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The following article tells of a concert at Pitt Community College in Greenville, North Carolina:
By Kim Grizzard
Sunday, February 18, 2018
During Black History Month, the Pitt Community College Symphony
Orchestra is presenting works of one black composer that history has
often ignored.
At its third Black Composers Concert, the orchestra
will perform works by Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who
is sometimes referred to as the “Black Mozart.”
Born in 1745 in
Guadeloupe to a French nobleman and an African slave, the virtuoso
violinist is considered to be first classical composer of African
ancestry. Still, his music was often overlooked for nearly two centuries
after his death.
“The Saint-Georges (works) will be music that
probably no one has heard before,” PCC Symphony Orchestra Conductor
Michael Stephenson said. “I find his life terribly interesting, and I
think the audience will as well, once they learn more about him.”
Educated
in France, Saint-Georges became accomplished in fencing, in addition to
music. He also served as a colonel in the French Revolution.
“There
are stories that Mozart heard his music and very well could have been
influenced by his music,” Stephenson said. “The music does sound quite a
bit like Mozart.”
Classical compositions are only part of the
concert, which will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Koinonia Christian
Center Church. The event also will feature works of Duke Ellington and
Scott Joplin, as well as spiritual and gospel selections.
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