Judlyne Gibson – Page 2 – The Second Street Dreams Audio Network

Who won the largest single gift ever dedicated to one Jazz artist?

January 19, 2026/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

While we look forlornly at the holiday bills as we head into tax season, there is some joy this January.

The Grammy winning and nominated this year again Jazz pianist Sullivan Fortner is grateful and humble after winning the 300k Gilmore inaugural 2026 Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Award.

Donors have nearly flooded the Washington National Opera with funds after the opera company departed the Kennedy Center.

There are still many ways to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and many other African American leaders as we head into Black History Month.

And oh my as George Takei would say, there’s a Star Trek version of a Mozart opera.

Here’s a link to the League Of American Orchestras Student Leadership Council.

Opera’s Civil War

December 15, 2025/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

Which opera team are you on?

“Old” operas versus the “New” operas.

According to the book, Opera Wars by Caitlin Vincent, artistic directors and others at the nation’s opera companies are in conflict with themselves over staging the standard operas from the 18^th and 19^th centuries or producing those composed in the late 20^th and 21^st centuries.

There’s a new directory for musical instruments adapted for those would be musicians with disabilities. Other companies and engineers are developing adaptations too.

Apple Music Classical has made a surprising choice for it’s classical album of the year.

The Emerging Black Composers Project is back

December 7, 2025/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

While we still might be recovering from Thanksgiving, there’s the rest of the holidays to consider. Shopping for gifts, decorating the house while listening to music. Gifts have already come to Kyle Rivera, who won the Michael Morgan Prize for Black composers.

The Pegasus Opera Company in the UK is looking for partners to produce an opera about the Windrush Generation.

The Detroit Opera presents two little known and rarely staged operas.

The Miro Quartet debuts its first holiday album called Hearth.

The Opera Austin Festival and a Jane Austen Tribute

November 30, 2025/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

A new era of operas is emerging. Not that the popular ones are stuffy or just plain old. Composer Nathan Felix seeks new 21^st century operas at his second annual Opera Austin Festival. Another member of the Kanneh-Mason family of England, has released a new album. Pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason shows her love of Jane Austen with an album of music in honor of the 250^th anniversary of the novelist’s birth.

Native American Artists On the Indigenous Directory for Musical Storytelling

November 16, 2025/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

In observance of National Native American Heritage Month, White Snake Projects, has introduced the Indigenous Directory for Musical Storytelling. It names Native American musicians, artists, and crew members who are available for work. Some of them are Grammy award winners. The co-founder and Artistic Director of White Snake Projects, Cerise Lim Jacobs says Native American artists were initially reluctant to sign up, fearing it was a scam. That’s despite the Pulitzer Prize White Snake Projects won in 2011 for the opera Madam White Snake.

Links that may be of interest:

For The Love Of Samuel Coleridge Taylor

November 1, 2025/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

One man, a conductor, has such love for the music of British composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor (August 15, 1875 – September 1, 1912) that he made it his mission to find his manuscripts. The album, produced by conductor Michael Repper and performed by the National Philharmonic with violinist Curtis Stewart is a love note to Coleridge Taylor on the 150^th anniversary of his birth. Much of the music on the album titled Samuel Coleridge-Taylor are world-premiere studio recordings of his work. Some of them have not been performed for 100 years.