William Grant Still Symphonies 2 & 3, and 'Wood Notes,' on WHPK-FM Dec. 19, 1:30-3:00 PM

[TOP: William Grant Still Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3, 'Wood Notes' on Naxos 8.559676   BOTTOM: William Grant Still (Photo is the sole property of William Grant Still Music, and is used with permission]

Sergio Mims announces a special Monday edition of his classical music program on WHPK-FM in Chicago:

“I'm sure you and your many readers would be interested that I will be playing that new Naxos recording of William Grant Still's Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 along with his orchestral work Wood Notes on a special edition of my show on Monday Dec. 19 1:30-3PM Central Times on WHPK-FM in Chicago (88.5 locally and www.whpk.org online livestream). [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com]

Tweet from @Numinousmusic (Joe Phillips):

@AfriClassical with a great balance between his bluesy Americanism & Ravel-like impressionism Sym No. 2 is a work that should be heard more

'New Nation Rising' of Shirley J. Thompson on WHPK-FM & Online, Wed. Oct. 19, Noon to 3 PM

[TOP: Shirley J. Thompson (Photo Credit: Sergio Mims) BOTTOM: New Nation Rising: A 21st Century Symphony; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; RPO (2004)]

Our friend Sergio Mims hosts a classical music radio program on WHPK-FM in Chicago. He contributes this post on the music of Shirley J. Thompson:

I wanted to let you know that on Weds Oct. 19 on my classical music show on WHPK-FM (88.5 FM Chicago - 12 noon to 3PM U.S. Central time and on-line livestream at www.whpk.org) I will be broadcasting, what will to be my knowledge, the American broadcast premiere of composer Shirley J. Thompson's extraordinary symphony work, New Nation Rising.

The work is conducted by Ms. Thompson with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (the recording is on RPO - orchestra's own label) and also involved in this recording are:

Mark De-Lisser, Maria Awa and Nicholas Sherwood (singers)

Nolan Weekes (Spoken Word Artist)

Justin Pickett (drummer)

Westminster Voices

Newham Academy Choir

Dhol Academy

It's vibrant, exciting and totally original work by a composer with her own singular vision that should be heard by as wide an audience as possible. In the liner notes for the CD she says that New Nation Rising is very much "a story about London celebrating its legendary spirit of change, innovation, dynamism and cultural diversity"

As for Ms. Thompson herself, she has become one of the leading now composers on the British contemporary music scene and was named last year on Thompson Reuters and J.P. Morgan Power List of Britain's 100 Most Influential Black People. She has written other symphonic works, works for solo instruments and ensemble, vocal works and ballets and also working on a comic opera Doors to Manuel and a viola concerto. To find out more about her go to her website here:

http://www.shirleythompsonmusic.com/

I've also attached some pictures of Ms. Thomson taken when I had the absolutely great pleasure to meet her last week in London.

Sergio Mims

Comment by email:
By the way, when I played Shirley Thompson's New Nation Rising Symphony this afternoon on my radio show on WHPK she was listening to my show livestream on-line on the station's website in London where she lives and she got this e-mail from a listener which she shared with me: "Dear Miss Thompson,

Wonderful music beyond my wildest expectations from a young composer. I could envision the birth of nations out of the jungle of narcissistic governing bodies, the use of brass to enhance the rhythms of the percussions was unique and appropriate for the mood of the nascence of change. You are truly a gift to the world of music.

Sincerely, Tom Spencer, Chicago"

Sergio

Ebony.com: 'Eric Owens Interview By Sergio Mims'; 'It’s like Shakespeare. It’s so timeless'

[Sergio Mims (left) with Eric Owens at Chicago Lyric Opera on Friday, March 4, 2011]

Sergio Mims sends us this interview with bass-baritone Eric Owens:

Ebony.com

By Sergio Mims

“Highly (and universally) acclaimed bass-baritone Eric Owens is, without question, one of the most-talked about and in-demand opera singers today. With major roles in a new production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Verdi’s Aida, Le Grand Macabre with the New York Philharmonic and, especially, Doctor Atomic, Owens’ powerful and majestic voice is thrilling audiences in opera houses and concert halls all over the world. We recently had a chance to speak with Owens about his career and music just before he was to make his debut in Handel’s Hercules, starring in a new production by the always-thought-provoking and controversial stage director Peter Sellars at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

EBONY: In this production of Hercules, the director has broken with tradition and made the title character a returning Iraq War veteran trying to readjust to his wife and his life after the war. There are even strong references to Abu Ghraib in it. What’s it like to work with Sellars?

OWENS: Peter is so intense. I mean, he brings such so emotional depth and joy to every project he’s involved in, along with vast knowledge. And you never feel that you’re just skimming along on the surface. The rehearsals were very intense. There were times when it would just get under my skin so much—in a good way—that I just couldn’t shake off what we had done that day. It just gets so emotional. One day, I think I just cried afterwards [laughs]—my whole evening was ruined!

EBONY: I saw a videocast with Sellars and some real Iraq war veterans. It was the first time most of them had ever seen an opera, and all of them were incredibly moved by it. Which brings up the point that too many people still look at opera as some dry, dusty, antiquated thing. Many operas deal with issues that are just as relevant today as they were when they were written.

OWENS: Absolutely! It’s like Shakespeare. It’s so timeless. These [characters] and their emotions and their conflicts—these topics are just as relevant today, and Peter always tries to make a piece have more of an immediacy and more of a relevance in people’s lives than becoming just a museum piece in a glass case. It’s vibrant and alive.

Measha Brueggergosman Sings Mahler's 'Das Knaben Wunderhorn' in Chicago Symphony Debut

[Measha Brueggergosman, soprano, and Sergio Mims, WHPK radio host]

Measha Brueggergosman is the African-Canadian soprano who recently released Night and Dreams, with pianist Justus Zeyen, on Deutsche Grammophon 477 8101 (2010) (65:29). Sergio Mims is a classical music radio host at Chicago's WHPK, 88.5 FM. He sends a message about Measha Brueggergosman debut performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on October 28:

“Here's a picture of me with soprano Measha Brueggergosman taken tonight. She was in Chicago singing Mahler's Das Knaben Wunderhorn with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She gave a wonderful, glowing performance and was radiant as always! I think I'll add this to my collection of other photos of us together. Soon I'll have enough for a book. Sergio Mims”

On Feb. 2 WHPK-FM, 88.5 Chicago & Online, Plays W.G. Still Symphonies 4 & 5, Interviews John Jeter, Conductor

[William Grant STILL (1895 – 1978); Symphony No. 5 Western Hemisphere (1945, rev. 1970) [19:37]; Poem for Orchestra (1944) [10:27]; Symphony No. 4 Autochthonous (1947) [26:15]; Fort Smith Symphony/John Jeter”; World Première Recordings; NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559603 [56:24]]

Sergio Mims: Live Interview With Maestro John Jeter of the Fort Smith Symphony

HELLO!

I wanted you to know that next Tuesday Feb.2 on my radio show on WHPK-FM aside from playing the new Naxos CD of William Grant Still symphonies No. 4 and 5, I'm also going to be interviewing conductor John Jeter live on my radio show (around 1PM Central Time) about the music of Still and the Fort Smith Symphony Orchestra.

Sergio Mims

Sergio Mims is an African American host of a classical music radio program in Chicago. He notifies AfriClassical when he has scheduled classical works of Composers of African Descent. His latest email concerns his broadcast on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010, which will feature Naxos 8.559603 (2009):

I know that you and your readers will love to know that I'll be playing on Feb. 2 on my classical music radio show on WHPK-FM (88.5 FM in Chicago and live stream online at http://www.whpk.org (12-3 PM Central time) the new Naxos recording of William Grant Still Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5.

The show will also include Brahms String Quartet No.3 and Bartok's Divertimento for string orchestra. Sergio Mims [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, where a complete Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma is found.]

EbonyJet.com: 'Sergio Mims Interviews Classical Pianist Jade Simmons'

[TOP: Revolutionary Rhythm; Jade Simmons, Piano; Russell Pinkston, Samuel Barber, John Corigliano, & Daniel Bernard Roumain, Composers; E1 Entertainment KIC CD 7760 (2009) BOTTOM: Photo of Jade Simmons from EbonyJet.com]

Jade Simmons has been the subject of several previous AfriClassical posts about her CD and concerts. Her website is http://www.jademedia.org Our friend Sergio Mims is a classical music host at the radio station WHPK-FM in Chicago. He recently interviewed her:

EbonyJet.com
Arts and Culture
Classically Modern
Sergio Mims Interviews Classical Pianist Jade Simmons
31 décembre 2009
by Sergio Mims
“Among the new generation of classical music artists, few are making the huge impact and receiving the kind of acclaim that pianist Jade Simmons has been of late. The Charleston, South Carolina native/Northwestern University Graduate/Rice University Shephard School of Music graduate/former Miss Illinois and First Runner Up at the 2000 Miss America Pageant has been gaining well-deserved notices and standing ovations from audiences for her extraordinary talent and her eclectic mix of music genres all of which are on full display in her new Koch International CD release 'Revolutionary Rhythms.' The album is a reflection of her varied influences from classical modern composers such as Samuel Barber and John Corigliano to pieces such as 'Hip-Hop Etudes' by composer DBR.

''Recently Ebonyjet.com had an opportunity to talk to Ms Simmons (who was also featured in 2007 as one of Ebony Magazine’s 'Young Leaders Under 30') when she was recently Artist-in-Residence at the University of Chicago for a concert performance and a series of lectures.

“EBONY: Let’s begin with a question involving me if you don’t mind. My editor was trying to get me to write this piece about being a classical music lover in the age of hip-hop, but I refused because it sounded to me, probably wrongly I’m sure, like saying: 'Write something about how it feels to be a freak.' So how would you answer that question?
SIMMONS: I’ve never felt like a freak. It was never this big delineation between, say classical and hip hop. It was just another form that I love. Hip-hop I dance to. Classical, some of it I do dance to (laughs). Even a piece like Rachmaninov’s 'Rhapsody on a Theme' by Paganini, some parts when I play it I have to back off a bit because I’m grooving way too long on it (laughs).”

Sergio Mims: 'Sodi got a well deserved standing ovation' After Dame Myra Hess Concert

[Sodi Braide (Left) and Sergio Mims (Right)]

AfriClassical received this message and photo from Sergio Mims, a classical music radio host in Chicago, after the Nigerian pianist Sodi Braide gave a recital in Chicago Wednesday, Feb. 18: “Here's a photo taken of me and Sodi Braide today after the Dame Myra Hess Concert in Chicago at the Cultural Center. It was an amazing concert and Sodi got a well deserved standing ovation.”

AfriClassical has followed the career of the Nigerian pianist Sodi Braide with great interest. A link to an audio sample of his playing can be found in the upper right corner of the blog. Sodi has a new website in English and French. His many concerts are listed at his MySpace page.  

Sodi Braide's Recital Streamed Live by WFMT Feb. 18, 12:15 pm (Central Time)

[Sodi Braide in performance on the piano]

On Feb. 14, 2009 AfriClassical posted: “Nigerian Pianist Sodi Braide Gives Recitals in Illinois & Ohio Feb. 16-18, 2009”. Our friend Sergio Mims is a classical music radio host in Chicago. He sends us this word: “I forgot to tell you that Sodi's Wednesday Dame Myra Hess concert in Chicago will be live streamed online at http://www.wfmt.com/main.taf?p=4,5,8  WFMT is the premiere classical music radio station in Chicago and they always broadcast (and livestream on their website) the Dame Myra Hess Wednesday concerts. The concert begins at 12:15 PM Central Standard Time.”  

EbonyJet.com: 'The Basso Profundo', Morris Robinson, African American Opera Singer

Our friend Sergio Mims in Chicago sends us this interview recently published in EbonyJet.com:

Morris Robinson Interview

Friday, December 12, 2008

By Sergio A. Mims

“Few singers in the classical music world have made a bigger splash in recent years than bass Atlanta native Morris Robinson.

A graduate of The Citadel Military College in South Carolina where he was a football star, Robinson worked for a while as an executive at 3M before deciding to devote his rich voice to classical music. Since then he has quickly risen in the music world, making his mark in roles such as The Commodore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Sarastro in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Ramfis in Verdi’s Aida and many other operas by Richard Wagner, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Hector Berlioz and Richard Strauss. Upcoming are concert recitals N.Y., Washington D.C., and Philadelphia and opera performances as Sarasto and Fasolt in Wagner’s Das Rheingold at the Los Angeles Opera.

“EbonyJet.com had an opportunity to talk to Mr. Robinson about several things including his career, how he prepares for a role, and what roadblocks he has encountered.  EBONY: First off, one thing that perhaps really annoys me is that people who don’t know much about classical music think that it’s stuffy, too difficult or something that you have to wear formal clothes to listen to. It’s just music after all.  ROBINSON: Classical music has always been considered as being for the aristocracy -- for those born with a silver spoon in their mouths and that’s simply not the case. I mean I was first drawn into classical music because… well first of all I love all kinds of music. I grew up playing the drums in church. I’m the son of a Baptist minster, the grandson of a Baptist minister. I’d been around church music all the time. But I also had this desire to hear different things and when I first heard classical music I was drawn to it. And how did I come to sing opera? I mean it came to me. I had this voice and I went to a high school of performing arts and was introduced to classical music then. And I took a liking to it. I kind of took naturally to it. And of course my voice being as it is, it doesn’t really fit into any other kind of music genre, so I was kind of led to this life so to speak.” [Full Post]

Reminder of Airing of Works of David Baker and José Mauricio Nunes Garcia Sept. 16

Sergio Mims sends AfriClassical this reminder of a program we have discussed recently: “Hello! I hope you'll be able to listen to my classical music radio show Tuesday on WHPK-FM in Chicago (88.5 FM) and on-line on http://www.whpk.org/ (12 noon to 3PM U.S. Central Time) This week's program will include Paul Creston's Symphony No.2, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, David Baker's Cello Sonata, Walter Piston's Violin Concerto No. 1 and the Requiem Mass by the 19th century Afro-Brazilian composer Jose Mauricio Nunes Garcia. Sergio Mims” [José Mauricio Nunes Garcia (1767-1830) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

WHPK Airs Scott Joplin's “Treemonisha” & Duke Ellington's “Afro-Eurasian Eclipse” Jan. 15

[Scott Joplin's “Treemonisha”; Original Cast Recording; Polygram 435709 (1992)]

Sergio Mims is an African American host and programmer of a classical music radio program on Tuesday afternoons on WHPK-FM, Community Radio of the University of Chicago. He has asked us to announce that he will be airing a complete performance of Scott Joplin's opera “Treemonisha” from the Deutsche Grammophon recording; a performance of Duke Ellington's “Afro-Eurasian Eclipse”; and a a performance of Leonard Bernstein's “Symphony No. 2 - The Age of Anxiety”, on Tuesday January 15, 2008 from 12:00 Noon-3:00 PM (Central Time). Both Scott Joplin and Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington are profiled at AfriClassical.com

Sergio notes that the program can he heard on 88.5 FM in Chicago, and on-line at www.whpk.org