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in collaboration with the Harry T. Burleigh Society FROM SONG CAME SYMPHONY SCHOMBURG CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN BLACK CULTURE, NYC |
MAY 8, 2019 FROM SONG CAME SYMPHONY
In collaboration with the Harry T. Burleigh Society, Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra showcases the symphonic influence of Harry T. Burleigh, with performances by violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins.
READ MORE: FROM SONG CAME SYMPHONY REVIEWED BY NEW YORK CLASSICAL REVIEW
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The Harry T. Burleigh Society and Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra’s second collaboration showcased the symphonic influence of Harry T. Burleigh. Increasingly credited as influencing some of the spiritual-inspired thematic material for the “New World Symphony” and “American String Quartet” of Dvorak, Burleigh’s work also influenced other composers of the 20th century. The program included William Grant Still's "And They Lynched Him on a Tree,” spirituals by William Levi Dawson and Burleigh, as well as the New York City premiere of Florence Price’s Violin Concerto 2. This program was generously supported by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Women's Philharmonic Advocacy.
PROGRAM
HARRY T BURLEIGH/ANTONIN DVORAK Deep River/Symphony No. 9, Largo FLORENCE PRICE Violin Concerto No. 2, New York Premiere Kelly Hall-Tompkins, violin WILLIAM GRANT STILL And They Lynched Him On A Tree Lucia Bradford, contralto Lawrence Craig, narrator Brooklyn Ecumenical Choir Courtney Carey, chorus master With talks by musicologists A. Kori Hill, Marti Slaten and historian Lynne Foote |
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ALICE,
ALMA,
CLARA
Read about our recent concert
with featured artists
Dr. Ashley Jackson, harp &
Justine Aronson, soprano.
with featured artists
Dr. Ashley Jackson, harp &
Justine Aronson, soprano.
OCTOBER 12, 2018 ALICE, ALMA, CLARA
Soloists Dr. Ashley Jackson (harp) and Justine Aronson (soprano) join Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra for an evening of alternating meditation and intimate expression.
READ MORE: ALMA, ALICE, CLARA FEATURED ON OPERA WIRE
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Coltrane, Mahler & Schumann are common names to find on concert programs, but did you know these were not single-composer homes? Alice, Alma and Clara were, too, world-class composers. However, in the case of Alma and Clara they struggled against societal expectations of what a woman's compositions should be. With the exception of Clara's piano concerto, both composers were confined to art song, solo piano works and some chamber music. In order to amplify their songs, Urban Playground artistic director Thomas Cunningham has arranged the works for string orchestra, hoping to share a glimpse of what might have been had such restrictions on their writing not existed.
Alice, who later went by Turiyasangtananda (or Turiya), was a harp firebrand, bringing the instrument to the forefront of jazz as a bandleader and composer. After the passing of John, Turiya joined an Ashram in California. The works you'll hear were originally devised solely for members of her Ashram, but later released internationally. As part of our BLACK WOMEN FIRST initiative, the program began with Alice Coltrane's works. PROGRAM
ALICE Prema ALMA Five Songs CLARA Die gute Nacht Lorelei Op. 23, #4 & 5 Op. 13, Ich Stand in Dunklen Träumen ALICE Radhe-Shyam |
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LINEAGE & HERITAGE III
On the Souls of Black Folk: S. Coleridge Taylor and Harry T. Burleigh
LINEAGE & HERITAGE II
Evan Williams, Jennifer Jolley & S. Coleridge Taylor
THIS, TOO, MUST BE HEARD
20/1st century female composers
WARP TRIO AND AMERICANA
produced in collaboration with groupmuse
LINEAGE & HERITAGE
9x9
nine premieres for nine musicians
