The Chicago Modern Orchestra Project performs
“Suite of DuSable: A Vision of Faith.” COURTESY
ALVIN CARTER-BEY
“Suite of DuSable: A Vision of Faith.” COURTESY
ALVIN CARTER-BEY
Renee' Baker sends this article:
South Side Weekly
A Journey in Jazz
The DuSable honors a founder
Posted on March 4, 2014
The DuSable Museum, in Washington Park, celebrates
its namesake frequently, but celebrated him particularly
loudly last Friday night. “Suite DuSable: A Vision of
Faith,” an hour-long orchestral piece composed and
conducted by Renée Baker, served as a kickoff to
celebrations of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, founder
of Chicago.
Integrated with the museum’s ongoing curriculum
development project, the piece paid tribute to DuSable
through creative jazz music, an artistic embodiment
rather than a literal narration. The piece is part of a
series of public events the DuSable is presenting in
conjunction with new units on African-American
history for Illinois public schools. In 2005, a state law
was passed to put more African-American history in
public schools, and the Illinois Amistad Commission
was formed to create curricular units and
accompanying public events. The DuSable is a major
partner in the Amistad Commission’s projects, and
has worked on developing curriculum units and public
programming in conjunction with the Amistad
Commission, according to Pemon Rami, the museum’s
director of educational services and public programs.
“Suite DuSable,” combined with Sunday’s “DuSable
Day,” was one of these events. Recordings from the
concert will be available for teachers to use when
teaching classes about DuSable, but the concert was
clearly meant to reach an audience on its own.
The DuSable Museum, in Washington Park, celebrates
its namesake frequently, but celebrated him particularly
loudly last Friday night. “Suite DuSable: A Vision of
Faith,” an hour-long orchestral piece composed and
conducted by Renée Baker, served as a kickoff to
celebrations of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, founder
of Chicago.
Integrated with the museum’s ongoing curriculum
development project, the piece paid tribute to DuSable
through creative jazz music, an artistic embodiment
rather than a literal narration. The piece is part of a
series of public events the DuSable is presenting in
conjunction with new units on African-American
history for Illinois public schools. In 2005, a state law
was passed to put more African-American history in
public schools, and the Illinois Amistad Commission
was formed to create curricular units and
accompanying public events. The DuSable is a major
partner in the Amistad Commission’s projects, and
has worked on developing curriculum units and public
programming in conjunction with the Amistad
Commission, according to Pemon Rami, the museum’s
director of educational services and public programs.
“Suite DuSable,” combined with Sunday’s “DuSable
Day,” was one of these events. Recordings from the
concert will be available for teachers to use when
teaching classes about DuSable, but the concert was
clearly meant to reach an audience on its own.
No comments:
Post a Comment