83, having spent 44 years trying to make Reston a stronger community.

“I’m a Restonian,” Wilkins said in 2005, while discussing Reston’s history of inclusiveness for people of all races. “I’m fighting for what will make our community, not one of the best, but the best community in the United States."

He served in the Army, and graduated from Saint Paul’s College before spending a number of years working for the Department of Labor. Later, he was a staff member to Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Tom Davis, who would go on to become a congressman.

More recently, he worked with Warren Thompson of Thompson Hospitality, who runs American Tap Room in Reston.

Tammi Petrine, a member of the Reston Citizens Association, remembered Wilkins fondly as the man who officiated the wedding of her son and daughter-in-law at her home in Reston. She remembers the special bond Wilkins formed with their then three-year-old grandson Robbie.

“Quite a beautiful pair they made; the very tall, distinguished gentleman and a very short, curly haired nymph. Throughout the evening, Dr. Wilkins’ kindness never waived as his little shadow followed him step for step. At the end of the evening when Tom walked outside to leave, Robbie raced after him to bestow a big hug and kiss for his new friend,” she said. “The cliché that small children are the best judges of fine character certainly held true on this magical night as our family's seminal event was enriched by the charms of a great man whose life was dedicated to improving this very complex world.”

Carol Ann Bradley, past chair of the Reston Community Center and former principal of Terraset Elementary School, said Wilkins was one of the first people she met when she moved to Reston 40 years ago. “I will always remember Tom first and foremost as a loving father and husband,” she said. “The Wilkins home was always a place where my children and I felt welcome, it was filled with food, fun and family. He was a wonderful, caring friend who was always excited to help others.”

WILKINS WAS RECOGNIZED for his propensity to help others in 1997, when he was recognized as Best of Reston during the annual awards ceremony.

One of the most lasting parts of his legacy is the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Foundation, which he helped found in 1999.

“He founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Foundation as a member of the Martin Luther King Christian Church, with the idea that the church would organize it, incorporate it and eventually turn it over to the community, which is what happened,” said Roger Lewis, a member of the foundation. “His vision was that the needs of the community wouldn’t be met by just a faith-based organization, but with the efforts of the whole community.”                     

CD 'Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Undiscovered Piano Works' by Waka Hasegawa to be Released July 30, 2013 by Metropolis Group

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Undiscovered Piano Works; 

Waka Hasegawa, Piano; 

Metropolis Group 1301 (07/30/2013)

The pianist Waka Hasegawa has recorded piano works of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor on the Metropolis Group label, with a scheduled release date of July 30, 2013.  Retailers accepting advance orders include ArkivMusi and Amazon.com.

Amazon.com

"Waka Hasegawa established a successful career as part of the internationally acclaimed piano duo 'Piano 4 Hands' (with British pianist Joseph Tong), and as a much sought-after soloist."

ArkivMusic:
"Pianist Waka Hasagawa explores rarely heard insightful piano pieces."

Works on This Recording from ArkivMusic

1. Cameos, Op. 56 by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Performer:  Waka Hasegawa (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: England

2. Valse Suite, Op. 71, "Three-fours" by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Performer:  Waka Hasegawa (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: England

3. Forest Scenes, Op. 66 by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Performer:  Waka Hasegawa (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: England
Notes:
I. The Lone Forest Maiden
II. The Phantom Lover Arrives
III. The Phantom Tells His Tale of Longing
IV. Erstwhile They Ride, The Forest Maiden Acknowledges Her Love
V. Now Proudly They Journey Together Towards the Great City
 

4. Moorish Dance, OP. 55 by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Performer:  Waka Hasegawa (Piano)
Written: England 

[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]

OPC Symphony Orchestra Performs William Grant Still's 'Lenox Avenue,' 'Incantation and Dance' & 'Old California' Sunday, August 4 at 4 PM

[Africa: Piano Music of William Grant Still; 

Denver Oldham, piano; 

Koch International Classics 3-7084-2H1]

The Oakland Public Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra

announces its Fourth Season under the director of Dr. Sandra I. Noriega.The OPC Symphony Orchestra offers Bay Area musicians the unique opportunity to perform the rarely heard works of African-American, and other ethnically under-represented composers, in addition to standard repertoire.

Concert - Sunday, August 4th, at 4 PM. 

 

Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church - Barnett Hall - 3534 Lakeshore Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610    

To hear recordings of the concert repertoire and download available sheet music, please go to: 

http://www.sandranoriega.com/opcorchestrarepertoire.htm

 

Tuscaloosa Tango

Winner of the 2010 Alabama Orchestra Association Composition Competition, by local Bay Area composer, Daniel Leo Simpson. Simpson is described as an American Composer with a flair for creating "contagious" and engaging music, and specializes in unusual, interesting and dynamic works of every genre. From concerti and symphonies to commercials and film music, he is distinguishing himself as unique in his field.

Tuscaloosa Tango is written in the form of a DOUBLE fugue - very interesting! 

Capriccio Espagñol

by Russian composer, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, who initially planned this piece as a fantasy for violin and orchestra but eventually decided on a purely orchestral scoring. Korsakov possessed an exceptional knowledge of the characteristics and capabilities of different instruments, and Capriccio Espagñol strongly supports his reputation as a master orchestrator. Rimsky-Korsakov notes this aspect of the work in his autobiography: "According to my plan, the Capriccio was to glitter with dazzling orchestral color, and clearly I was not mistaken."

Lenox Avenue

by William Grant Still was originally performed as a CBS radio broadcast in 1936, and presents a splendid panorama of life in 1930's Harlem. It was composed as a set of musical vignettes depicting scenes and episodes one might run into on the central street of New York's Harlem, Lenox Avenue. Critics described the work as colorful, graphic, insinuating, a thrilling experience, and exceptionally praiseworthy.An October 31, 1937 review in the Los Angeles Times by Isabel Morse Jones states, "Life moves fast on the Lenox Avenue of William Grant Still. There is more real Negro character in it than in all  of Porgy and Bess... as it pictures a street in Harlem that is almost human in its personal characteristics."  

 

Incantation and Dance

for Oboe and Piano by William Grant Still. A professional oboist himself, enthralled with the beauty of the human voice, his music permeates with fluid lyricism. In this work, the melody appears as a reflective piano solo, and the oboe proves the perfect instrument to nurture and develop its introspective qualities. Though the tempo picks up in the Dance, the mood remains as somber as it is beautiful. 

 

Old California

by William Grant Still is a symphonic tone poem, that holds thematic charm by mingling Indian, Spanish and religious motifs, depicting their influence on the historical development of California as a meeting place of racial cultures. Critic Richard Saunders of the Hollywood Citizen-News, 1941, calls it "a work of strong melodic appeal, magnificently orchestrated, worth a permanent place in orchestral repertory." A prolonged ovation was accorded William Grant Still after a fine, initial presentation of this work.

  

For more information, please contact 

Artistic Director Sandra I Noriega at: 

sandra@sandranoriega.com

info@opcmusic.org

or call 510-239-9783

[William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com Recordings, sheet music and books of William Grant Still are available at www.WilliamGrantStill.com, which is operated by the composer's daughter Judith Anne Still]