PRIZM Winter Chamber Music Festival: Shady Grove Presbyterian Church, Memphis, Dec. 28-31, 2009

[ABOVE: Legacy: Works For Bassoon By African-American Composers; Lecolion Washington, bassoon; Albany Troy1038 (2008) BELOW: The PRIZM Ensemble of Memphis]

Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma reviewed Legacy: Works For Bassoon By African-American Composers for the Myrtle Hart Society. The review was republished by AfriClassical on Sept. 3, 2008. Prof. De Lerma has alerted us to the fact that Lecolion Washington, Associate Professor of Bassoon at The University of Memphis, is also Founder and Director of the PRIZM Winter Chamber Music Festival of Memphis:

The Inaugural Season of the PRIZM Winter Chamber Music Festival will take place at Shady Grove Presbyterian Church from December 28-31, 2009
Student, adult amateur, and aspiring professional musicians are invited to join us for the 2009 PRIZM Winter Chamber Music Festival. Attendees will have daily opportunities to work closely with world-class musicians who reside in Memphis. Students will receive training in chamber music in particular, and they will also be given a foundation in the fundamentals of the collaborative arts process. http://www.prizmensemble.com

Please take a moment to join our mailing list! All students will have opportunities to perform and selected participants will be invited to perform chamber music with the festival faculty on an evening concert. Additional participants will serve with faculty as members of the PRIZM Festival Orchestra which will perform without a conductor, a model made popular by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

The PRIZM Ensemble of Memphis
Anthony Gilbert, Executive Director of the Eroica Ensemble
Dan Gilbert, violinist of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra
Dan Phillips, horn professor at The University of Memphis
Timothy Shiu, violin professor at the University of Memphis
Michelle Vigneau, oboe professor at the University of Memphis
Carina Washington, clarinetist of the PRIZM Ensemble
Lecolion Washington, bassoon professor at the University of Memphis
Lois Hobbs Yu, pianist of the PRIZM Ensemble

Evening concerts given by the PRIZM Ensemble of Memphis are kid-friendly and will take place at Shady Grove Presbyterian Church on December 28 and 31. Childcare is provided with a reservation. Please call (901) 364-6454 to reserve a space in the nursery. In an effort to introduce young people to classical music, children in the nursery will be invited to enjoy select pieces on each concert. Admission to all concerts during the fesitival is free with a suggested donation of $10. The New Year's Eve concert will be followed by a reception and a New Year's celebration at 9:30pm.

3 From University of Central Oklahoma Play on Naxos CD of William Grant Still

[William Grant Still Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5; Poem for Orchestra; Fort Smith Symphony; John Jeter, Conductor; Cover Art: Currier & Ives; Naxos 8.559603 (2009)]

Bronco2.uco.edu
UCO MUSICIANS PLAY ON NEW CLASSICAL CD
Dec. 16, 2009
Three musicians from the University of Central Oklahoma are among the performers who played on a recently released CD featuring symphonies by groundbreaking African-American composer William Grant Still. All three students, two of who have now graduated from UCO, performed with the Fort Smith Symphony in Arkansas when it recorded the CD last spring at The Arkansas Best Corporation Performing Arts Center.

"The CD of Still's Symphonies No. 4, No. 5 and 'Poem for Orchestra' was internationally released in late October and is available where classical music is sold. The Central musicians who played on the CD are Curtis Hansen, a senior who plays the viola and is majoring in music education; Timothy Hsu, who graduated with a bachelor's degree from the School of Music last December and is currently pursuing a master's degree in violin performance at the Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University; and Viktoria Matheson, who earned her master's degree in viola performance from Central last May and is teaching string fundamentals at the university as well as in a local school system.

"Hsu said what he enjoyed most was the opportunity to record such unique work. 'I had a blast. The music itself was very fun. It's not traditional. Very original writing,' Hsu said. Still was born in Mississippi in 1895, but grew up in Little Rock, Ark. 'He broke the black/white barrier in classical music,' said Becky Yates, director of marketing for the Fort Smith Symphony. 'Symphonies 4 and 5 had never been recorded so they were on the verge of being lost forever. It is very historically significant,' Yates said." "'I've become an avid fan of William Grant Still,' Hansen said." "The CD was produced by Naxos, which is based in Hong Kong and bills itself as the largest classical music label in the world." [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, where a complete Works List by Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma is found.]

Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges Born Dec. 25, 1745; New CD & MP3

[Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges Concertos pour violon; Orchestre de Chambre Bernard Thomas; Jean-Jacques Kantorow; Arion 68093 (1990)]

Joseph de Bologne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges was born on Dec. 25, 1745 on the island of Guadeloupe, which was then a French colony. He spent his early childhood on his father's plantation, where Nanon, his mother, was a slave. Joseph's father sent him to France to attend school at age 8, and the boy arrived in August, 1753. Joseph's parents joined him in France and lived with him in Paris. In October, 1756 the 13-year-old entered the fencing academy of Nicolas Texier de La Böessière, an elite boarding school. During six years of rigorous instruction in fencing and academic subjects, Joseph gained a reputation as one of France's leading fencers.

At 17, biographer Pierre Bardin tells us, he purchased the Office of Controller Ordinary of Wars, which entitled him to use the title “Le Chevalier.” Saint-Georges was an exceptional athlete who excelled in numerous outdoor activities, including riding, skating and swimming. His musical ability and education allowed him to master the harpsichord and violin, winning dedications of works from prominent composers, including Antonio Lolli in 1764 and François-Joseph Gossec in 1766.

Gossec founded Le Concert des amateurs, a prestigious ensemble of which Saint-Georges was first a violinist, then a concert master by 1771. Two years later he had begun composing and was chosen to succeed Gossec as conductor. From 1773-1775, he produced 8 violin concertos and 2 symphonies concertantes, according to the Works List compiled by Gabriel Banat. In 1775, only two years after Saint-Georges became Conductor, L'Almanach Musical [The Musical Almanac] wrote that the ensemble was "the best orchestra for symphonies in Paris and perhaps in Europe".

Saint-Georges applied for the position of Director of the Paris Opera, but some of the performers protested to the Queen that they could not take orders from “a mulatto”. The King yielded to the pressure to deny Saint-Georges the position, but the biographer Gabriel Banat has shown that an affair between a performer and a royal official may well have been the cause of the refusal. Saint-Georges was appointed director of the fashionable private theater of the Marquise de Montesson and was thus able to present a number of works written by himself and others. He reached his peak as a composer by 1778, helping to pioneer the string quartet and the symphony concertante in France.

Saint-Georges regularly played music with Queen Marie-Antoniette, a harpsichordist, at Versailles. The first orchestra went out of business in 1781 for financial reasons. Masons quickly organized a replacement, Le Concert de la Loge Olympique (Masonic Lodge Symphony). Saint-Georges was authorized to commission the six Paris Symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn. He and the Concert de la Loge Olympique premiered the symphonies, Nos. 82-87, in a triumphant series of concerts in 1787. Queen Marie-Antoniette attended. Symphony No. 85 is called The Queen because it was Her Majesty's favorite.

Saint-Georges joined the National Guard during the French Revolution, but was soon appointed Colonel of the unit known as the “Saint-Georges Legion.” It was comprised of 1,000 volunteers of color. He and his troops fought with honor and distinction, but he was imprisoned on false charges. In spite of an acquittal, he was never reinstated to the French Army. In 1997 he took on his last musical ensemble, the Circle of Harmony. He died of an untreated bladder ailment on June 10, 1799. The newspapers of France paid tribute to him upon his death.

His music was no longer played often for nearly two centuries after his death. A major revival has occurred in the CD era, and many of his works are now available. Recent recordings include Sandrine Chatron's 2009 CD of music for harp Le salon de musique de Marie-Antoinette, including the Sonata for harp and flute of Saint-Georges on the Ambroisie label; and the 2009 release of an MP3 audio download at ClassicsOnline.com of Natalie Hinderas Plays Sensuous Piano Music by Berg, Ravel, Ginastera, Rachmaninov, Liszt and Saint-Georges, originally an Orion LP, which includes the Adagio in F Minor (6:25) of Saint-Georges. Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges has yet to receive full recognition of his achievements in either mainstream History or the standard concert repertoire. (Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges is profiled at AfriClassical.com)

Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Natalie Hinderas
Adagio in F Minor
Sonata for Harp and Flute
Pierre Bardin

'Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Makes History in Natchez' With Music of William Grant Still

[William Grant Still; Photo is the sole property of William Grant Still Music, http://www.williamgrantstill.com and is used with permission.]

http://msorchestra.com:
Native Mississippian William Grant Still (1895-1978) was the first African American to conduct a major American symphony and the first African American composer to be performed by a major American symphony. He leaves an incredible legacy with his music, which is performed not only by orchestras, but also by chamber groups, choirs and soloists.

Music and the Arts: Still Our Only Future, a conference in tribute to William Grant Still, took place November 19-22, 2009 in Natchez with leaders and artists from all over the country. MSO was honored to present a concert on the opening night of this conference. The program included a diverse sample of Still's orchestral music, including the Mississippi premier of his Afro-American Symphony and the professional world premier of his A Deserted Plantation, written in 1933. The MSO String Quartet also premiered Still's String Quartets - The Folk Suites - in a workshop led by Music Educator Rufus Jones. The conference afforded MSO the opportunity to perform in Natchez for the first time in many years. [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, where a complete Works List by Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma is found.]

Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Natchez Concert Mississippi Premiere of Afro-American Symphony November 2009 Music and the Arts Still Our Only Future

John Malveaux: 'Lost Symphony About Slavery Reaches World Wide Web'

[Chorale Director Zanaida Robles runs through practice at Cal State Long Beach for the West Coast premiere of the Bicentennial Symphony. (Steven Georges / Staff Photographer, Long Beach Press-Telegram)]

AfriClassical has received a press release from John Malveaux of Long Beach California. John frequently contributes to the blog:

John Malveaux, founder of MusicUntold, http://www.MusicUNTOLD, tried for many years to convince a U.S. orchestra to perform Roy Harris' Symphony No. 14, also known as the "Bicentennial Symphony." The work is a powerful statement on U.S. History and slavery. It premiered at the Kennedy Center in 1976 in celebration of our nation's Bicentennial. The symphony was scheduled to be performed the next weekend in Dallas, Texas. The score was said to have been lost on a flight from Washington, DC to Dallas. No archival recording had been made at the Kennedy Center premiere.

John Malveaux concluded that the composition would never be performed again unless he reconstructed the score and organized a performance. Roy Harris believed the Emancipation was one of the great American achievements of our first 200 years and that was his inspiration for composing the "Bicentennial Symphony.” The chorus-driven composition includes passages from the Preamble to the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address, and the Emancipation Proclamation as well as original passages. The work celebrates overcoming a dark side of American history and walking into the light.

After 33 years without a performance, the West Coast premiere was staged as the centerpiece of the Long Beach JUNETEENTH Celebration co-sponsored by the City of Long Beach Parks, Recreation & Marine Department and the Long Beach Central Area Association, on Saturday June 13, 2009 at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. The performance was endorsed by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, a federal agency in Washington, DC affiliated with the Smithsonian. The performance began with the singing of the National Anthem and may be viewed in its entirety at http://www.youtube.com/johnmalveauxtv.
Bicentennial Symphony
Roy Harris
Emancipation of Slaves
MusicUNTOLD Orchestra & Chorus
Symphony on Slavery
YouTube Video

Comment by email
Greetings: I continue to update/build a website. I have posted an interview of me about Roy Harris on the home page of http://www.musicuntold.com. Thanks, John Malveaux

Reston Community Orchestra Performs 'A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.' Jan. 16

ArtsFairfax.org
“Performing Art
Date: Saturday, January 16, 2010 At 06:00 PM
Duration: 1 Hour
The Reston Community Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Dingwall Fleary, will present 'A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.' This special concert is the lead off event for Reston’s annual celebration and features Jasmine Muhammad – soprano, Beverly Cosham - song stylist, and MetroSingers, an outstanding choral ensemble based in suburban Maryland. The program includes Symphony No. 1 by Adolphus Hailstork, and The Bamboula (Rhapsodic Dance) by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, along with a medley of Duke Ellington tunes.

“The program will be held on Saturday, January 16, 2010, at 6:00 p.m. at the Reston Community Center, Hunters Woods Village Center, 2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston, Virginia. Admission to the concert is complimentary. Your generous free-will donations in support of the orchestra are greatly appreciated. For more information, visit http://www.restoncommunityorchestra.org or call (703) 860-0108.”

“In addition to the Reston Community Orchestra, Fleary is music director and conductor of the McLean Symphony. He is currently Director of Music and Organist at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Bethesda, Maryland. For five years, Mr. Fleary was a member of the Virginia Commission for the Arts and served as Vice Chairman during his last year. He is a member of the Friday Morning Music Club of Greater Washington and served for three seasons as music director of Wolf Trap's International Children's Festival. As a pianist, organist and harpsichordist, he enjoys a reputation as an excellent chamber musician, accompanist and coach.” [Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Duke Ellington and Adolphus C. Hailstork are profiled at AfriClassical.com]
Dingwall Fleary
Reston Community Orchestra
Jan. 16
Martin Luther King
Adolphus Hailstork
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

WFMT Airs Premiere of 'Tryptych' of Regina Harris Baiocchi Jan. 18, 2010

(Regina Harris Baiocchi)

AfriClassical has received an update from composer Regina Harris Baiocchi (b. 1956) about a premiere and a performance on a radio station in her home town of Chicago:
"Monday, 18 January 2010, CUBE Ensemble will premiere music they commissioned me to write titled triptych for clarinet, percussion, and 'cello; and my piano sonata, Liszten will also be performed live on WFMT 98.7 FM 'Live from Studio One.' I'll be in great company. Music by Hale Smith, Valerie Capers and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson will be featured also. You may stream along at:

http://www.wfmt.com/main.taf?p=4,5,8

Peace,
Regina

Regina Harris Baiocchi
African American Composer
WFMT Radio
Triptych Trio
Piano Sonata Liszten
Online Streaming

ContraCostaTimes.com: Music of African American Composers Jan. 17 & 24

(Margaret Bonds)

ContraCostaTimes.com
Performing Arts Concert Series: 'Art for Goodness' Sake'
Sunday, Jan 17 (2010) 3:00p at Eden United Church of Christ, Hayward, CA
The opening concert for the series will be held on Sunday, January 17, at 3pm and features American Lyric Tenor, Lee Steward, singing songs by Schubert, L. Boulanger, and H. T. Burleigh. Proceeds go to the Eden Medical Center Foundation. Admission price is $15. Eden UCC is located at 21455 Birch Street, near the corner of Mission Blvd. Price: $15.00 Phone: (510) 582-9533

A Concert in Tribute to African American Composers
Sunday, Jan 24 (2010) 3:00p to 5:00p at Performing Arts Center, Eastside College Preparatory School, East Palo Alto, CA
Solo piano, two-piano, cello-violin-piano ensemble, and the vocal performance of acclaimed soprano Yolanda Rhodes, performing the works of African American composers: Leslie Adams, Margaret Bonds, Charles Brown, Valerie Capers, Betty Jackson King, Undine Smith Moore, Florence B. Price, Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, Billie Holiday, Howard Swanson, and William Grant Still.
Price: suggested donations: $15 for adults/$5 for seniors and students
Phone: (650) 996-1801
Ticket proceeds to benefit the Music Department of the Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto. (H. Leslie Adams, Margaret Bonds, Henry T. Burleigh, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Florence B. Price and William Grant Still are profiled at AfriClassical.com)
Contra Costa Times
Eden Church
Art for Goodness Sake
African American Composers
Lee Steward
Yolanda Rhodes

Comment by email

Thanks, Bill, for this information on this concert. Really appreciate. H. Leslie Adams

'Out of the Margins' with Darryl Taylor Feb. 15, California State Long Beach

AfriClassical has learned from John Malveaux of a program at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 15, 2010 at California State University, Long Beach:

Out of the Margins
Darryl Taylor, countertenor
Lukas Swidzinski, piano
Darryl Taylor, countertenor sings a program of masterful selections by underappreciated African American composers. This lively program simultaneously emphasizes the legitimacy of African American song while embracing the countertenor voice, underscoring the relevance and vitality of the fach.

Program
The Bereaved Maid: George Walker
Death of Bessie Smith: Mark Fax
A Death Song: Howard Swanson
Joy: Swanson

Bronte Lieder (Emily Bronte): Robert Owen
The Old Stoic
Tell Me, Tell Me
Sleep brings no joy to me

Creole Girl: H. Leslie Adams
Sence you went away
Prayer
For you there is no song
Amazing Grace

Mary Wore Three Links of Chain: arr. George Walker
This may be my las’ time: arr. Robert Morris
Guide My Feet: arr. Jacqueline Hairston
(H. Leslie Adams and George Walker are profiled at AfriClassical.com)

Darryl Taylor
Out of the Margins
February 15
CSULB Campus
H. Leslie Adams
George Walker

Author's Query on Music of Composer Philippa Duke Schuyler (1931-1967)

[Philippa Duke Schuyler (1931-1967) in May 9, 1951 photo from Beinecke.library.yale.edu]

An author's query has been issued by John Malveaux, a frequent contributor to AfriClassical:
“Greetings: Please help locate any music composed by Philippa Schuyler. John Malveaux <

johnmalveaux@hotmail.com>”

An AfriClassical post on Philippa Duke Schuyler was published Feb. 10, 2009. It included a link to the following source:

Beinecke.library.yale.edu
“Known as 'the baby genius of the Harlem Renaissance,' Philippa Duke Schuyler was a child prodigy who became quite famous for her youthful accomplishments as a composer and pianist. By the time she was four years old, Schuyler was a skilled pianist; by five she was performing Mozart before audiences in concert halls. When she was six, she was touring to perform her own compositions; in 1940, at the age of eight, she performed for thousands of visitors at the New York World’s Fair. She was ten when she became the youngest member of the National Association of American Composers and Conductors.”