OperaWire
Mar 4, 2022
By Chris Ruel
An all-star cast will join the National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale, The Washington Chorus, and The Howard University Chorale to present the world premiere of Adolphus Hailstork and Herbert Martin’s “A Knee on The Neck” at The Music Center at Strathmore on Mar. 26, 2022, and at Capital One Hall on Mar. 28.
Headlining the premiere are A-list soloists J’Nai Bridges, Norman Shankle, and Kenneth Overton. Maestro Piotr Gajewski will conduct.
Written and composed as a tribute to George Floyd, a Black man whose murder in May 2020 by a Minneapolis police officer sparked nationwide protests, “A Knee on The Neck” is a colossal requiem cantata commemorating Floyd’s life and legacy.
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Hailstork said, “What can an artist do? I can speak on the issues and put them in my work. These are the tragedies and triumphs of a people who have been beaten up for 400 years. Does anyone speak for them? Who writes pieces that speak for the existence of African Americans in the United States? I’ll take on that job.”
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