Myrtle Hart Society Profile: 'Terrance Oliveras-Gray, violinist and conductor'

Myrtle Hart Society

Rashida N. Black, Founder/Executive Director

December 2008 eNewsletter

Terrance Oliveras-Gray is a nationally and internationally recognized violinist and conductor. He has performed as a member of the American Arts Trio, the Tower Ensemble and Connoisseur Musica. In 1998, he was nominated for "Musician of the Year" by Chicago AFM 10-208. He studied violin and conducting at DePaul University with Ruben Gonzales, Marc Zinger, and Elizabeth Grabow Mueller (violin) and Michael Morgan, Dr. Gregory Lyons, and Gordon Peters (conducting). 

By 1992, Mr. Gray had established himself as principal conductor and music director of the South Side Family Chamber Orchestra. In 1994, he became the Associate Conductor of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) about which, he states, "The music, the learning, the friendships, and the fun are what make the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras so great." He is currently on the faculty of the Sherwood Conservatory and the People's Music School; a member of the Chicago Sinfonietta; and concertmaster of the New Black Repertory Ensemble. The CYSO's Concert Orchestra performs works by Schubert, Elgar and Alfven on Wednesday, December 10, 7:30pm in the Sidney R. Yates Gallery at the Chicago Cultural Center http://www.chicagoculturalcenter.org

Myrtle Hart Society On MIT Professor of Music 'Marcus Thompson, viola and viola d'amore'

Myrtle Hart Society

Rashida N. Black, Founder/Executive Director

December 2008 eNewsletter

Marcus Thompson, viola and viola d'amore

South Bronx, New York native, Marcus Thompson is a distinguished performer both on viola and viola d'amore. A multi-faceted artist, he is equally esteemed as recitalist, orchestral soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and educator. He was recently announced as the new Artistic Director of the Boston Chamber Music Society, which has since its inception in 1982, been led by cellist Ronald Thomas '74. In addition to his busy performing career, Mr. Thompson serves on the Board of Project STEP, is a member of Chamber Music America and the American String Teachers Association. He is also a member of the Viola d'Amore Society and of the American Viola Society. Mr. Thompson served as host director for the 1985 American Viola Society Congress XIII held at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. On his website, you can listen to two excerpts from Rameau's Troisieme Concert, performed at the Harvard Musical Association, with Peter Sykes, Harpsichord, Marcus Thompson, Viola d'Amore, and Laura Jeppesen, Viola da Gamba. Recording courtesy of Lee Eiseman.

B.M., M.S., D.M.A., The Juilliard School. Violin studies with Louise Behrend. Viola with Walter Trampler. Additional studies with Abraham Skernick, Michael Avsharian, and Ivan Galamian. Chamber music studies with the Juilliard, Amadeus, and Netherlands string quartets and Joseph Gingold. Recordings on Vox/Turnabout, Centaur, and with the Boston Chamber Music Society on Northeastern. Former faculty of the Juilliard School Pre-College Division, Oakwood College, Wesleyan University, Mount Holyoke College. Currently Robert R. Taylor Professor of Music and a Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow at MIT, where he is director of performance and chamber music studies.

Comment on “Myrtle Hart Society: 'The Boys Choir of Kenya in Chicago Oct. 13'”

On Oct. 10, 2008 AfriClassical posted: “Myrtle Hart Society: 'The Boys Choir of Kenya in Chicago Oct. 13'”. We have received an online comment on the post from Labo: “hey, I love the site & the info!!, but can you please maybe provide more features on African artists/composers who are not necessarily 'classical-oriented' thanks.” The format of both AfriClassical and AfriClassical.com is focused on classical music by people of African descent, but Lobo can be assured that many other websites and blogs do cover African Music which is not necessarily classical. If one Googles “African Music Blogs”, the results include a list of 20 African Music Blogs on WordPress.com; the African Music Treasures Blog of the Voice of America Radio Network; and a Village Voice article dated August 19, 2008 entitled: “Mining African Blog Riches: A fresh wave of globally minded music websites will broaden your horizons.”

ClassicalMatters.com Invites “Younger artists seeking exposure as well as established artists.”

Rashida Black is Founder/Executive Director of The Myrtle Hart Society, which promotes classical musicians of color. She has alerted us to the website ClassicalMatters.com, “The Classical Musicians And Composers Showcase”. Rashida writes: “Classical Matters is new but may be a great resource to announce to the performing public.” Here is a brief excerpt from the website, which is the work of Terry Williams, Ph.D., Del Mar, California: “At Classical Matters, our main goal is to present the work of classical musicians, groups, composers, and conductors - free of charge. We are interested in younger artists seeking exposure as well as established artists. We are inspired by love of classical music and hope our small effort will inspire others to get involved with the excitement of a new world of music.

Myrtle Hart Society: Urban Youth Harp Ensemble Serves At-Risk Atlanta Students

Rashida Black writes in the June issue of the Myrtle Hart Society eNewsletter: “The Urban Youth Harp Ensemble is a non-profit organization that exists to provide harp instruction to urban, at-risk students enrolled in the Atlanta School District. The UYHE is incorporated into the curriculum of the New Schools at Carver, School of the Arts, as well as offering an After School Program for 5th-12th graders who attend other Atlanta Public Schools. This musical endeavor is the brainchild of Elisabeth Remy, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Principal Harpist, and Roselyn Lewis, Atlanta Public Schools music teacher.

“The Urban Youth Harp Ensemble began in the fall of 2000 with two students at Brown Middle School in Atlanta before moving to its current home at Carver High School. Marissa Knaub was added to the staff for 2007-08 school year as the primary instructor for the Carver Harp Academy. Ms. Remy is the Artistic Director of the Ensemble and the primary teacher for the UYHE after-school program. Ms. Lewis serves as the Executive Director and manager of the program. Currently, over 40 students receive free instruction on the harp either during or after school.”

First Anniversary of Myrtle Hart Society, Promoting Classical Musicians of Color

The Myrtle Hart Society is one year old this month. Its Founder/Executive Director is Rashida N. Black, an African American harpist and music researcher. The Society is named for an early harpist of African descent, and is dedicated to promoting all classical musicians of color. The MHS website is http://www.MyrtleHart.org/ The E-mail address for subscriptions to the free, fact-filled monthly MHS eNewsletter is: eNewsletter@myrtlehart.org

Here is an excerpt from a Letter to Readers in the current issue of the MHS eNewsletter, which was published today, February 1, 2008:

“Last February, I was overwhelmed with the reality that I had no idea what my musical friends and colleagues were doing throughout the year, that there was a huge age differential between myself and the seasoned researchers of black classical music (where's the next generation?) and that the music of black classical composers was not being performed often enough to educate the masses about their legacy. As an outlet for my frustrations, I built a web site and drafted a plan. On February 21, 2007, the Myrtle Hart Society was incorporated in the state of Illinois to make the classical community of color more visible and accessible to me and my friends.”

Link to Website of Myrtle Hart Society

The purpose of this post is to provide a link to MyrtleHart.org, the website of The Myrtle Hart Society, which was not included in the original post on the group.