David Olusoga & Casper W. Erichsen
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Johgn Malveaux: Daily Mail: Hitler's Holocaust blueprint: A new book reveals how the Kaiser's Germany used concentration camps in Africa
The Kaiser's Holocaust: Germany's Forgotten Genocuide
David Olusoga & Casper W. Erichsen
David Olusoga & Casper W. Erichsen
Faber & Faber
John Malveaux of
writes:
Africans were Hitler's genocide blueprint
Shark Island is not Namibia's only gruesome secret. Thousands more bodies are piled in a mass grave under the railway station in the capital Windhoek and more still are piled into a burial pit under the national museum.
The story of the German extermination of the Herero and Nama peoples has been expunged from the history books - and the tourists and scuba divers on the Shark Bay waterfront will find no mention of it in their guides.
Toni-Marie Montgomery and Anthony Elliott to present recital at Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, April 11, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
Toni-Marie Montgomery
Anthony Elliott
Music For Cello And Piano by African-American Composers
Anthony Elliott, cello; Toni-Marie Montgomery, piano (2003)
Anthony Elliott, cello; Toni-Marie Montgomery, piano (2003)
[Available: https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/aelliott2]
Pianist Toni-Marie Montgomery,
Dean of the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music and the first
African-American dean at Northwestern University, will present an
upcoming recital with
cellist Anthony Elliott, Professor of Cello in the School of
Music, Theatre & Dance at the University of Michigan, on Monday,
April 11, featuring works by Barber, Debussy and Strauss.
The
recital will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall, a
stunning performance venue in the Bienen School’s new Patrick G. and
Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts
on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. Tickets are $8. For more information
and to purchase tickets, visit
concertsatbienen.org.
Program
Samuel Barber Sonata for Violoncello and Piano
Claude Debussy Sonata for Violoncello and Piano
Richard Strauss Sonata for Cello and Piano in F Major, Opus 6
Artist Biographies
A
graduate of the University of Michigan and the Philadelphia College of
Performing Arts, Toni-Marie Montgomery was a founding member of the
Black Music Repertory Ensemble of Columbia College
Chicago. She has performed throughout the United States and in
Australia, Brazil, Hawaii, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. Montgomery
recently received the 2016 Golden Baton Award from Midwest Young
Artists, which honors individuals who have made significant
contributions to classical music.
Anthony
Elliott, a protégé of Janos Starker and Frank Miller, is an in-demand
soloist, chamber music performer, and teacher. He has performed with the
New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra,
Detroit Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, and CBC Toronto Orchestra.
Elliott studied with two legendary figures of the cello, Janos Starker
and Frank Miller. Presently he is a Professor of Music at the University
of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Montgomery and Elliott have recorded a
CD of cello-piano music by African American composers.
More than $30,000 raised at Albany State University Atlanta scholarship celebration; Painting by Leroy Campbell auctioned to Greg Hylick, President of ASU Foundation
Greg Hylick, ASU alumnus and president of the ASU Foundation, (right) receives an original painting by artist Leroy Campbell (left) after bidding $4,000 during a live auction at Saturday’s “Party with a Purpose” benefit in Atlanta. Photo credit: Reginald Christian
Albany State University
ALBANY, Ga.
– A lively and energetic atmosphere proved to be the best setting for
raising funds for student scholarships. Albany State University alumni
and supporters raised $30,600 for need-based scholarships at Saturday’s
“Party with a Purpose” benefit held at the prestigious Commerce Club in
downtown Atlanta.
“This is a proud day for ASU,”
President Art Dunning said to a group of nearly 160 alumni and
supporters. “The future of the university depends on the people in this
room.”
The event, held in collaboration with
the Tom Joyner Foundation, was the first of many university initiatives
for the Tom Joyner School of the Month campaign. As the November School
of the Month, the TJF will promote raising funds for the university and
highlight its programs for the entire year. ASU will be featured daily
during the month of November.
During the live auction, Greg Hylick,
president of the ASU Foundation, made a successful bid of $4,000 on an
exclusive Leroy Campbell original painting. Dunning and first-lady Karen
Baynes-Dunning were so inspired, they committed another $4,000 to
support need-based scholarships. A silent auction that featured original
artwork by ASU students was also a great success, with many of the
pieces earning more than $100 bids.
“Much like the band’s performance in
Pasadena, the student artwork was just another shining example of how
talented ASU students are,” said Chanta Haywood, ASU vice president of
Institutional Advancement and executive director of the ASU Foundation.
“They need our support to nurture that talent so that they may graduate
and inspire future generations.”
Co-hosts, television actress JoMarie
Payton and the Honorable Glenda Hatchett, Atlanta attorney and star of
the former “Judge Hatchett” television show, helped to reinforce the
importance of giving by making donations of their own.
After hearing about the upcoming
groundbreaking for the ASU Fine Arts Center, Payton wrote a check for
$500 toward fine arts scholarships.
“The young people that we support with
our donations are the biggest investment we can make in our lives,” said
Payton, a native Albanian.
“We don’t want to look back and say we
wish we would have done a little more,” said Hatchett, who served as the
2014 Spring Commencement speaker at Albany State. “We are claiming
extraordinary things for ASU. We have work to do, and it’s on our
collective shoulders to get it done.”
Fitting the occasion, a $2,500
scholarship was presented to social work major, Debra Rucks. The
inaugural scholarship is part of the $25,000 endowment by Virginia
Harris and family, in honor of her husband, Keith Harris.
“Ms. Rucks will likely graduate on time
and begin helping her community as a result of this generous donation,”
Haywood said. “All donations matter, no matter the size. Collectively,
small amounts add up to make large differences and that's something to
celebrate.”
“Party with a Purpose” was the first
event in ASU’s “Week of Giving” initiative, which began Saturday, March
26 and will culminate on Founder’s Day, Friday, April 1. The “Week of
Giving” is an invitation to students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents
and friends to give back through donations and personal involvement. To
make a donation, visit giveto.asurams.edu.
###
About Albany State University … Albany
State University, in Southwest Georgia, has been a catalyst for change
in the region from its inception as the Albany Bible and Manual Training
Institute to its designation as a university. Founded in 1903 to
educate African-American youth, the university continues to fulfill its
historic mission while also serving the educational needs of an
increasingly diverse student population. A progressive institution,
Albany State University seeks to foster the growth and development of
the region, state and nation through teaching, research, creative
expression and public service. Through its collaborative efforts, the
university responds to the needs of all of its constituents and offers
educational programs and service to improve the quality of life in
Southwest Georgia. For more information see http://www.asurams.edu. Follow the university on Twitter at @AlbanyStateUniv and on Facebook at Albany State University Official Page.
Monday, March 28, 2016
The second historical African Diaspora World Tourism Awards will be held in Atlanta this coming August 26-28th
Kitty Pope writes:
African Diaspora World Tourism Awards set for August in Atlanta
African Diaspora World Tourism Awards set for August in Atlanta
The second historical African
Diaspora World Tourism Awards will be held in Atlanta this coming August
26-28th. Upon the success of the inaugural awards ceremony, the
upcoming event promises to be bigger and brighter. This is a must-attend
event for all people interested in cultural heritage tourism and
travel. A list of stellar guests from all over the world are expected to
attend. Learn more.
Nominations
are being accepted until June 30. Please nominate someone who you feel
has made outstanding contributions in African Diaspora Cultural Heritage
Tourism and travel. Click here
Xavier University Names Gia Soublet Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Gia Soublet
NEW ORLEANS (March 28, 2016) —
Xavier University of Louisiana announced today that Gia Soublet has been
named Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Ms. Soublet’s
appointment was made by President Dr. C. Reynold Verret with
enthusiastic support of the University’s Board of Trustees.
“I
am pleased to appoint Ms. Soublet to this important role within the
University,” said President Verret. “For nearly a decade she has
successfully guided fundraising efforts at Xavier and more than proven
her ability to lead in the position. Furthermore, as an alumna, Ms.
Soublet embodies Xavier’s mission and values, and she has the
experience, ideas, and leadership abilities to advance the University’s
goals.”
Soublet, who has served the same position in an interim
basis since July 2015, oversees the operations of the University’s Development, Alumni Relations, and Media Relations offices.
“I
am honored to have been appointed to this position at my alma mater,”
said Soublet. “With a deep appreciation for Xavier’s rich history and
tradition, I will be working to support President Verret’s inspired
vision for the University’s future.”
Soublet
has more than 20 years of successful development and fundraising
experience, including serving at Xavier as Assistant Vice President in
Institutional Advancement since 2007, where she cultivated and stewarded
corporate and foundation partnerships and managed a pool of individuals
and alumni.
Previously
she served
at United Way for Greater New Orleans, where she won numerous national
participation and goal achievement awards, and at Dillard University,
where served as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations.
A
1991 graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana, Soublet also holds a
Master’s degree in Management from the University of Phoenix.
About Xavier University of Louisiana
Xavier
University of Louisiana, founded by Saint Katharine Drexel and the
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, is Catholic and historically Black.
The ultimate purpose of the University is to contribute to the promotion
of a more just and humane society by preparing its students to
assume roles of leadership and service in a global society. This
preparation takes place in a diverse learning and teaching environment
that incorporates all relevant educational means, including research and
community service.Xavier is recognized as the top producer of African
American undergraduates continuing to complete medical school and one of
the top three producers of African American Doctor of Pharmacy degree
recipients. Xavier ranks first nationally in the number of African
American students earning undergraduate degrees in biology and life
sciences, chemistry, physics and pharmacy.
###
John Malveaux: Maestro Julius P Williams has been contracted by MusicUNTOLD to select and conduct an existing or ad hoc orchestra and large chorus for July 8, 2018
Maestro Julius P. Williams, Composer, Conductor and Professor, has a website at http://www.juliuspwilliams.com/ and is featured at AfriClassical.com
John Malveaux of
writes:
Maestro Julius P Williams has been contracted by MusicUNTOLD to select
and conduct an existing or ad hoc orchestra and large chorus for July 8,
2018 concert to celebrate the 150th anniversary of 14th amendment
(citizenship to people of African descent and due process of law), July
8, 2018, DAR Constitution Hall, Washington DC. See http://www.juliuspwilliams.com/
John Malveaux
Chamber Music NY & Harlem Chamber Players Spring Concert Merkin Concert Hall Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 7:30 PM; Premiere of Jeffrey Scott's "A Hug for Harlem"
From L.: Ariel Rudiakov, Jeffrey Scott, Terrance McKnight, Ashley Horne
Spring Concert
Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 7:30 PM
Merkin Concert Hall
129 West 67th Street
New York, NY 10036Between Broadway and Amsterdam
Click here for directions.
Program
Stravinsky Concerto in E-flat "Dumbarton Oaks"
Bernstein Serenade after Plato's "Symposium"*
Jeffrey Scott A Hug for Harlem (World Premiere)
Copland Appalachian Spring
Featuring
Ariel Rudiakov, Conductor
Ariel Rudiakov, Conductor
Terrance McKnight, Host and Orator
Ashley Horne, Solo Violinist
with members of The Harlem Chamber Players and special guest performers
Tickets
This concert is FREE and open to the public. RSVP required.
This concert is FREE and open to the public. RSVP required.
The Harlem Chamber Players and ChamberMusicNY commissioned Jeffrey Scott to compose A Hug for Harlem for
orator and orchestra especially for this concert. This piece is
inspired by the poetry of various prolific writers of the Harlem
Renaissance Era -- Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston and Wallace
Thurman.
Jeffrey Scott writes
what he calls "urban classical music." Scott draws from his experience
and joy of composing musical "Hugs" to honor personalities or locales.
Most recently, he has composed A Hug for Sharon for bassoon and piano and A Hug for Gonzalo, which, like A Hug for Harlem, fuses strings, winds, percussion and spoken word.
*The
performance of the Bernstein is co-sponsored by The Antara Ensemble and
dedicated to the late flutist Harold Jones (March 25, 1934 - January
12, 2015), founder of The Antara Ensemble.
The
Harlem Chamber Players 2015 - 2016 Season is supported, in part, by
public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in
partnership with the City Council; in part by Council Member Inez E.
Dickens, 9th Council District, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the New
York City Council; in part by a grant from Columbia Community Service; a
grant from the West Harlem Development Corporation of Tides
Corporation; a grant from the Turrell Fund for educational programs
throughout the Newark area; and through the generous donations of our
individual supporters. This 2015 - 2016 Season is also made possible by
the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor
Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, The Lily Auchincloss
Foundation (in honor of the legacy of Janet Wolfe), the Puffin
Foundation Ltd., and the Manhattan Community Award Program through
Manhattan Borough President, Gale A. Brewer's office.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Soprano Julia Bullock returns to her hometown with a recital [8 PM Wednesday, March 30, 2016, Sheldon Concert Hall]
Julia Bullock
(Dario Acosta)
Julia Bullock is coming home.
Bullock
— whose voice New York Times chief critic Anthony Tommasini has praised
with words like “plush, full and nuanced ... ravishing, impassioned” —
will give a recital at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Wednesday night.
It’s
part of a tour that will take her from San Diego to Washington, D.C. On
the program (which she calls “a nice mix” of music) are songs by
American composers, including Henry Cowell, Samuel Barber and William
Grant Still, along with some Ravel and works by Kurt Weill.
The daughter of Allyce Pletcher Bullock and the late Johnny
Bullock Jr., she grew up in Webster Groves and sang in a children’s
choir at Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Her stepfather, John Richards,
helped to introduce her to classical music and opera.
A onetime
Muny Kid, a 2005 graduate of John Burroughs and an alumna of Opera
Theatre of St. Louis’ Artists-in-Training program, the New York-based
soprano, 29, has won a host of prestigious awards and garnered rave
reviews for her singing in both opera and concert, both in the United
States and abroad, from Europe to South America to China.
Bullock
has intelligence and a social conscience to go with her vocal gifts; her
last St. Louis recital, in 2010, was a joint fundraiser for the
Shropshire Music Foundation, which brings music education and
performance programs to war-impacted children, and the St. Louis Center
for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma.
The last time she sang
here, in 2014, was in the “#WithNormandy” concert at Normandy High
School, where she performed alongside soprano Christine Brewer and
mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves and provided some of the afternoon’s most
exciting moments. This time, Bullock, and the music, will hold the
spotlight. “To be coming back to St. Louis and doing this is exciting,”
she says.
Bullock was just back from Washington when she found
time to sit down for a telephone interview. In D.C., the Sphinx
Organization, dedicated to encouraging diversity in the arts and
encouraging young musicians of color, awarded her the Sphinx Medal of
Excellence and a career grant of $50,000.
“I accepted the award at
the Kennedy Center, and then we had a performance at the Supreme Court
with Justice Sotomayor, which was just amazing,” she says.
The
Sphinx Award was particularly meaningful for Bullock. “I knew when I
started studying classical music that 99 percent of the time I’d be
doing repertoire by white people, predominantly by white men, and be
working mostly with white people. It wasn’t unfamiliar or uncomfortable
for me in any way, because I’m of mixed heritage. I did feel there might
be a denial of a part of myself.”
When she was younger, she says,
“I went through a time of being ashamed of sharing all of myself. I
wanted to shield pieces and parts, depending on the people I was around.
As time went on, I began to reject the self-imposed restrictions and
limitations that I was putting on myself about what it was to be a
classical singer, how I needed to look, how I needed to behave,
repertoire that I needed to sing. Now I’m unafraid to put all of me into
my programs, regardless of where I’m going and the communities I’m
singing in.”
The Sphinx Award confirmed to Bullock that she’d made
the right choices. “To have an organization (Sphinx) that promotes the
work of Latin American and black American performers call me and want to
acknowledge the work I was doing was a real affirmation of the shift”
she’d made.
She’s also preparing to perform at the Ojai Festival
this June. She’ll sing the American premiere of the chamber version of
Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s “La Passion de Simone,” an
opera-oratorio on the life of activist Simone Weil. She’s working with
collaborators to develop a new piece about Josephine Baker, to be given
there and at Berkeley.
***
Julia Bullock in recital
When • 8 p.m. Wednesday
Where • Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Boulevard
How much • $20-$25 (students $10)
More info • 314-533-9900; sheldonconcerthall.org
Comment by email:
Comment by email:
Your articles are always timely and important,
However, It is still important when we refer to American
People of color, that they are addressed in
Capital letters. Thus always please type
'Black' Americans with a 'capital B' when
making such a reference in the article on
Julia Bulloch.
The mention of Latino Americans
was not typed as 'latino' with a lower-cased
'l'. In fact, the computer will automatically
correct to capital L.
The same should bedone for Black American
if it was done on a consistent basis in all publications,
especially in historical newspapers and other
print media such as the historic ST. LOUIS
POST-DISPATCH that should be familiar with
the decades-long NAACP fight to capitalize the
N in the designation Negro. The proper
category is African American, so there is no
question about capitalization.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Cleonis Golding
John Malveaux: Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome lecture and book by Dr. Joy DeGruy
Dr. Joy DeGruy
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome
John Malveaux of
writes:
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome lecture and book by Dr. Joy DeGruy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH7tpAK8APY
John Malveaux
Saturday, March 26, 2016
John Malveaux: Latonia Moore gave her first Met performance in the role of Cio-Cio-San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly Wed., March 2, replacing Hei-Kyung Hong
Latonia Moore
John Malveaux of
writes:
Latonia
Moore set the Met reeling in her first Met performance in the role of
Cio-Cio-San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on Wednesday, March 2, replacing
Hei-Kyung Hong, who was ill.
Moore,
who
made a notable Met debut in 2012 as the title character in
Verdi’s Aida,
has sung Cio-Cio-San at the Hamburg State Opera and will sing the next
month with San Diego Opera. She recently made her role debut as the
title
character in Puccini’s Tosca with New York City Opera Renaissance and
sang Aida with Zurich Opera, Bergen National Opera, and Opera Australia.
She
will return to the Met next season to reprise the role of Aida.
Latonia
Moore last performed in Los Angeles on September 22, 2012 during a
concert to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation
co-produced by MusicUNTOLD and KUSC Classical Radio.
John Malveaux
On March 29, 2016 The Formosa Quartet premieres Lei Liang's "Song Recollections," at San Diego Museum of Art, that Art of Élan commissioned with national support
Art of Élan's ensemble-in-residence, the Formosa Quartet
Demarre McGill and Kate Hatmaker
About Art of Élan
For the past 8 years, Art of Élan has been pioneering unique
events and bringing the excitement of classical music to diverse
audiences. Created by violinist Kate Hatmaker and flutist Demarre
McGill, Art of Élan continually expands the scope of classical music in
San Diego through its innovative, one-hour programming in unique
performance venues. By drawing inspiration from the word élan,
which represents momentum, vigor and spirit, and providing an
opportunity to connect directly with concertgoers, Art of Élan continues
to engage and energize audiences in new ways.
On March 29th at The San Diego Museum of Art the Formosa Quartet
premieres Lei Liang's "Song Recollections," the much-anticipated string
quartet that Art of Élan commissioned with national support from Chamber Music America and the Koussevitzky Foundation.
This is the second year of the Formosa Quartet's residency with Art of
Élan, which has included performance and commissioning opportunities, as
well as recording support. In addition to "Song Recollections," the
March 29th program features "Hungarian Folk Songs," also written for the
Formosa Quartet by American composer Dana Wilson, as well as
"Threnodies I and II" for flute, violin, viola and cello by Aaron Copland.
Although
this concert has been sold out for several weeks already, a limited
number of additional tickets were just released for sale and can be
purchased by clicking on the link below. You may also purchase tickets for our May 17th concert at The San Diego Museum of Art through this link:
As always, we thank you for your ongoing interest and support and we look forward to seeing you at a concert soon!
~Kate & Demarre
John Malveaux: When Jesus stumbled while carrying his cross to Calvary, an African from Libya, Simon of Cyrene, took up Jesus' burden, per the Gospel of Mark
John Malveaux of
writes:
An
African played an important role at the time of Jesus' crucifixion.
When Jesus stumbled while carrying his cross to Calvary, Simon of
Cyrene, took up Jesus' burden. His home town, Cyrene, Libya,
was located in northern Africa. Mark, who wrote the Gospel of Mark, was
also a man of Cyrene, a north African Jew like Simon of Cyrene.
John Malveaux
John Malveaux: Jennifer Lindsay & Cedric Berry sing excerpts from Adams opera "I was looking at the ceiling and saw the sky" at Disney Concert Hall, April 19 with LA Phil
Jennifer Lindsay
Cedric Berry
John Malveaux of
writes:
Soprano Jennifer Lindsay and Bass-Baritone Cedric Berry will sing
excerpts from John Adams's contemporary opera "I was looking at the
ceiling and saw the sky" at Disney Concert Hall, April 19, 2016 with LA
Phil (New Music Group). See http://www.laphil.com/tickets/21c-liederabend-op-la/2016-04-19.
Jennifer Lindsay is also a violinist. She was a member of MusicUNTOLD
String Quartet that opened the August 18, 2013 concert at Zipper
Hall-Colburn School to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. King's I Have A Dream
speech. Cedric Berry was soloist during same program co-hosted by KUSC
Classical Radio Dennis Bartel and Dr. Zanaida Robles-Soprano (LA Master
Chorale), Conductor (San Gabriel Valley Choral Company), Composer,
Instructor
Friday, March 25, 2016
The Georgia Straight: Anthony Davis Composes Opera About the Central Park Five, African American Youths Wrongly Convicted of Attacking a White NYC Jogger
Anthony Davis
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Composer and pianist Anthony Davis talks Trump and musical tension
by Alexander Varty on March 23rd, 2016
In chamber operas such as X, about the African-American revolutionary Malcolm X, and Lear on the 2nd Floor, which updates William Shakespeare’s King Lear
in the context of today’s Alzheimer’s epidemic, Anthony Davis has shown
a knack for coming up with themes that address the past while dealing
directly with the present. But with his new work, FIVE, which premieres in Newark, New Jersey, in November, he’s going to miss the mark by a scant seven days.
It’s not that FIVE—based on the story of the Central
Park Five, a quintet of young African-American men falsely accused and
convicted of rape and assault after a 1989 attack on a white jogger—will
be any less relevant a week after the U.S. presidential election. The
racism that runs through much of American society will, sadly, ensure
its currency for years to come. But one of Davis and librettist Richard
Wesley’s main protagonists might well be in the dustbin of history by
the time FIVE debuts.
If, that is, we’re lucky.
“I
hope it’s not president-elect Trump who’s going to be portrayed in the
opera,” says Davis, on the line from his home in San Diego, California.
The connection, he goes on to explain, is that the Republican demagogue
started his political career on the backs of the Central Park Five,
spouting his racist fear-mongering in all the major New York City
newspapers.
“I wrote an aria for Donald Trump, because he was
really involved in it, sort of condemning these five young men who were
15 and 16 years old, and calling for the death penalty,” Davis explains.
“And now some of the themes of his campaign are the same: ‘othering’
people, and thinking of them as thugs, street thugs.…At the time, it was
basically a cultural assault on what they perceived as the hip-hop
generation. It was the time of Public Enemy and Tone Loc and all that
stuff, so it’s something I refer to in the music, too.”
When Davis
comes to Vancouver this week, it’s to help celebrate a smaller but
considerably cheerier historic occasion: the release of a local
artist-run centre’s second archival LP, past piano present: Live at Western Front 1985–2015.
Davis’s “Behind the Rock”, from a 1985 solo performance, is the oldest
piece on the album and its opener, setting the tone with an array of
sounds that don’t seem to have dated a day.
We might hear them
differently, though. Then, the low rumble that runs through much of the
piece was probably heard as a nod to the cosmic jazz of pianists Alice
Coltrane and McCoy Tyner; now it seems to draw equally on the symphonic
colorations of Gustav Mahler and Igor Stravinsky. The world, it seems,
has opened up to the visionary synthesis of classical and
improvisational forms that Davis has been exploring all his life.
Pianist Mark Boozer: "In Memoriam: Pia Sebastiani" & "In Celebration: the Centennial of Alberto Ginastera" Sunday, April 3, 2016, 5 p.m., Morehouse College
Mark Boozer
Mark Boozer, Pianist, in Recital
Pianist Mark Boozer will present In Memoriam: Pia
Sebastiani (February 27, 1925-July 26, 2015) and
In Celebration: the Centennial of Alberto Ginastera
(April 11, 1916 – June 25, 1983), on Sunday, April
3, 2016, 5 p.m. at the Ray Charles Performing Arts
Center, 900 West End Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia, on
the campus of Morehouse College. The program will
feature works by Scarlatti, Liszt, Still, Ravel, and
Ginastera. Admission is free and open to the public.
About the Recital
Mr. Boozer’s recital, which commemorates the
centennial of Argentinian composer Alberto
Ginastera, is both dedicated to the memory of Pia
Sebastiani and performed in honor of her life’s work.
As a native of Argentina and recognized as one of
the most outstanding artistic personalities of
Argentina and South America, Pia Sebastiani was an
effective champion of Ginastera’s music. Mr. Boozer
counts Ms. Sebastiani as one of his most profound
musical influences and this performance is rooted in
his conviction that we must honor those upon whose
shoulders we stand.
Born and initially trained in Buenos Aires, Ms.
Sebastiani went on to a multifaceted, international
career. Perhaps best known as a concert pianist, she
performed throughout the world in venues like
Carnegie Hall in NewYork, Wigmore Hall in London,
and Salle Pleyel in Paris, and under the batons of
many of the world’s great conductors. As a composer,
she studied with Olivier Messiaen and Darius Milhaud,
among others, and received acclaim as a composer
early in her career. In the 1960s, Ms. Sebastiani
served as Argentina’s cultural ambassador to Belgium.
As a pedagogue, her influence was far-reaching, having
served on the artist faculty of Ball State University in
Indiana (where Professor Boozer met her) for nearly
twenty-five years, with a roster of students from across
the U. S. and many other countries; and upon retiring
in the early 1990s, having assumed directorship of the
Beethoven Conservatory (which was founded by her
father) in her native Buenos Aires. Included among her
former students are teachers, award winning pianists,
performers in multiple music idioms, university
professors and administrators, composers, and
conductors spanning the globe.
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