Western Piedmont Symphony Concert of African American Composers 8 PM Nov. 7, Hickory, NC

[Le Mozart Noir: Music of Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges; Tafelmusik Orchestra; Jeanne Lamon, conductor; CBC Records SMCD 5225 (2003)]

John Gordon Ross is Conductor & Music Director, Western Piedmont Symphony, and is on the faculty of Lenoir-Rhyne University. He has issued this release via the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College Chicago:
“The Western Piedmont Symphony will present a concert of African-American composers on Saturday, November 7^th at 8 p.m. in P.E. Monroe Auditorium on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC. The concert features composer/pianist Anthony M. Kelley, member of the theory/composition faculty at Duke University, and recent UNC School of the Arts graduate Jarae Payton, soprano.

The concert will begin with the American premiere (perhaps the live performance premiere?) of Coleridge Taylor Perkinson’s Mop Mop based on the iconic drum solo of Max Roach. Arrangements with the estate of the late composer and his publisher Lauren Keiser Music Publishing and particularly the production assistance of Joe Derhake have helped to make this performance possible.

Following Mop, Mop, the orchestra will perform the Symphony in D Major by Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges also used as the overture to his opera L’amant anonyme in 1780. The Chevalier’s music has recently enjoyed increased popularity with the release of the television film Le Mozart Noir on CBC and Radio Canada. Our thanks for the assistance of Tafelmusik, the Toronto-based ensemble led by Jeanne Lamon for their making this music available.

Closing the first half of the program is Chicago/Cleveland based composer Delores White’s Give Birth to the Dream featuring the orchestral debut of young American soprano Jarae Payton. We anticipate Ms. White will be present for the performance and will attend the final rehearsals.

Following intermission, Anthony M. Kelley will appear as piano soloist in Africamerica: Sound Images for Piano and Orchestra. Dr. Kelley composed this work while serving as Meet The Composer’s New Residencies composer for the Richmond Symphony and other local partners. It was premiered by Donal Fox in 2000 with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra. It has also been performed previously by its composer including a performance last season with the Duke University Symphony Orchestra lead by Harry Davidson. Ticket information is available at http://www.wpsymphony.org by calling the Western Piedmont Symphony at 828-324-8603. [Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004) and Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) are profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Western Piedmont Symphony
Hickory, North Carolina
African American Composers
Lenoir-Rhyne University
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson
Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) Was 54 When He Died

[Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Violin Concertos, Op. 5, Nos. 1 & 2; Op. 3, No. 1; Op. 8, No. 9; Bernard Thomas Chamber Orchestra; Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Violin; Arion 68093 (1990)]

Parisienne Postcards published a post entitled “Le Nègre des Lumières” on Sept. 22, 2009. It says, in pertinent parts, “I have read about the french revolution but I was not aware of the wonderful and remarkable story of le Chevalier de Saint-Georges until I attended the opera Le Nègre des Lumières in Paris.” “The Chevalier de Saint-Georges was born Joseph de Bologne on the 25th of December 1745.”

“Ultimately, toward the end of his life, in 1797, he directed the Circle of Harmony, a concert organization established at the Palais-Royal. In 1799, living alone in a small apartment in Paris he succumbed to an untreated bladder infection. He was taken in and cared for by an old friend, Nicolas Duhamel, until his death on the 10th of June 1799. He was 60 years old.”

If in fact Saint-Georges was born in 1745, he was 54, not 60, when he died in 1799. The age of 60 is, however, consistent with the biography Le Nègre des Lumières (1999) by Alain Guédé, which states that Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges was born in 1739.

Three major biographies have been published since 2004: The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow (2006) by Gabriel Banat; Le chevalier de Saint-George (2004) by Claude Ribbe in French; and Joseph de Saint-George, le Chevalier Noir (The Black Chevalier) (2006) by Pierre Bardin. The authors of these works examined historical documents related to Saint-Georges, and all found that the authentic date of birth of Saint-Georges is Christmas Day, 1745. [Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

José Mauricio Nunes Garcia, Afro-Brazilian Composer, Born September 22, 1767

[Padre José Mauricio Nunes Garcia: Te Deum and Requiem in D Minor, Music of the Court of Dom João VI; UFR Chorus and Symphony Orchestra (2008)]

José Mauricio Nunes Garcia (1767-1830) is profiled at AfriClassical.com and was an Afro-Brazilian composer and organist who was the grandson of slaves. Antonio Campos Monteiro Neto is Webmaster of an extensive illustrated Brazilian Website in English and Portuguese with numerous audio samples, José Mauricio Nunes Garcia: http://www.geocities.com/nunes_garcia/JM_Eng.htm The Webmaster begins by noting that 240 works of music by José Mauricio Nunes Garcia have survived, and that early biographers estimate his total output at nearly twice that number.

Garcia wrote his earliest surviving work, “Tota pulchra Es Maria”, in 1783. Garcia joined the brotherhood of Saint Cecilia as a music teacher in 1784. He wrote “Litany for Our Lady in 4 voices and organ”, and by 1788 he was composing anthems and acapella works for church services. He gained fame in 1790 with his “Funeral Symphony”. Garcia was ordained as a priest in March, 1792. The chapel master died in 1797 and was succeeded by Garcia. The Royal Family took refuge in Brazil in March 1808, and clerics who accompanied them tried to remove Garcia from his position because of his race. Garcia was then told to concentrate on composition. His works that year included the “Missa Pastoril”, recorded in 1998 by Ensemble Turicum. Two masterpieces were the “Requiem Mass” and the “Officium for the Dead”.

A Royal wedding in 1817 included skilled musicians from Europe, giving Garcia the opportunity to compose “12 Divertimenti”. That was also the year in which Garcia composed the first Brazilian opera, “Le Due Gemelle” (“The Two Twins”), which was destroyed by fire in 1825. Monteiro Neto tells us that in December 1819 Garcia conducted the first Brazilian performance of Mozart's “Requiem” (K 626). His last work before he died on April 18, 1830 was the “St. Cecilia's Mass”.

South Africans Perform Music of Mokale Koapeng in 9 Cities of India, 22 Oct. - 13 Nov.

Mokale Koapeng of South Africa forwards a poster and concert schedule received from Berthine Van Schoor, South African cellist:
“After an unforgettable tour to India in Oct. 2007, the globally acclaimed musicians of South Africa are back. This time in a series of special 'South by South West” concerts, renowned cellist Berthine Van Schoor and pianist Albie Van Schalkwyk will weave their magic and make music like never before. The duo alongside Hanna van Niekerk will celebrate the 'Haydn and Mendelssohn Year 2009' by playing select compositions of these legendary 18^th century composers.”

Concert Schedule
"Programme: Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Ram, Koapeng, Saint-Saens, Poulenc, and more.”
Thursday 22 October: Mumbai
Saturday 24 October: Poona
Monday 26 October: Goa
Thursday 29 October: Cochin
Sunday 1 November: Mysore
Wednesday 4 November: Bangalore
Thursday 5 November and Friday 6 November: Chennai -
Monday 9 and Thursday 12 November: Kolkata
Friday 13 November: Delhi

Bereniece Jones is Artistic Director of Cascadia Concert Opera in Eugene, Oregon

[Cast: Top (left to right): Kevin Helppie, Don Kelley, Phillip Engdahl, Nicholas Larson
Second row (left to right): Derek Larson, Marieke Schuurs, Sandy Naishtat, Jan Kirkpatrick, Lauren Servias (accompanist), Webb Parker
Bottom row: Bereniece Jones, Nicole Knight, Catherine Olson]

Bereniece Jones signed the Guest Book at AfriClassical.com on Tuesday, September 22, 2009: “Thank you so much for your hard work and contribution to the scholarship of classical music! I and my students will be taking advantage of what you have offered here! From: Oregon Web Site: Cascadia Concert Opera.”

The company's website elaborates on its mission: “Cascadia Concert Opera is the creative impulse of Bereniece Jones, Marieke Schuurs and Jan Kirkpatrick.” “Cascadia Concert Opera is a non-profit, co-operative, summer season, concert opera company based in Eugene, Oregon. We are a professional ensemble made up of local opera singers who present entire operas in a more intimate, concert form and in English. CCO is committed to sharing opera as an art form in various venues throughout the Oregon/Washington Cascades area, to bring opera to new audiences and do our part to help keep opera's presence in our Pacific Northwest arts culture.”

Bereniece Jones, Artistic Director
“Currently, Bereniece is an intern for Eugene Opera and she is pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree with a supporting area of Arts Administration at the U of O where she is a Graduate Teaching Fellow.” Bereniece Jones co-founded Genesis Opera of Chicago in 2000. “Bereniece collaborated with the International Music Foundation to present opera and art song to the students of Chicago Public Schools. Bereniece also established the Chicago Opera Singers' Acting Project.”

Bereniece Jones Artistic Director Cascadia Concert Opera nonprofit co-op Summer Opera Guest Book

Maestro John McLaughlin Williams: 4 Roles on Dorian CD 'Quincy Porter: Complete Viola Works'

[John McLaughlin Williams]

AfriClassical learned of Eliesha Nelson's CD “Quincy Porter: Complete Viola Works” from the African American conductor John McLaughlin Williams, who won a Grammy in 2007 and was nominated for a Grammy in 2009 as well. We interviewed John on Sept. 19, 2009:
Can I start with where you were born?
I was actually born in Greensboro, North Carolina. That's a town where my grandparents lived, my Mom's parents. My grandfather was Dean of A & T, the university there, for some years.
Would that be Agricultural and Technical?
Exactly, yes. It's a famous school there actually.
Was that the same community in which you were raised then?
No, well I spent every Summer down there. My brothers and I always spent a good part of the Summers with our grandparents down there. So Greensboro actually turned out to be a second home. I went one entire year of high school in Greensboro, my last year. So that's why I graduated from Grimsley High, in Greensboro. All my other precollege education had taken place in Washington, D.C., which is where my parents lived. And that's where I began to study the violin.
Somehow you began poring over Baker's Biographical Dictionary at an unusually early age?
My parents both played piano. They had lots of music in their own library, and I began to peruse all these books they had, Baker's being among them. It was a fascinating tome for me.
I have also read that you got some ideas from that as to what some of the nuggets of valuable, overlooked music could be?
Well, absolutely. You read an article about someone, I think in the edition of Baker's I had it said Nikolai Myaskovsky, “eminent Russian composer.” Someone that warrants four pages in Baker's and is called “eminent” and has a works list that's a mile long, that says that there's something valuable here and it's worth investigating. You had to ask yourself why you weren't hearing that in the concert halls? Well that's a question I asked myself probably hundreds of times as I read Baker's through and through. It certainly did come in handy, and certainly will later, when the time came for me to propose some projects for Naxos and its American Classics Series. I really had no problem reaching back and throwing out a whole cadre of names of people to consider for a recording.
What instruments had you studied, John?
Well, I formally studied violin, though I played other things, and in high school I actually played trumpet and trombone, and I actually played quite a bit of French horn. But it's the piano that I really persistently pursued, though I never studied piano in the formal sense, I never had any piano lessons. I literally taught myself by studying Scarlatti sonatas! I used it as an antidote almost for the violin.
Has violin been your primary instrument then?
Yes, violin is my primary instrument. I always had lessons on the violin. My formal study and my major in college up until the Cleveland Institute was always Violin Performance.
Where did you go to college before the Cleveland Institute of Music?
Boston University and the New England Conservatory.
What emphasis did you have in your studies at those two schools?
Violin Performance, exclusively. It wasn't until much later that I decided to shift gears, when I went through the Cleveland Institute of Music and began to study conducting and composition.
So you went to the Cleveland Institute specifically to do graduate work in conducting?
Yes.
Is there any specific thing that had inspired you to get into the work of conducting?
Well, yes. I finally realized that if I was going to do any interesting programs, to play something that I really wanted to, that I'd have to be in a position to call the tune. The interesting thing is, now when I look back, my early training, the breadth of it, and taking in piano literature and all the literatures about composers and dictionaries, and training myself in piano, reading the scores and everything, I realize that in actuality, all these years I have been training myself to be a conductor! A time came when I realized I had gone as far as I could just being a violinist and it was time to really make a change.
I have to ask you about the graduate work; I understand that you did a project there on William Grant Still?
I didn't do a project there, but they did do every year a “Black Heritage Concert.” So when I came there they allowed me to program and conduct these concerts with the school symphony orchestra, which was a great experience in addition to all the other conducting experience I was getting at the school anyway, so they would put together these programs with specialized repertoire, and I did do quite a bit of Still. Things that hadn't had an airing in quite a while like the “Archaic Ritual” or his hybrid cantata/oratorio “And They Lynched Him On A Tree.” I did it each year for the three years I was there.
Did you feel that the music of Still and other Black composers was a significant part of the overlooked music?
Oh absolutely! I've been playing Still's music on the violin since I was a student the first time. So his neglect was not new to me and I'd always intended to do as much as I could to promote his larger works. Because you see Still was yet to hear any of his operas, so his true status as an American composer can't be reckoned until we hear the works that he thought the most of himself. Really, he was very seriously into composing operas. I think that's where he put his best efforts.
Would you regard “Troubled Island” then to be a significant achievement?
Oh, absolutely, there's no doubt about it! Aside from the historical novelty of it being the first opera by a Black composer to be done by a major opera company, the fact is, the music's terrific! It offers tremendous performance opportunities for the chorus, it will make a delightful staging, it's a really good story, and you can glean all these things from the faded historical recording that you can get from William Grant Still Music.
How many recordings have you made?
Oh gee...
You had one come out last month, I understand?
Well, I suppose, it either came out last month...
August 25 is what it says on Amazon, “Dancing on the Brink of the World”?
I wasn't sure about that because Cambria is also recently distributed by Naxos, so I wasn't sure if that was the official release or not. Including the “Quincy Porter” that's coming out in a week or so, there are eleven out all together.
It sounds like someone who should be a conductor!
(Laughs) That's what I keep telling myself!
Can I ask how you became interested in “The Quincy Porter Project”?
Well of course, working with Eliesha is a thing I've always wanted to do! But the producers are Marina and Victor Ledin. They are several-time Grammy nominees who have been in the business many years. They've produced Grammy-winning recordings for other people. I think the “Viola Concerto” particularly is probably the greatest concerto written for the viola. It's really something!
Well, you mentioned the leg work being done by Eliesha – apparently that included standing in Lake Erie?
(Laughs) You never know how things are going to work out. But it turned out beautifully!
I see that you did a harpsichord track on this CD?
Yes, I filled several roles on that CD. Of course I'm conducting the orchestra for the “Viola Concerto,” but I also am playing piano, harpsichord and violin on the other works.
That's almost something of a record!
You know it might be! I know there have been others who might conduct the orchestra and play violin or play piano, but I'm not sure if anyone has ever done piano, violin and harpsichord on a single CD? I don't think so. I'm going to call Guinness!
Is there anything you'd like to say about the works, either the earlier or the later ones?
First of all, he has a very recognizable voice, but it can be a subtle one sometimes. As I said before, his writing is highly considered and very judicious.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
It's amazing how many African American musicians are involved in classical music these days, but a lot of folks wouldn't hear about it if it weren't for AfriClassical!
Thank you, I very much appreciate your support!

John McLaughlin Williams
Quincy Porter
Complete Viola Works
Eliesha Nelson
African American Conductor & Musician
Guinness Book of World Records

Cleveland Orchestra Blog Highlights AfriClassical Interview With Violist Eliesha Nelson

[Quincy Porter, Complete Viola Works; Eliesha Nelson, viola; John McLaughlin Williams, violin, piano, harpsichord; Douglas Roth, harp; Northwest Sinfonia, John McLaughlin Williams, conductor; Dorian Recordings DSL 90911 (73:47) (2009)]

ClevelandOrchestraBlog.com
Friday, September 18, 2009
Cleveland Orchestra Viola Eliesha Nelson on growing up in Alaska and her recent recording

William J. Zick, of the blog AfriClassical, recently interviewed Cleveland Orchestra viola Eliesha Nelson about her recent recording of pieces by Quincy Porter, to be released on September 29. Ms. Nelson discusses growing up in Alaska, motherhood, and standing in Lake Erie for a photo shoot for the recording. Read part one and part two of his interview to get the whole story.

You can also listen to excerpts from the recording on her website.

Ms. Nelson grew up in North Pole, Alaska, and graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music, with a bachelor's degree in violin and a master's degree in viola. She also studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Philadelphia Inquirer: 'Black Pearl's first concert showcases talent, diversity'

[Jeri Lynne Johnson, Founder and Conductor, The Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra]

Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on Mon., September 21, 2009
By David Patrick Stearns
Inquirer Classical Music Critic
"Only a year ago, the arrival of any group of the caliber of Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, which gave its first full concert Saturday at the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater, would be greeted happily and without qualification. That's not just because music director/founder Jeri Lynne Johnson, the former assistant conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, is committed to ethnic diversity on numerous levels, but because it is clearly capable of an excellent Beethoven 5th. But with the Chamber and the Philadelphia Orchestra (among others) in financial trouble, you wondered: Can the philanthropic community afford a newcomer without slighting others? Or is Black Pearl's niche something we cannot afford not to have?

"The program of William Grant Still, Astor Piazzolla, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 played to a near-full house, its free tickets having been snapped up in three days, though some seats went empty, perhaps because the world does not always value what is free. Those who were there clapped heartily between movements - a healthy sign that new audiences are being reached - though much texting and Twittering could be observed during the music. Are such people truly being reached when so occupied? Beethoven does not allow texting - the music is too imposing - particularly performed with the 'sound and fury' Johnson mentioned in her program notes. The 40-player orchestra gave a tight, intense performance, not going into full cry until the exalted final movement.

"Elsewhere in the program, Still's 1953 Danzas de Panama was a hugely ingratiating, exotic discovery. Piazzolla's Contemplacion y Danza, a showcase for clarinetist Doris Hall-Gulati, is an eerie case of artistic synchronicity: It would seem to be an Argentine version of Copland's Clarinet Concerto except that the two works were written at exactly the same time, probably unbeknownst to each other. Aldemaro Romeo's 1975 Fuga con Pajarillo ended the first half of the program by creating a bridge to Beethoven, employing a Latin rethinking of the Bach fugue, which was part of Beethoven's foundation. The rhythmic liveliness of these works would be slighted by many conventional orchestras but felt effortless with Black Pearl, and not through any overt efforts from Johnson. She maintained a solid rhythmic framework and let the players handle it. In general, she is a poised, low-key presence delivering musical information from the shoulders up.

"As for the orchestra's mandate, Black Pearl is not necessarily doing anything that other organizations attempted. Its ranks have more ethnic diversity - 25 percent Hispanic, African American, and Arab." [Full Post] [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Jeri Lynne Johnson
Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra
Philadelphia Inquirer
David Patrick Stearns
First Concert
Talent & Diversity

Comments on AfriClassical Interview With Eliesha Nelson; Link To Naxos Interview

[Quincy Porter, Complete Viola Works; Eliesha Nelson, viola; John McLaughlin Williams, violin, piano, harpsichord; Douglas Roth, harp; Northwest Sinfonia, John McLaughlin Williams, conductor; Dorian Recordings DSL 90911 (73:47) (2009)]

Comments on the interview AfriClassical had with violist Eliesha Nelson, posted in two parts, have appeared on the blog, in email and on Eliesha's blog. We present a selection of remarks. Eliesha sent us two emails after the first post:
(1) Thanks Bill! It's a nice interview, very personable! Eliesha
(2) Hi Bill, It was nice talking with you the other day! I thought you might be interested in an interview I did with Naxos of America about the Porter album. You can see it at: http://naxosofamerica.blogspot.com. Hope you are well. Eliesha

ElieshaNelson.com/blog
New interview on AfriClassical Blog
I had an interesting chat not too long ago with Bill Zick, who runs the Africlassical blog. It focuses on Africans and those of the African diaspora throughout the world who play and compose classical music. I was happy he wanted to do an interview about the Quincy Porter Complete Viola Works recording. Please check it out...
Posted by Eliesha on September 16th, 2009

Response from Ruth Nelson on ElieshaNelson.com/blog September 17, 2009:
Thank You for the Bill Zick chat. It was most informative about you, the Quincy Porter Project, the composer, Porter. I await the recording. Ruth Nelson

John McLaughlin Williams (JMW) also commented twice by email:
(1) Just read it. Excellent interview! You ask very apposite questions. Looking forward to part 2.
Thanks! JMW
(2) Excellent job, Bill. I hope a lot of people will see it. JMW

Taylor V commented on AfriClassical:
What a fantastic interview! I always find it interesting when musicians and artists hail from seemingly remote places. Somehow it adds a bit of mystery. Congrats on releasing your album!

Terrence Wilson & Dr. William Chapman Nyaho Comment On 'Metropolis' CD Post

["Michael Daugherty Metropolis Symphony"; Terrence Wilson, pianist; Nashville Symphony; Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Naxos (2009)]

Yesterday AfriClassical posted “Favorably reviewed for his Rachmaninoff 3, Terrence Wilson Has Naxos CD Coming September 29.” Rashida Black, Founder/Executive Director of The Myrtle Hart Society, told us The Winston-Salem Journal had reviewed a concert Terrence had given with the Winston-Salem Symphony on Sunday. We also announced that on Sept. 29, 2009 Naxos will release a Michael Daugherty CD on which Terrence Wilson is pianist. One of the works is “Deus ex Machina”, written expressly for him and commissioned by a consortium of U.S. orchestras. Naxos says that work has three movements:
I. Fast Forward (Di andata veloce) - 07:40
II. Train of Tears – 14:17
III. Night Steam – 11:22

Today AfriClassical has received two comments on the post by email. The first came from the pianist himself:
Hello Bill,
Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Terrence Wilson

A second comment was addressed to both AfriClassical and Terrence Wilson by Dr. William Chapman Nyaho, an African American pianist, educator and of Ghanaian heritage who was born in Washington, D.C., but was raised in Ghana. He has recorded two CDs, "Senku: Piano Music by Composers of African Descent", MSR MS 1091 (2003); and "ASA: Piano Music by Composers of African Descent", MSR MS 1242 (2008). Dr. Nyaho has also compiled and edited a landmark 5-volume work of sheet music, published by Oxford University Press, "Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora". He is profiled at Nyaho.com and AfriClassical.com:
Greetings Terrence
Wonderful hearing about you. Congratulations on the upcoming release! I will be looking for it! Looking forward to hearing more about you.
best regards
Nyaho