DelcoTimes.com: AmiciMusic Presents Music of William Grant Still and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania on Feb. 6 at 7:30 PM

William Grant Still (1895-1978)

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)

Daily Times

LANSDOWNE >> AmiciMusic, a Baltimore-based chamber music organization, holds a special concert at the Lansdowne Friends Meeting House, 120 N. Lansdowne Ave. at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6. The program features Philadelphia-based violinist Tim Schwarz, D.M.A., in a program called “MUSIC from the UNDERGROUND,” highlighting forgotten works by minority composers.

Schwarz and Daniel Weiser, D.M.A., piano/artistic director, are the featured performers for the program that includes pieces by William Grant Still, George Morrison and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Weiser also talks about each composer and the history behind the music.

News.UCI.Edu: Concert highlighting African American composers will cap conference for college conductors, kick off Black History Month [U. of California Irvine]

“I hope this showcase generates a little more respect for the contributions of these composers to their field,” says Stephen Tucker, UCI associate professor of music and conductor of the UCI Symphony Orchestra. Steve Zylius / UCI

University of California Irvine

Megan Cole / UCI on January 30, 2018

The famed Czech composer Antonín Dvořák believed that the African American tradition was central to all American compositions, calling it “all that is needed for a great and noble school of music.” On Feb. 3, Stephen Tucker, UCI associate professor of music and conductor of the UCI Symphony Orchestra, will launch Black History Month with a concert showcasing some of America’s most celebrated African American composers, highlighting their influence on the world of concert hall music.

The 7 p.m. event will conclude the three-day College Orchestra Directors Association Conference, hosted by UCI, which is expected to draw nearly 100 college conductors from around the world.

To be held at Orange County’s Soka University, the concert will feature two world premieres: a composition by Carolyn Yarnell called “It’s Still Big, Just Like You Remember!” and an aria by Richard Thompson, “We Wear the Mask,” sung by UCI student Marlaina Owens. The UCI Symphony Orchestra will also play compositions by Adolphus Hailstork, four-time Grammy winner Billy Childs, George Walker and Duke Ellington.

Tucker, who wrote his dissertation on Ellington and considers several of these composers “the center of [his]academic life,” is eager to bring their work to wider audiences.

“I’ve never had the opportunity to do a black history concert before, so the chance to play music by African American composers for a captive audience of peers is wonderful,” Tucker says. “I want everyone to leave the concert with this arsenal of pieces in their minds, so they can do their own research and find out who else is out there – because there are so many African American composers in jazz and classical, and they influence everything.”

Although Tucker was raised in Jamaica, he noticed when he came to America as a young man that the contributions of African American musicians were “everywhere” and “so powerful,” although sometimes overlooked in the classical genre.

“These influences are not just felt in pop music; there are benefits to be gained from observing, embracing and adopting the African American tradition in concert hall music,” he says. “I hope this showcase generates a little more respect for the contributions of these composers to their field and possibly inspires more African American musicians to pursue their craft.”

Houston Ebony Opera Guild Presents Lecture & Gala Concert Preview 3 PM Feb. 10, 2018 & Annual African American Music Gala 4 PM Feb. 25, 2018

Sergio Mims: The New Yorker: The Rediscovery of Florence Price: How an African-American composer’s works were saved from destruction

Price’s Second Violin Concerto explores unstable harmonic terrain.

Illustration by Paul Rogers

Sergio Mims forwards this article: 

The New Yorker

February 5, 2018 Issue

By Alex Ross

In 2009, Vicki and Darrell Gatwood, of St. Anne, Illinois, were preparing to renovate an abandoned house on the outskirts of town. The structure was in poor condition: vandals had ransacked it, and a fallen tree had torn a hole in the roof. In a part of the house that had remained dry, the Gatwoods made a curious discovery: piles of musical manuscripts, books, personal papers, and other documents. The name that kept appearing in the materials was that of Florence Price. The Gatwoods looked her up on the Internet, and found that she was a moderately well-known composer, based in Chicago, who had died in 1953. The dilapidated house had once been her summer home. The couple got in touch with librarians at the University of Arkansas, which already had some of Price’s papers. Archivists realized, with excitement, that the collection contained dozens of Price scores that had been thought lost. Two of these pieces, the Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2, have recently been recorded by the Albany label: the soloist is Er-Gene Kahng, who is based at the University of Arkansas.

The reasons for the shocking neglect of Price’s legacy are not hard to find. In a 1943 letter to the conductor Serge Koussevitzky, she introduced herself thus: “My dear Dr. Koussevitzky, To begin with I have two handicaps—those of sex and race. I am a woman; and I have some Negro blood in my veins.” She plainly saw these factors as obstacles to her career, because she then spoke of Koussevitzky “knowing the worst.” Indeed, she had a difficult time making headway in a culture that defined composers as white, male, and dead. One prominent conductor took up her cause—Frederick Stock, the German-born music director of the Chicago Symphony—but most others ignored her, Koussevitzky included. Only in the past couple of decades have Price’s major works begun to receive recordings and performances, and these are still infrequent.

The musicologist Douglas Shadle, who has documented the vagaries of Price’s career, describes her reputation as “spectral.” She is widely cited as one of the first African-American classical composers to win national attention, and she was unquestionably the first black woman to be so recognized. Yet she is mentioned more often than she is heard. Shadle points out that the classical canon is rooted in “conscious selection performed by individuals in positions of power.” Not only did Price fail to enter the canon; a large quantity of her music came perilously close to obliteration. That run-down house in St. Anne is a potent symbol of how a country can forget its cultural history.

Price was born in 1887, in Little Rock, Arkansas, and grew up in a middle-class household. She returned home after attending the New England Conservatory, one of the few conservatories that admitted African-Americans at the time. Her early adulthood was devoted largely to teaching and to raising a family. Life in Arkansas was oppressive; lynchings were routine. In 1927, Price moved with her family to Chicago, where her horizons began to expand. She divorced her husband, who had become abusive, and struck out on her own. Until then, her compositional output had consisted mostly of songs, short pieces, and music for children. She increasingly essayed larger symphonic and concerto forms, winning support from Stock, a conductor of rare broad-mindedness.

Beginning in 1931, Price wrote or sketched a total of four symphonies. The First and the Third have been published by A-R Editions, under the scholarly guidance of the late Rae Linda Brown, and recorded by the New Black Music Repertory Ensemble and the Women’s Philharmonic, respectively. The Second was apparently never finished; the Fourth, whose score turned up in the St. Anne house, will receive its première by the Fort Smith Symphony, in Arkansas, in May. 

AaronAsk: Weekly mentoring for a creative life: 5 Habits of Highly Disruptive People: Speed & Agility! (2:42)

http://www.aaronask.com/5-habits-highly-disruptive-people-speed-agility/

Aaron P. Dworkin writes:

Greetings and welcome to this week's episode of AaronAsk, your weekly mentoring session to live a fulfilling creative life!  This week's episode is titled, 5 Habits of Highly Disruptive People: Speed & Agility!  Enjoy, we wish you a creative day and see you for next week's session! Comment by email: Thanks so much Bill and hope all is well!  Aaron  [Aaron P. Dworkin]

John Malveaux: On 1-20-18 The Pittsburgh Symphony performed George Walker's "Lyric for Strings" & Kathryn Bostic's "The August Wilson Symphony"

George Walker

Kathryn Bostic

John Malveaux of 

www.MusicUNTOLD.com 

writes:

The Pittsburgh Symphony 1-20-18 celebrated concert titled "Lift Every Voice: Resonating music, works, & legacy" was hosted by Phylicia Rashad. The concert included Coretta Scott King's favorite composer George Walker "Lyric for Strings" and the world premiere of Kathryn Bostic  five movement “The August Wilson Symphony.” 

LeaderTelegram.com: Luther College Symphony Orchestra to perform William Grant Still's "Ennanga" Feb. 6, Grace Lutheran Church, Eau Claire, WI

William Grant Still (1895-1978)

Leader Telegram

Eau Claire, Wisconsin

1/27/18

SYMPHONY PERFORMANCE: The Luther College Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Daniel Baldwin, will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, at Grace Lutheran Church, 202 West Grand Ave. The concert is part of the Symphony Orchestra’s 2018 Midwest Tour.

The concert is open to the public, and a freewill donation will be taken at the door. There is no charge for students.

The program begins with Giuseppe Verdi’s Overture to I Vespri Siciliani,then features William Grant Still’s “Ennanga” for harp, piano and strings. Luther harp instructor Rachel Brandwein will perform “Ennanga” with members of the Symphony Orchestra string section. After an intermission, the concert will conclude with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64.

Chamber Music America announces the Composer Equity Project as part of its Classical Commissioning grant program

Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Program provides grants to professional U.S.-based presenters and ensembles whose programming includes Western European and/or non-Western classical and contemporary music. Grants are provided for the commissioning and performance of new works by American composers. The program supports works scored for 2–10 musicians performing one per part, composed in any of the musical styles associated with contemporary classical music.

Since 1983, only 70 of the 205 commissions made through CMA’s Classical Commissioning program have been composed by women or ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American) composers. The Board of Directors of Chamber Music America has made diversity, inclusion, and equity a primary focus of the organization’s work. (Please read CMA’s Statement of Commitment.) CMA’s goal in this program is, through the panel review process, to award a majority of the grants to applicants who apply with women and ALAANA composers.

Therefore, CMA has created the Composer Equity Project, a database of women and ALAANA composers that will be accessible on CMA’s website.  Applicants will be encouraged to use this resource and become familiar with potential composers for a commission.

Women and ALAANA composers are encouraged to contact CMA by March 15 to be included on the list for this round of applications. The initial listing will be available here on February 15, 2018 and updated on March 15, 2018.  Composers will continue to be added throughout the year, even after this particular deadline has passed.

Composers are also encouraged to pursue an ensemble for which they might like to create a new work through the Classical Commissioning program. A list of CMA member ensembles can be found at the following link.

The Classical Commissioning deadline is April 29, 2018. 

For any program-related questions, contact:

Susan Dadian, Program Director

CMA Classical/Contemporary

(212) 242-2022, ext. 102

sdadian@chamber-music.org

Chamber Music America, the national network for ensemble music professionals, was founded in 1977 to develop, support, and strengthen the chamber music field. With a membership of nearly 6,000, including musicians, ensembles, presenters, artist managers, educators, music businesses, and advocates of ensemble music, CMA welcomes members representing a wide range of musical styles and traditions. CMA provides its members with grant programs, consulting services, a national conference, professional development seminars, access to instrument and other insurances, and several publications, including Chamber Music magazine; the weekly Accent e-newsletter; and a member-driven website, www.chamber-music.org.

James Greeson: Arkansas Philharmonic will present a premiere performance of Florence Price's Violin Concerto No. 2 Feb. 17 with Dr. Er-Gene Kahng

Florence B. Price

Professor Emeritus James Greeson of Arkansas University writes of Florence B. Price:

The Arkansas Philharmonic will be presenting a premiere performance of her Second Violin Concerto on Feb. 17 featuring my colleague Dr. Er-Gene Kahng.  I think at about the same time Er-Gene's recording of both of Price's newly discovered violin concertos will be released by Albany Records.  

Here is a link to Arkansas Phil's website:

http://www.arphil.org/concerts-and-tickets

Two other Price things in February are that I've been told that the New Yorker has an article on Price written by Alex Ross due out soon, and also a musicologist here at the U. of Arkansas, Dr. Micaela Baranello, has a piece on Florence Price and Er-Gene's new recording of her concertos that will appear in the New York Times Arts & Leisure section in the Feb 11th issue.   If or when I get a link to that article I'll try to share it with you.

Best Wishes,

Jim Greeson

OurTimePress.com: Second Harlem Classical Music Celebrations, co-hosted by Opera Ebony, Three on 3 Presents, Opera Noire of New York, the Harlem Chamber Players and Harlem Opera Theater

H. Leslie Adams

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)

Our Time Press

By

Victoria Horsford

-

January 26, 2018

The Second Harlem Classical Music Celebrations, co-hosted by Opera Ebony, Three on 3 Presents, Opera Noire of New York, the Harlem Chamber Players and Harlem Opera Theater, present the works of renowned operatic and spiritual composers in symposium and in concert. This collaboration series runs from February 1-24 at multiple venues and includes program titles like “A Tribute to the Spiritual”, symposium and concert; Opera Ebony and Three on 3 Presents with Jasmine Muhammad and Christopher Cooley; A 10^th Annual Black History Month Celebration with works by H. Leslie Adams, spirituals and Nonet by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor; “Lift Every Voice and Sing”: A Tribute to John Rosemond Johnson; a two-act theatrical work, Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom; and the David I. Martin Music Guild of the National Association of Negro Musicians 2018 Scholarship Local Competition Winds & Percussion. For full calendar of events, visit HarlemOperaTheater.org; Harlemchamberplayers.org; Operaebony.org.

John Malveaux: George Walker's newly released Sinfonia No. 5 recorded on Albany Records include an option with speaking parts and slides

George Walker

John Malveaux of 

www.MusicUNTOLD.com 

writes:

Advancement of drawings, photographs,videos, animation, and film into music performances offer new opportunities to share compelling stories and visions of composers. Composer George Walker's newly released Sinfonia No. 5 recorded on Albany Records include an option with speaking parts and slides. Please see Los Angeles Master Chorale upcoming ISRAEL in EGYPT 

http://www.lamasterchorale.org/israel-in-egypt

Chi-chi Nwanoku: Chineke! is trying to locate the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor violin concerto music parts and score

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)

Chi-chi Nwanoku writes:

Dear William

Chineke! is desperately trying to locate the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor violin concerto music parts and score. Is there any way you could put out a call to all whom you may know that might be able to help us please?

Many thanks 

Very best wishes

Chi-chi

Please note that all Chineke!-related correspondence should be directed to my work email: chichi@chineke.org

Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, FRAM, FTCL

Founder, Artistic & Executive Director Chineke! http://chineke.org/

The Guardian: Florence Price will be among those featured in the Forgotten Female Composers project of the BBC

Florence Price will be among those featured in the Forgotten Female Composers project. Photograph: aetn.org

The Guardian 

Our Classical Century: BBC to stage year-long celebration of music

Project includes special prom and live broadcast reviving works of five female composers

The BBC has announced its most ambitious classical music project, a year of television and radio programmes and concert broadcasts celebrating a century of landmarks in music.

The corporation will also mark International Women’s Day in March with a concert and live broadcast reviving the work of five almost forgotten female composers, together with recordings of their works, which have either never been heard or not performed for many decades.

Our Classical Century, which involves BBC Four, Radio 3 and all the BBC orchestras, will begin next autumn and culminate in a special prom in 2019.

Alan Davey, the controller of Radio 3, said: “We’re comfortable celebrating our excellence in other areas of culture – even other genres of music – but less so with classical.

“We get self-conscious, wary of somehow sounding pompous or affected. I’m sure all of us agree that we should be really confident about ourselves as a classical music nation.”

Our Classical Century will launch on BBC Four, with four groups of programmes made by Lion Television broadcast across a year highlighting key moments in the history of music since 1918. It will be linked to programmes on Radio 3 identifying 100 of the century’s most significant events, compositions and performances. It will culminate in a newly commissioned composition to be performed on the first night of the 2019 Proms.The Forgotten Female Composers project will be premiered on 8 March, International Women’s Day, with a live broadcast of five previously unheard pieces in a concert from LSO St Luke’s in London. The project, created with the Arts and Humanities Research Council, includes recordings of full-scale symphonies.

The composers include Florence Price, born into a wealthy African American family in 1887, who had her first piece published at the age of 11, received a double first at the New England Conservatory of Music, but was denied a place on the Arkansas Music Teachers Association because she was black. However, she achieved considerable success in the music movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, including a symphony performed in 1932 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Saint Luke Productions: "Tolton: From Slave to Priest" premieres in Southern California this weekend; tours nationally

Saint Luke Productions writes:

Dear Mr. Zick,

I thought the readers of your blog might be interested in this musical/dramatic event on the life of the first African American priest, portrayed by veteran TV/film actor Jim R. Coleman (jimcolemanactor.com), “Tolton: From Slave to Priest” which premieres in Southern California this weekend, Jan. 26-28.  The shows will be at the Freed Theater, the professional space at the former Crystal Cathedral campus, now the Christ Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.

There are four Negro spirituals featured throughout the 75 minute drama, including gorgeous improvisations by Atlanta actress Elissa Sanders.  “Steal Away,” “Do You Hear the Lambs a-cryin” and “my god is so high.”The score was based on these, and created by young composer Tony Manfredonia of Michigan.

Event information:

Fri,. Jan. 26, 7pm

Sat., Jan. 27, 7pm

Sun., Jan. 28, noon

Freed Theater, on the campus of Christ Cathedral (formerly Crystal Cathedral), Garden Grove, in Orange County

Tickets: $20 plus Eventbrite fee – www.ccdramaseries.com or can be purchased at the door.  During business hours Pacific Time, live assistance provided at 360-687-8029 (Saint Luke Productions).

Historical information: www.ToltonCanonization.org

Fr. Tolton (1854-1897) is on the road to sainthood; his cause is being led by Bishop Perry in the Archdiocese of Chicago, where Fr. Tolton died tragically young. He was the first-ever African American priest. His rejection by American seminaries was not an obstacle too big – he went to Rome for his seminary education and ordination.  His messages of perseverance in adversity, humility, and forgiveness will bring hope and healing to our nation.

The show will tour nationally, booked in various dioceses such as Youngstown, Memphis, and Dallas.

Cellist Jerome Wright and Pianist Glenn Sales Perform at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, Friday, March 2nd, 2018 at 8:00 PM

Jerome Wright writes:

Greetings Bill,

Forwarding information on my Carnegie Hall  concert on March 2, 2018

Best as always,

Jerome Wright

Harriman-Jewell Series: Dance Theatre of Harlem at Kauffman Center [Kansas City, Missouri] (Feb 9)

Harriman-Jewell Series writes:

Dance Theatre of Harlem Friday, February 9 7:30 p.m. Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts 1601 Broadway Blvd., Kansas City MO

Harlem is one of America’s most important cultural centers, and there is no better advocate of the Harlem spirit than Dance Theatre of Harlem. Founded shortly after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to inspire children with dance, Dance Theatre of Harlem has developed into an outstanding institution that comprises both a school and a professional company. Its founder, Arthur Mitchell, was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Its current artistic director, Virginia Johnson, was a Dance Theatre of Harlem founding member and principal dancer. The program includes Brahms Variations (2017) by Robert Garland; Change (2016) by Dianne Mclntyre with music by Spelman College Glee Club and Eli Fountain; Le Corsaire Pas de Deux, a showpiece excerpt from Marius Petipa's 1864 full ballet with music by Riccardo Drigo; and Vessels (2014) by Darrell Grand Moultrie with music by Ezio Bosso.

AlmanacNews.com: Weekend concerts celebrate music by African American composers [Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 27 and 28 at 3 PM in East Palo Alto]

The hand on the left is that of LaDoris Cordell, and on the right, that of Josephine Gandolfi. The two women will be among the performers in "Out of the Blues: The Gift of Song." Photo by Laurie Naiman

The Almanac

Wed. Jan. 24, 2018

By Renee Batti

The musicians and guest artists of the African American Composer Initiative are set to deliver another rousing set of concerts next weekend celebrating the music of such legendary composers as Billy Strayhorn and Thelonius Monk as well as contemporary composers, performing works ranging from spirituals and jazz to original modern compositions and genre-blending arrangements.

The ninth annual benefit concerts, "Out of the Blues: The Gift of Song," will feature vocal and instrumental music dawn from "the traditions of spirituals, jazz, blues, popular, and concert music," says pianist Josephine Gandolfi of Menlo Park, who with Judge LaDoris Cordell and Deanne Tucker co-founded the African American Composer Initiative.

They will be performed on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 27 and 28, at 3 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center of Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto.

The AACI presents programs devoted to music by African American composers. In addition to Strayhorn and Monk, composers include William Grant Still and Florence Price, and contemporary composers Valerie Capers, Regina Baiocchi, Roxanna Wright, Andre Meyers, John Robinson, Charles Lloyd and Charles Brown. Music by some of the founders of the spirituals preservation movement, including Roland Hayes, Hal Johnson and Harry Burleigh, also will be performed, according to Ms. Gandolfi. 

John Malveaux: HuffingtonPost.com: Santa Monica Symphony’s Annual Martin Luther King Concert featuring Cedric Berry: Review

Cedric Berry
(Photo by Kevin Tu)

John Malveaux of 

www.MusicUNTOLD.com 

writes:

Santa Monica Symphony & MLK Jr. Westside Coalition concert honoring MLK Jr. featuring bass baritone Cedric Berry

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/santa-monica-symphonys-annual-martin-luther-king-concert_us_5a5d8612e4b003efadb6b08e

Thanks

John Malveaux

HuffPost

Ira Israel, Contributor

Psychotherapist & Author

Dovetailing with Oprah Winfey’s inspirational Golden Globe speech regarding a new day appearing on the horizon, this weekend the Santa Monica Symphony performed an exquisitely programmed concert celebrating freedom, justice, and equality. One of the Santa Monica’s oldest treasures and a city icon now in its 73rd season, the orchestra provides classical music concerts free to the public five times per year.

Sponsored in part by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Westside Coalition, the concert featured primarily American music. Aaron Copland’s familiar “Fanfare for the Common Man” opened the program, followed by an orchestration of Duke Ellington’s composition “Black, Brown, and Beige,” then “Te Deum” by Puccini and a stellar rendition of Joseph Schwantner’s stunning and captivating piece “New Morning for the World.” University of Southern California faculty member and highly accomplished bass-baritone, Cedric Berry, served as narrator for “New Morning for the World” commemorating Martin Luther King’s legacy with pivotal excerpts from King’s speeches set to dramatic flourishes.

The familiar opening tones of Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” set the stage for an unparalleled program. Ellington’s “Black, Brown and Beige,” was an aptly chosen piece for Martin Luther King weekend because it recounts African American history and incorporates spirituals, the blues, and a section entitled “Emancipation Celebration.” The first half of the concert finished with the colossal power and lyricism of Cedric Berry’s voice as he grandly empowered Puccini’s “Te Deum” aria from “Tosca.” 

John Malveaux will interview Michael Abels about composing classical music & Long Beach Vice Mayor Rex Richardson will interview him about Get Out score Feb. 18

Michael Abels

John Malveaux of 

www.MusicUNTOLD.com 

writes:

MusicUNTOLD president John Malveaux will interview 2017 MusicUNTOLD Composer of Year Michael Abels about his career as classical music composer and City of Long Beach Vice Mayor Rex Richardson will interview Michael Abels about his sound track for the four time Oscar nominated movie GET OUT Sunday February 18, 2018, Michelle Obama Community Library, 2:00 PM, Long Beach, Ca.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWrb_5Qoic0&t=22546s

Sergio Mims: Chicago Tribune: Rafael Payare brings energy and purpose to his downtown CSO podium debut

Rafael Payare and Sergio A. Mims

Rafael Payare conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Thursday. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Sergio A. Mims writes:

Just to let you know that John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune gave a rave review of Rafael Paraye concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra last week. And I could not agree more. It was a stunning concert. Payare is definitely on the path on the verge of a major conducting career

Also here is a photo of me and Payare taken yesterday between rehearsals.

The Chicago Tribune

John von Rhein Contact Reporter Chicago Tribune

The musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra are back in harness this weekend at Symphony Center after a long holiday hiatus. Their collective gratitude to be making music again translated into playing of robust vitality at Thursday night’s first subscription concert of the season, if not the gleaming tonal finish and exacting precision this great symphonic ensemble produces at its very best.

Different sorts of corporate virtuosity were on display throughout the evening, and the man whose job it was to make them fit together convincingly was the up-and-coming Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare, who was making his subscription series debut following his first appearance with the orchestra in 2015 at Ravinia.

Payare, who turns 38 this year, is another of the gifted alumni of the El Sistema music education program that helped bring another podium dervish, conductor Gustavo Dudamel, to world attention. Whether Payare (who is married to American cellist Alisa Weilerstein) attains similar international staying power remains to be seen, of course, although reports from Europe, where he has settled into a reportedly happy collaboration as music director of the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and has guest conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, speak well for his chances.

The CSO artistic administration allotted the guest conductor only two concerts, alternating his program with more lucrative, orchestra-accompanied screenings of “Singin’ in the Rain.” Payare appeared determined to make the most of his relatively limited podium time, applying himself with serious attention to musical values that belied the occasional excesses of his animated podium manner.

John Malveaux: Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra & Multigenerational Choir perform works of Dr. Jester Hairston Feb. 11 & 25 in Pasadena, CA

John Malveaux of 

www.MusicUNTOLD.com 

writes:

On Sunday, February 11, 3:30pm at Westminster Presbyterian and Sunday, February 25, 3:30pm at First AME, the Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra will celebrate its 30^th Anniversary and Black History Month by paying tribute to the late Dr. Jester Hairston. The concerts will feature Hairston’s niece, noted conductor and clinician, Dr. Jacqueline Hairston.  She will conduct Negro Spirituals and Folk Songs by Dr. Jester Hairston, well-known for his Spiritual "AMEN," made famous in the 1963 film, “Lilies of the Field,” starring Sidney Poitier.  The program will be performed by the 50-plus Multigenerational Choir and the Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra, conducted by Janise White. Dr. Hairston has been recognized as a leading expert on the Negro Spiritual having composed and arranged over 300 spirituals which he performed with choirs all over the world.  The Multigenerational Choir will regale the audience in over a dozen Negro Spirituals, Work Songs, Children’s Play Songs & Street Cries by Hairston.  Also on program, Nolan Shaheed, Jazz Trumpeter will perform:  Spiritual Fantasy No. 6 for trumpet and orchestra.  This piece is based on the Negro Spiritual, "Sinner Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass" by Dr. Frederick Tillis.

Sphinx Organization Announces New Board Leadership and Welcomes New Board Member

Sphinx is excited to announce a new Executive Committee:

 

Tynnetta McIntosh, Board Chair

Mary Beth Halprin, Board Vice Chair

Deidre Lambert-Bounds, Treasurer

Anthony Glover, Secretary

Terry Woodard

We are also honored to welcome Terry Woodard, Managing Director and Senior Banker of the J.P. Morgan Private Bank, to the Board of Directors.

He has chaired the Private Bank's Diversity Council, has captained the Morehouse and Spelman Recruiting Team, and is a member of the organization's Executive Leadership Council.