New Albums from Pratt, Dworkin and Malakai and a Latinx Opera Workshop

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In this month of September, your ears will be filled with the sound of STILLPOINT.  It’s Awadagin Pratt’s latest album.  He’s performing music he commissioned from several composers of color. 

You can hear the life and times of Aaron P. Dworkin’s in his debut spoken word album The Poetjournalist. 

Malakai Bayoh didn’t win Britian’s Got Talent 2023. The 14-year-old DID win a record deal and his debut album Golden is out and about.

Opportunities abound all over the BIPOC spectrum. 

Austin Opera has a program for Latinx creatives. 

There’s a leadership opportunity at the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. 

South Africa’s National Arts Festival is calling for creatives of all types for their 2024 event. 

Composers might want to write what could become the Best Symphonia of the Year. 

The National Opera House Is Coming Together.

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There’s good news about the progress of the once dilapidated National Opera House in Pittsburgh.

Executive Director Jonnet Solomon says they are still in need of financial help and volunteer personnel.

And We Honor Andre Watts

We honor the life and career of Pianist Andre Watts with good friend and colleague Norman Krieger.

There’s a new debut album from Sphinx Virtuosi called Songs for Our Times. 

Bass player Joseph Conyers is making history again with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Conductor Jonathon Heyward has picked up another job.

The Hastings International Piano Competition in England is looking for applicants.  So is the Sphinx Competition.  There’s also a competition for UK only groups called the Music and Drama Education awards. 

DEATH GRIEF HEALING

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Grief is a heavy burden to carry.  Composer Curtis Stewart has composed music expressing the devastation he feels over his mother’s death. He calls the album OF LOVE and has released a video for one of the tracks DRIFT TO WAKE.

There’s an update on Ralph Yarl, the 16 year old who was shot twice when he went to the wrong house.

We say goodbye to Soprano Grace Bumbry who went beyond the white curtain.

Performances coming up this month include the Harlem Chamber Players presents, Harlem Songfest 2.  The opera SHE WHO DARED from the American Lyric Theater. 

The Dallas Symphony is looking for applicants for its first Diversity Fellowship Program.  Afros and Audio Podcast Festival is calling for speaker submissions. 

The Lewis Prize for Music wants organizations investing in music programs for young people to apply for a grant.

THE FIRST EVER (?) BOOK OF CHORAL MUSIC ALL WRITTEN BY BLACK COMPOSERS

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In what may be a first, there’s The Oxford Book of Choral Music by Black Composers. It was edited and curated by conductor, educator, and composer Marques L. A. Garrett.  Listen to the music here. 

Pamela Dawson of Desoto High School in Texas revels in her win as the 2023 Grammy Music Educator of the Year.

Apply to enter the J.S. Bach Competition.

Composers might want to enter the American Composers Forum Spring National Call.

The Black British Classical Foundation is celebrating the coronation of King Charles III with a concert. 

A DAY OF SOLIDARITY

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What are you doing on Monday, May 9th and perhaps thereafter? The newly formed Black Orchestral Network is calling for a Day Of Solidarity in their quest to get more orchestras to hire more Black musicians. Alexander Laing says they will also be looking to make other changes to American orchestras.

If you choose to support other BIPOC classical music groups, here’s a link that will get you started: The Lift Music Fund.

Castle Of Our Skins Celebrates Its First Decade

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10 years is a long time but it seems like it was just yesterday for Ashleigh Gordon of Castle of Our Skins. The organization is celebrating its first decade with a fundraiser for the National Negro Opera Company House and other events. There’s also tributes to George Floyd from the Colour Of Music Festival and Memorial Day remembrances from the Air Force.

The Black Fiddlers of Monticello

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When we think of Black people in 19th century America, violin music doesn’t often come to mind. David McCormick, the Executive Director of Early Music America researched Monticello’s Black Fiddlers and found a tome of research on them which included the Black male children of our third president, Thomas Jefferson with their enslaved mother Sally Hemings. There is even a documentary about it. Also on the show, pianist and producer Lara Downes talking about her difficulty in coming up with a Juneteenth playlist. Your Classical also posted one for the nation’s latest federal holiday.

Angel Joy Blue vs Blackface

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Blackface. A word and an action that draws gasps and anger and in some cases, a shrug. It motivated one international opera singer to back away from performing a cherished role. Her name is Angel Joy Blue. The interview here on this August 2022 edition of Classical Music In Color took place BEFORE her withdrawal from Arena di Verona. It does offer a glimpse of the woman who would make this decision.

Other items on the show:

The Colour Of Music Festival and the Black Pearl Orchestra receive some significant funding.

The Baltimore Symphony announces a new hire.