UAB.edu: “Dreams of Hope” honored with two wins at 2021 Southeast EMMY Awards

 Dreams of Hope

2021 Southeast

EMMY

Awards

Musical Composition/Arrangement

(Henry Panion III)

Prof. Henry Panion III forwards this release from the University of Alabama at Birmingham:

by Shannon Thomason

University of Alabama at Birmingham University Professor of Music Henry Panion III, Ph.D., and Chief Recording Engineer James Bevelle have been honored by the 2021 Southeast EMMY Awards for the film “Dreams of Hope.”

Panion won Best Musical Composition/Arrangement for his piece “Dreams of Hope for Solo Violin & Orchestra,” commissioned especially for this concert, and Bevelle won for Best Audio Post-Production. Bevelle is the staff recording engineer in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music.

The concert documentary tells the story of a historic performance at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, more than 50 years after a hate crime there killed four African American girls. An initiative called Violins of Hope contributed painstakingly restored musical instruments to the event, including violins recovered from Holocaust concentration camps, symbols of resilience in the face of hate, discrimination and racism. Musicians and artists, including some from the UAB Department of Music, performed and contributed to the creation of the concert and documentary.  

“Dreams of Hope” was directed by Panion and filmmaker David Macon and presented and distributed by American Public Television. With a captivating storyline written by Macon, the film blends concert performance footage with behind-the-scenes interviews chronicling the event’s preparation and reflecting on its significance. Alongside the Dreams of Hope Orchestra, the concert features solo violinist Caitlin Edwards, who returned to her hometown of Birmingham to play the Auschwitz violin, vocalists Valerie Smith and Lenora Goodman-Panion, dancer Kelsey Ebersold, and the Miles College Choir. 

John Malveaux: Los Angeles Phil to perform Nokuthula Ngwenyama composition PRIMAL MESSAGE conducted by Xian Zhang

Nokuthula Ngwenyama

Xian Zhang

John Malveaux of MusicUNTOLD.com writes:

Los Angeles Phil to perform Nokuthula Ngwenyama composition PRIMAL MESSAGE conducted by Xian Zhang.  See pic1  Nokuthula Ngwenyama, pic 2 Xian Zhang

The Ticker: Brooklyn College professor Tania León wins 2021 Pulitzer Prize in music

Tania León

(Credit CUNY)

The Ticker

Rachel Dalloo

June 25, 2021

Tania León, a composer, conductor and recognized music professor at Brooklyn College, was honored with the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in music for her musical composition “Stride.”

“Tania León has made it her life’s work to create and encourage profound, striking music that, significantly, places diversity at center stage,” CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez said in a statement. “Our heartfelt congratulations to Professor León, whose dedication to what she calls ‘the canvas of sounds in the Americas’ was vividly captured in her Pulitzer-winning piece, commissioned in celebration of women’s voting rights, as it incorporates Black music traditions from the United States and the Caribbean.”

León’s award-winning piece was part of the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center’s Project. It was showcased to “mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage,” according to a CUNY report.

Her work was included in a “multi-season Philharmonic” orchestra, which was made up of 19 composers. This group was the largest commission in history and only included female composers.

The committee for the Pulitzer Prize expressed that León’s “Stride,” was a “musical journey full of surprise.”

She is set to receive a $15,000 prize for her submission.

“Everything that happens big for me brings me back to my initial times and the fact that my family, even with little means, did everything possible for me,” León said. “It’s a big recognition from my colleagues and something I will cherish. I hope that my sounds can contribute to the canvas of sounds in the Americas.”

In addition to teaching at Brooklyn College, she currently serves as the vice president for the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Music Division. She is also the founder and artistic director for Composers Now.

León is a part of the board of directors for the MacDowell Colony and the New York Philharmonic, as stated by CUNY.

AMAGMail: June 26 Concert - J.H. Kwabena NKETIA Centenary Commemoration

 J.H. Kwabena Nketia

Episode 2 streaming Saturday June 26, 1:30PM, US CDT (6:30PM UTC). Featuring the very captivating Italian pianist Silvia Belfiore, and the phenomenal St. Louis Missouri based pianist Peter Henderson performing a variety of repertoire by J.H. Kwabena Nketia, Erik Satie, Joshua Uzoigwe, Fred Onovwerosuoke, and Girma Yifrashewa. Streamed from by the Intercultural Music Initiative at the links below:

June 26 (Episode 2):

On YouTube Live at https://youtu.be/Wx7s55LN8mw

on Facebook Live at https://fb.watch/6jN15RLLU7/ 

Please share, and see you there! Also note that, in order to protect the pertinent rights of our performers, the streamed video will be available for a limited time only.

IMI team

New Orleans Opera: The "Lacrimosa" (Latin for “weeping/tearful”) is part of a powerful Requiem composed in D Minor by Mozart in 1791

Givonna Joseph forwards:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkJQeuy8WVY&t=26s

The Lacrimosa Project The Lacrimosa (Latin for “weeping/tearful”)  is part of a powerful Requiem composed in  D Minor by Mozart in 1791. In  consideration of our own New Orleans  community, so heavily impacted by COVID- 19, we have created this unique and  meaningful project to lift voices up in  memory of those in our community we lost. Please click below to read the story  behind the project and for a complete  listing of everyone that worked to make this  beautiful video a reality. More information Special thanks to Thanh Truong and  WWL TV for this interview.

Sergio Mims: Wayne Marshall conducts Berlin Philharmonic in works of Gershwin, John Williams and Bernstein June 26, first Black conductor since 1945

Wayne Marshall

                                         

Sergio A. Mims writes: 

W,

Wayne Marshall...announced that he will be conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in a program of Gershwin, John Williams and Bernstein on June 26 making him the first Black conductor to lead the orchestra since Rudolph Dunbar in 1945!

Including percussionist Martin Grubinger, who will be performing with the orchestra as well, the program will consist of Bernstein's Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront and 3 Dance Episodes from On the Town, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and John Williams Percussive Planet.

Amsterdam News: Classical composer creates concert commemorating Tulsa Massacre [streaming on Juneteenth at 7 PM]

Adolphus Hailstork

(Provided by Rose Grace)

New York Amsterdam News

June 3, 2021

Nadine Mathews

I don’t know how you ignore tragedy, I don’t know how you ignore three-hundred years of slavery. I don’t know how you just turn your head. I’m not that kind of person,” classical composer Adolphus Hailstork tells the Amsterdam News in an interview to promote th“e upcoming streaming concert “Tulsa 1921 (Pity These Ashes, Pity This Dust.” This was the response of the multi-award winner and Fulbright recipient when asked about some of the things that inspire and compel him when he sits down to compose.

Hailstork was commissioned by the Harlem Chamber Players to create a piece commemorating the upcoming centennial of the Tulsa Massacre, in which a mob of whites attacked the prosperous Black community of in Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood district, or Black Wall Street. Hundreds I of Black people were killed, and the buildings burned to the ground. Many of the survivors left. Those who stayed and tried to rebuild, encountered strong opposition by Tulsa government officials. The piece, which shares its name with the concert itself, will be performed virtually on Juneteenth at 7 p.m.

The operatic retelling of the Tulsa Race Massacre will feature mezzo-soprano , and is part of a larger program of works by Black composers, including , and . The concert will be presented in partnership with , , and the .

Hailstork describes the piece as “a concert aria created for mezzo soprano, string, harp and percussion.” Its libretto was written by Hailstork’s longtime collaborator Dr. Herbert Martin. “He took the approach of a grief-stricken woman who has just held her dying mother in her arms,” Hailstork explains.

After the character’s mother dies, she walks through a charred Tulsa, lamenting the injustice. “At the end,” says Hailstork, “she asks that the people who have died be honored,” and that the survivors “strive to go on. That’s what he wrote and that’s what I was glad to set.”

Among some of Hailstork’s most critically acclaimed works are those that salute historical figures such as the opera “Rise For Freedom” for abolitionist John Parker, who helped slaves escape to Ohio, the song cycle “Three Dunbar Hymns” in honor of poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar, “Hercules,” a tone poem for George Washington’s famed chef, the opera “Joshua’s Boots,” about Black cowboys, and the funeral piece “Epitaph for a Man who Dreamed” for Martin Luther King Jr. The Howard University graduate, who also trained with the legendary composition teacher Nadia Boulanger, has also created works in honor of Paul Robeson and novelist Zora Neale Hurston.

***

For more information please visit https://www.harlemchamberplayers.org/event/pity-these-ashes-tulsa-1921-2021.

John Malveaux: African American Music Month omits, neglects, or denies the history and accomplishments by African Americans in classical music and opera

George Walker (1922-2018)

John Malveaux of MusicUNTOLD.com writes:

JUNE marks African American Music Month, also known as Black Music Month, in the United States. The heritage month, originally known as Black Music Month, was started in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter. It was later commemorated with its current name by President Barack Obama, who proclaimed it a month "to dance, to defend our country's enduring promise of freedom and opportunity for all.” See https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/celebrating-black-music-month

African American Music Month intentionally or inadvertently omits, neglects, or denies the history and accomplishments by African Americans in classical music and opera.

See pics Pulitzer Prize composer George Walker and Grammy Soprano Latonia Moore.

Similarly, the annual NAACP Image Awards does not include categories that heighten awareness of African American achievements in classical and opera genres.

Sergio A. Mims: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Violin Concerto on WHPK-FM Chicago July 6

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)

Sergio A. Mims writes:

W,

On my weekly classical music program on Tuesday July 6 I will be broadcasting Samuel Coleridge Taylor's Violin Concerto in G Minor along with Mahler Symphony No. 6.

The recording of the violin concerto will be the highly praised Hyperion recording with violinist Anthony Marwood with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins.

As always my show can be heard 12 Noon to 3PM (CDT) on WHPK-FM locally in Chicago in 88.5FM and livestream worldwide on http://www.whpk.org

Sergio,

Dr. Rochelle Sennet: "Bach to Black: Suites for Piano" 3-disc recording released on Albany Records TROY 1869-71

 

Bach To Black

Suites For Piano

Rochelle Sennet

piano

Dr. Rochelle Sennet is Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  She writes:

Dear Bill,

I write to let you know that my 3-disc set of “Bach to Black: Suites for Piano” was released on Albany Records (#TROY 1869-71) on June 1^st.  The recording includes the complete English Suites by J.S. Bach, as well as six additional suites by five Black composers: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, R. Nathaniel Dett, H. Leslie Adams, Jeffrey Mumford, and Frederick Tillis.  The recording is also available through all major digital music streaming platforms, such as Amazon Digital. 

Also, a short “sneak peek” YouTube video from one of the recording sessions is available here.

Excerpt from the liner notes:  “The title of this recording is intended to encourage conversation regarding the often-misunderstood topics of inclusion and equity in Classical music. Bach to Black represents my strong interest in performing repertoire by Black composers in combination with works of Johann Sebastian Bach. The suites included on this recording represent beauty, excellence, contrast, celebration of dance style, and dialogue. The targeted audience: those who enjoy music by a variety of Black com- posers, those who enjoy the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, those have not yet been exposed to music of Black composers or J.S. Bach, and those who fall into more than one category. I welcome the opportunity to spread the message that everyone deserves to be included in the Classical music space regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, or cultural background.”

Thank you again, and I hope all is well!

Sincerely,

Rochelle Sennet

John Malveaux: 2011 JUNETEENTH Celebration at Long Beach Performing Arts Center featured a recital by Mezzo-Soprano Denyce Graves and Laura Ward

John Malveaux of MusicUNTOLD.com writes

The June  19, 2011 JUNETEENTH Celebration presented by Long Beach Central Area Association/MusicUNTOLD at Long Beach Performing Arts Center featured a recital by Mezzo-Soprano Denyce Graves with collaborator Laura Ward. See https://musicuntold.com/index.php/juneteenth-worldwide-concert-2011/. KABC Leo Stallworth was host and recognized as 2011 JUNETEENTH Father of The Year. Please see Denyce Graves and Laura Ward perform DEEP RIVER in a different venue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb8aDHcvdT4.

Sergio A. Mims: BLACK OPERA LIVE to celebrate 1st Anniversary!

Sergio A. Mims forwards this announcement:

Tune-in JUNE 7th for this SPECIAL EVENT!

WATCH ON FACEBOOK

Join us on Monday, June 7th at 7pm EDT as Kenneth wraps up the first year of Black Opera Live with a special anniversary episode. Featuring 5 surprise guests, you don't want to miss this one! Come and celebrate this incredible year of talent! 

This will be the final live episode of the season before Kenneth takes a summer hiatus to focus on his performance schedule, which includes preparing for his Metropolitan Opera debut in October as Lawyer Fraser in Porgy and Bess.

Black Opera Live will return with new episodes in September. 

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

A BANNER YEAR! It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since  Grammy-award winner Kenneth Overton  premiered the first Black Opera Live  webcast with guest Nicole Heaston on  June 1st, 2020. And what a year it’s  been!  Throughout the pandemic, Kenneth has  hosted the weekly live episodes with a  guest list of America's most celebrated  Black classical artists and opera  performers, at all stages of their careers.

NationalPhilharmonic.org: 2 PM ET June 6 "Carlos Simon’s moving work, 'Portrait of a Queen,' which traces the evolution of Black people in America"

National Philharmonic at Strathmore

Co-sponsored by Julie and Ray Pangelinan

Julius Wirth, viola

Aundi Marie Moore, narrator

Eduardo Alonso-Crespo, Concerto for Viola op. 17

Carlos Simon, Portrait of a Queen

First on this program is Eduardo Alonso-Crespo's Concerto for Viola featuring National Philharmonic's Principal Violist, Julius Wirth. Afterwards, we'll be performing Carlos Simon’s moving work, Portrait of a Queen, which traces the evolution of Black people in America through the lens of one figurative Black woman who represents strength, courage, and selflessness. Dramatic spoken word, written by Courtney D. Ware, poetically expresses the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist, enhancing her musical portrait.

DC Metro HBCU Alumni Alliance, Inc.: Remembering the 1921 Tulsa Massacre

On the morning of May 31, 1921, the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a thriving Black community. By noon on June 1, it wasn't.

Over the course of roughly 24 hours, a White mob, set off by a dubious accusation and abetted by members of the Tulsa County Sheriff's Department and the Oklahoma National Guard, obliterated the uniquely prosperous area beloved as Black Wall Street.

As many as 300 people were killed, according to the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum, and thousands were left homeless.