Harlem Renaissance and Beyond
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Orchestra 2001Na’Zir McFadden, conductorElizabeth Steiner, harp
Marie-Christine Delbeau, piano PROGRAMUndine Smith Moore — Afro-American Suite Duke Ellington — Single Petal of a Rose William Grant Still — Summerland George Walker — Lyric for Strings Valerie Coleman — Portraits of Langston Jessie Montgomery — Source Code |
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“Harlem Renaissance and Beyond” is part of Orchestra 2001’s new series, “JOURNEYS: Classical Music from the African Diaspora.” This first series spans over 80 years of music with ties to and from this amazing period of African-American cultural and intellectual revival including masterpieces by William Grant Still, Duke Ellington, Undine Smith Moore, and George Walker.
“Portraits of Langston” (2007) by Valerie Coleman (b. 1970), is based on Langston Hughes’ poetic memories of Harlem and Paris. The string ensemble for “Source Code” (2013) by Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981), explores the DNA source code for most African-American music – spirituals – with syntax and influences from Langston Hughes, choreographer Alvin Ailey, and songstress Ella Fitzgerald.
A rising musical star from Philadelphia, conductor Na’Zir McFadden, was the inaugural Apprentice Conductor of the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra, recently appointed as Assistant Conductor and Community Ambassador for the Detroit Symphony. Na’Zir will lead and host two different opportunities to hear “Harlem Renaissance and Beyond,” one in an alternative, Harlem-based business in Bridesburg (5 minutes away on I-95), the other at the African American Museum in Philadelphia.
THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022 | 7:30 PM
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FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022 | 7:30 PM |
Orchestra 2001 is offering free and affordable ticketing to remove barriers to attending these concerts. We ask that you please pay an amount that fits your budget!
"Harlem Renaissance and Beyond" is part of Orchestra 2001's JOURNEYS series, funded by the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation and the League of American Orchestras' Futures Fund. The American Hats Factory Showroom event is funded in part by PNC Arts Alive and William Penn Foundation as part of the EMERGING MARKETS concert series.