Tag Archive for: Judlyne Lilly Gibson

Harpist Ashley Jackson, DEI Takes A Hit and Two Shows You Don’t Want To Miss.

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To steal a phrase from a big budget movie franchise: 

There is a disturbance in the force.

Many if not all of DEI programs have been cut by the federal government.

Harpist Ashley Jackson has a new album that will soothe your soul.

The Equity Arc Wind Symphony and Words and Music of Black America are two shows you need to see and hear. 

A couple of competitions are waiting for your application.

The Thomas Zajac Memorial Scholarship

Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition

Musical Instruments Are Instrumental In A Child’s Development

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There is something to be said for “togetherness” .

It’s the running theme in a recent study about the positive effects on young people who play in a classical music ensemble or orchestra. 

Dr. Anna Bussu of Edge Hill University near Liverpool, England, is a psychologist and a senior Lecturer in Criminal Justice. She conducted the study called:  Playing music together: Exploring the impact of a classical music ensemble on adolescent’s life skills self-perception. 

This paper explored the effectiveness of ensemble performance on the development of an adolescent’s life skills. 

Finding Peace Amid The Storm

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A Cancer diagnosis changes everything. 

Pianist Yoko Misumi knows that first hand, which led to the album she and her colleague from the Greenwich Trio, cellist Heather Tuach curated and produced.  It’s called IN THE MIRROR, an emotional journey born of reflection, healing, and hope.

There are original works and new arrangements by 11 composers, all women on the album.  They include Jennifer Higdon, Dobrinka Tabakova and Jessie Montgomery. 

Cecile and Clara performed by Anna

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Women’s History Month has brought forth an album of classical music featuring two of the most famous women composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. 

Their music is performed by pianist Anna Shelest in the album she produced called Donna Voce, Volume 3: Clara Schumann & Cécile Chaminade.  

She even got her husband involved.  Dmitri Shelest performs with his wife on Chaminade’s Pièces Romantiques, Op. 55 for piano four hands.

Volumes 1 and 2 feature the works of Fanny Mendelssohn and Amy Beach.

This album is one of the last supported by the recently closed The Sorel Organization 

Loving v. Virginia.  An Opera Out of History And On to the Stage

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A new opera is about to premiere in Virginia called Loving v. Virginia.  It tells the true story of an interracial couple who had to go to the Supreme Court to legalize their marriage.  Two well-known opera singers were asked to compose and direct. Bass Baritone Damien Geter composed the music and Mezzo Soprano Denyce Graves is directing. 

Also on this March 2025 edition of Classical Music In Color.  The heartbreaking story of a music camp for BIPOC high school musicians that was shut down by the federal government. 

Here are the links to the competitions mentioned in the show.

The Audition Intensive from Sphinx

Video Biennial Open Call

Early Music America Engagement Awards

The La Maestra International Competition for Women Conductors

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Applications are now open for the La Maestra International Competition for Women Conductors. It takes place in Paris every two years.  It is a competition that is fast becoming THE place where women conductors can be seen, heard, and hired. Even for those who don’t win or place, there’s an Academy co-directed by the Philharmonie de Paris and the Paris Mozart Orchestra led by Claire Gibault and Olivier Mantei.

Claire Gibault

The percentage of women conductors has increased worldwide to 8%. A big increase considering it was only 4.3% in 2018. It still wasn’t enough for Gibault. She started the competition to increase the visibility of women conductors and to showcase their talent.

The competition is also the subject of a documentary Maestra, now streaming on Netflix.

Meet The Composers Of Some Of Your Favorite Video Games

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If you are a gamer who likes to listen to the music of video games, this event is for you. 

POWER UP:  THE ART OF VIDEO GAME MUSIC presented by Density 5-1-2 of Austin, is covering all of the bases when it comes to composing and recording music for video games.

Perhaps the music for the video games Walkabout Mini Golf by Mighty Coconut or The (evil) Baby in Yellow composed by Virginia Leo or the ABZÛ score by Austin Wintory captivates you as a player and as a fan of orchestral music.

Artistic Director Jacob Aaron Schnitzer says the event shows that Video game music has emerged as a gateway to symphonic music which draws younger audiences to orchestral performances.

Power Up:  The Art of Video Game Music takes place Friday, March 14th during SXSW at KMFA.

The String Quartet Smackdown

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After a two year break, Golden Hornet’s String Quartet Smackdown is on again.  This is the competition that uses the bracket system of March Madness with a live audience to determine the winner. Among the 16 finalists is Evan Blaché of Cedar Park, who won the competition two years ago. 

The String Quartet Smackdown is Saturday, February 22nd at The Baker Center.

That same weekend, the Austin Symphony Orchestra gives a nod to Black History Month with its American Splendor concert.  It features Duke Ellington and Luther Henderson’s evocative Three Black Kings,  the world premiere of Sam Lipman’s poignant Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra. Also on program, Leonard Bernstein’s vibrant On the Town: Three Dance Episodes and George Gershwin’s iconic An American in Paris

LIFT EVERY VOICE FOR JULIA PERRY

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February 2025 brings us Black History Month and the 125th anniversary of the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice And Sing. There are many arrangements of this uplifting song including two acapella versions featured in this month’s podcast. There’s also celebrations at Lift Every Voice and Sing Park in Florida.

Composer Julia Perry (1924 – 1979) has finally found a copyright holder and a distributor of her music. After a long legal tussle, a non-profit called Vidamus has the copyright and Boosey and Hawks will distribute it.

Watch with joy as Karen Slack and Michelle Cann accept their Grammy. 

Julia Perry’s Catalog of Music Is Finally Available  

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African-American composer Julia Perry died in 1979 without a will, after an illustrious career in classical music that started in the 1950’s. Then she and her works fell into obscurity. Nearly 50 decades later, Perry’s music is back in part because it is finally legally available for musicians to perform.

That’s thanks to Dr. Louise Toppin, the Director of Vidamus, a group promoting concert works by under-presented composers. Vidamus has joined with Boosey and Hawkes, to distribute Perry’s music.  Now they’re looking for more of her “lost” compositions.