ChicagoSinfonietta.org: Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute concert: "Ethiopia's Shadow in America" of Florence Price & "Soul Force" of Jessie Montgomery Jan. 16 & 17

 

Will Liverman is "...one of the most versatile singing artists performing today, being equally skilled in classical repertoire and less mainstream works..." – Bachtrack

Community and celebration are at the forefront of Chicago Sinfonietta’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute concert. Opening the concert are three Florence Price works - Ethiopia’s Shadow in America, Song of the Dark Virgin, and Night, sung by renowned baritone Will Liverman. Selections from Felix Mendelssohn’s ELIJAH are next, followed by two Chicago premieres: Jessie Montgomery’s Soul Force, and Emmy-nominated Artist-in-Residence Kathryn Bostic’s work The Great Migration, with baritone Will Liverman returning as narrator.

CONDUCTOR

Mei-Ann Chen

PROGRAM

Florence PRICE  Ethiopia's Shadow in America

I. The Arrival of the Negro in America when first brought here as a slave – (Introduction and Allegretto)

II. His Resignation and Faith – (Andante)

III. His Adaptation – (Allegro) – A fusion of his native and acquired impulses.

Song of the Dark Virgin* (orchestral version)

Night* (orchestral version)

Will Liverman, baritone

Felix MENDELSSOHN Selections from ELIJAH

I. No. 14 "Draw, near all ye people - Lord God of Abraham"

II. No. 17 "Is not His Word Like a Fire"

III. No. 37 "For the Mountains Shall Depart"

Jessie MONTGOMERY Soul Force (The Dream Unfinished)* Assistant Conductor Kyle Dickson

Kathryn BOSTIC The Great Migration: A Symphony in Celebration of August Wilson*

The Great Migration

The Hill Illumined

Wylie Avenue

The Oracle of Aunt Ester

Exalted Roads of Truth and Triumph

Will Liverman, narrator

Encore

 

*Chicago Premiere

Approximately 70 mins, plus intermission