Prepare to hear the sounds of three very different African-American composers from different eras of classical music in the 20th century. On the album African-American Voices II, curated and conducted by Kellen Gray, there’s Margaret Bonds and the music of Ulysses Kay and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson. Kellen Gray is coming stateside next month (January) to work […]
There are two new very different albums that came out recently that could be on your holiday list. Composer and author Tina Davidson has released her latest album Hymn of the Universe. It’s a choral work performed by VocalEssence and based on the writings of Jesuit Priest and Scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. And The […]
The Austin Chamber Music Center has opened its application season for the 2024 Coltman Chamber Music Competition. They’re inviting exceptional ensembles from across the country to compete for cash prizes and performance opportunities. Artistic Director Michelle Schumann says some past winners of this competition have gone on to solid careers in the chamber music space, […]
With TikTok, Facebook and other social media platforms, it’s hard to imagine a time when the only way to see a documentary was on television. That is the world the late Christoper Nupen lived and worked in. Starting in the 1960’s Nupen’s company, Allegro Films, started with Double Concerto. Nupen continued to produce ground breaking […]
Two composers and musicians, George Lewis and Harald Kisiedu have gathered some of today’s composers and musicologists in a book of essays called Composing While Black. There are nine essays in the book that talk about their experiences composing, performing and being in a world that isn’t always welcoming to Black musicians, classical or otherwise. […]
We’re a little more than a month away from 2024 which means it’s time to make plans for the summer. Specifically summer music programs for young musicians. Equity Arc has partnered with at least 17 summer music programs to provide applications fees and scholarships for BIPOC musicians via their Common Application for Summer Study. Magee […]
Austin Soundwaves will be able to serve more students in several ways after receiving a grant from Carnegie Hall’s Play USA program. Their mission is to train student musicians across the greater Austin area and to provide diverse opportunities for learners of all ages and backgrounds. Last year they served more than 1,100 students through […]
Cliburn Competition Applications Are Open. Already you say? Didn’t the Cliburns just crown a winner, Yunchan Lim of South Korea? Well, yes but that was an entire year ago. Now they’re looking for the next winner for the Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2025. Jacques Marquis President and CEO of the Cliburn Competition […]
Rosalyn Aninyei is doing her best to create and maintain a world class orchestra in her home country of Nigeria. Florence Price is getting the festival treatment at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Blake-Anthony Johnson talks about his path to become the first African American to be the CEO of a world-renowned orchestra, the Chicago Sinfonietta. […]
How much do you really know about your favorite composer? You love the music, but how did the composer come to write a particular piece? Judith Lynn Stillman – the Artist-in-Residence and professor of music at Rhode Island College in East Providence answers that question and many more with her plays-within-a-concert. Her latest is Dvořák: […]