Sujari Britt
(Ebony.jpg)
(Ebony.jpg)
Program
Sponsored by Exelon, Highlights Include Work by 17-year-old
Composer/Conductor, Performance by 13-year-old Cello Prodigy and Young
Chicago
Authors
CHICAGO (December 9, 2014) – The
Chicago Sinfonietta’s
highly popular
Annual Tribune to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this year celebrates the boundless optimism of youth as the orchestra is joined by young musicians, composers, singers and poets
who embody the next generation of Dr. King’s legacy. Guests include 17-year-old African-American composer/conductor
Jherrard Marseille Hardeman, 13-year-old
African-American prodigy cellist Sujari Britt, high school-aged
spoken word poets from Young Chicago Authors and the powerful singers
of the Waubonsie Valley High School Mosaic Choir. The Chicago
Sinfonietta performs its Annual Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
twice: first, in the western suburbs at Wentz Concert Hall of North Central College, 171 E. Chicago Avenue in Naperville,
Sunday, January 18 at 3 pm, and then again in its downtown Chicago home venue of Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Avenue, Monday, January 19 (the actual MLK holiday) at 7:30 pm.
The
passionate words and civic activism of Dr. King, along with countless
sacrifices made during the U.S.’ civil rights movement of the 1950’s and
‘60’s, created the foundation
for today’s young artists of color to have opportunities unheard of
just a few generations ago. The Sinfonietta’s 2015 tribute concert
opens with Chicago actor and orator
Wayne K. Woods
channeling Dr. King with a dramatic recitation of part of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Sinfonietta Music Director
Mei-Ann Chen,
a fierce proponent for and mentor of young conductors, welcomes the multi-talented
Hardeman to the podium as guest conductor for the evening’s first musical offering,
leading
the third movement of his own work, Symphony No.3 “Blues,” in the
work’s first public performance by a professional orchestra. Hardeman
is a conductor, composer, violinist
and guitarist from the metro Detroit area. Currently, he is
Concertmaster of both the Dearborn Youth Symphony Orchestra and the
Groves High School Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed as First
Violinist in the Detroit Symphony’s Civic Youth Orchestra
and the Grosse Pointe Symphony Orchestra.
Chen returns to the podium to lead the rest of the concert, which continues as
Britt joins the orchestra for Camille Saint-Saëns’ 1872
composition, Violoncello Concerto No.1. In November 2009, Britt had the
honor of performing with
Alisa Weilerstein at the White House for President Obama, the First Lady
and their distinguished guests, where she was brought to the attention
of many notables in the classical music industry. The following March
she closed the 11th
Annual International Tropical Baroque Music Festival of the Miami Bach
Society in Coral Gables, Florida, and in April 2010, she performed at
Carnegie’s Weill Hall as a winner of the National Young Musicians
Concerto Competition. Britt began formal study of
the cello at age 4 following her studies on violin and piano.
Youth continues to inspire the program with a fresh take on Aaron Copland’s patriotic 1942 work
Lincoln Portrait, with poets from the Young Chicago Authors
providing the narrative portions, excerpted readings of Abraham
Lincoln’s most well-known documents, including the Gettysburg Address.
In
between works, members of the Young Chicago Authors perform original
spoken word pieces inspired by Dr. King’s legacy, revealing how today’s
youth interpret his message.
The
performance closes with crowd favorites, the Mosaic Choir, putting
their youthful spin on Dr. King’s legacy through global song. Directed
by
Mark Myers, the young singers perform a traditional Balinese song Janger, American spiritual
Praying Spirit, two traditional South African songs Vela Vela and
Freedom Is in Your Hand, and Richard Smallwood’s Total Praise.
The
concert concludes in the same joyous tradition begun by Sinfonietta
Founder, Dr. Paul Freeman, with the audience joining together to sing
“We
Shall Overcome.”
Tickets
Single
tickets range from $16-$99 for concerts at Symphony Center and $46-$58
for concerts at Wentz Concert Hall, with special $10 pricing available
for students at both concerts.
Tickets can be purchased by calling the Chicago Sinfonietta at
312-236-3681 ext. 2 or online at
www.chicagosinfonietta.org.
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