Chicago
Sinfonietta - With Maestro Paul
Freeman
Harlem Symphony
Orchestra -
Imani
Winds, New York, N.Y. - Features five
outstanding, professional classical musicians of African-American and Latino
heritage. Formed in 1997, the woodwind quintet was created to extend the
boundaries of traditional woodwind quintet performance. Repertoire
presented by Imani Winds highlights the group's commitment to diversity by
featuring and championing works by African, Latin and American composers. Imani
Winds is a recent winner of the Artists International Annual New York Debut
Prize and was presented in a highly successful debut concert at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall on November 4, 2001.
(Recordings)
Marian
Anderson String Quartet,- This
is the first African American quartet to win a major competition in the
field of classical music. Devoted to community outreach, the quartet abides by
its
philosophy that classical music is literally meant for everyone. It has
performed in Alice Tully Hall, New York and the Kennedy Center, Washington,
D.C.; - as well as in soup kitchens and institutions for the criminally
insane. Following a performance at President Clinton's 1992 inauguration,
they performed live on television's Good Morning America.. They teach on a regular basis in inner city classrooms.
New Black Music Repertory Ensemble,-
Based
in Chicago and under the auspices of the Center for Black Music Research, this
professional musician ensemble gives concerts and presents
lecture-demonstrations that illustrate the vast range of music throughout the African
diaspora. This organization gives authentic performances in
many different styles, periods, and genres, and in groupings of instrumentalists
and singers ranging from solos and duets to string quartets, woodwind quintets,
and other ensembles of various size.
Opera North - Opera North, Inc.,
founded in 1974 as Opera Ebony, is a non profit performance based cultural
organization whose mission is to create performance opportunities to gifted
minority classical concert artists and to make opera available to more racially
diverse audiences. Selected, fully staged, opera productions
include: Aida, Carmen, The Marriage of Figaro, II Trovatore, La Boheme, Don
Pasquale, and Susannah.
Ritz Chamber
Players Society - The United States' first performance series comprised solely of accomplished musicians who span the
African diaspora, and who focus on the classical music genre. As the
Vision of founder and artistic director Terrance Patterson, the Ritz Chamber
Players include some of the most notable and accomplished musicians of our
time. To hear the Ritz Chamber Players perform is to hear history come to
life. From Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky to today’s leading
black composers Singleton, Walker, Perkinson and Bonds.
Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra
- This orchestra, based in Houston, Texas, was
organized in 1983 by Ann Lundy. Its mission is to share music with communities
that historically have had limited exposure to serious music. The 40-piece
orchestra is the nation's only African-American community orchestra dedicated to
performing works of African-American composers. Ms. Lundy serves as Music
Director. Since its founding, the orchestra has performed throughout Houston ,
including two concerts with the Houston Symphony, and it has toured throughout
Texas.
Soulful
Symphony - This symphony has established an unprecedented
partnership with the
Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra. It is a symphony orchestra comprised of 75
exceptionally talented African-American musicians. Founded in 2000 by
renowned composer, conductor, and pianist
Darin
Atwater, Soulful Symphony blends virtually every genre of music -
gospel, jazz, classical and more. In addition, it goes into communities
with
educational and outreach programs to share a message of diversity through music
- bringing African-American composers, artists, and musical genres to audiences
who might never have the chance to hear them.
Soweto String Quartet -
Videmus,
- A non-profit arts organization
committed to producing concerts, programs and recordings of the concert music of
African American, women and under-represented composers. Founded in 1986
by pianist Vivian Taylor, this group produced major concert events including the
1988 Boston premiere of the opera X-CERPTS by Anthony Davis and an ongoing
chamber music concert series in New England. Following the appointment of
its new Artistic Director, Louise Toppin, in October, 1997, Videmus moved its
base of operation to North Carolina. (Recordings)
The
Young Eight, - The Young Eight is a group of young African American
string players from The Juilliard School, The Boston Conservatory, Indiana
University, New England Conservatory of Music, and the North Carolina School of
the Arts. Founded in 2002 by artistic director Quinton I. Morris, the ensemble
is dedicated to exposing the community to the arts through classical music.
Buskaid
String Project,
South Africa - This project, founded in 1992 by British viola player Rosemary
Nalden, is in response to a BBC Today programme broadcast that highlighted
difficulties besetting a group of young Sowetan string players. Buskaid
has been able to assist and initiate a wide variety of township music projects.
Coalition of African
Americans in the Performing Arts, - This organization's vision is to
incorporate and provide a broad-based platform for artists, audiences,
presenters, corporations, educators, and the community in an effort to broaden
cultural outreach by fusing talent, providing resources, presenting
opportunities, creating forums and performances for and to culturally diverse
populations.
Coalition
of Harpists of African Descent (CHAD) -
Detroit Symphony Orchestra,- This
organization has taken a significant lead in lending visibility to Black composers through
the African-American Composer and Visiting Composer Programs. Together
with Music Director Naemi Jaarvi, it has sponsored an annual program to promote
African-American classical composers since 1989 - a first of its kind in the
nation.. Further information is available through the Symphony's education
department.
Eboni
Strings, - A string trio
founded
in 1981, it includes gifted, classically trained female musicians.
The group has performed extensively throughout the Philadelphia area -
including surrounding Pennsylvania and New Jersey communities.
Gateways Music Festival,- Rochester, N.Y.
- An eight-day classical music festival featuring African-American musicians
from throughout the United States in solo recitals, chamber music concerts,
symphonic concerts, and lecture demonstrations.
Myrtle Hart Organization
- An internet-based music research and educational resource regarding the
historical and contemporary accomplishments of classical musicians of color.
It provides a forum for classical musicians of color to discuss social and
economic challenges and triumphs faced within the larger classical community.
A primary goal is to promote musicians of color and make their presence more
accessible to the general public.
Sphinx Organization,
-
Offers young Black and Latino classical string players a
chance to compete, under the guidance of an internationally renowned panel of
judges, and to perform with established professional musicians in a competition
setting. The primary goal is to encourage, develop and recognize classical music
talent in the Black and Latino communities.