HighNotes Links

Hello again from the Evanston Symphony! It’s hard to believe we’re already a month into 2021 with Inauguration Day and our first (but probably not our last) major snowstorm behind us! This February 2021 issue of HighNotes focuses on African-American composers and musicians in the world of classical music, which is more our bailiwick that jazz or blues. We do, however, take a trip down 1950s Rock & Roll Memory Lane in “Bygones” - but we won’t twist and shout… (Actually, we can still shout, but twisting is a skill that disappeared years ago!) Here’s our usual note about YouTube: It’s a very good service, but if you can’t “cut and paste” a link, it’s very difficult to try to enter those long addresses one number/letter at a time. We’ll try to give a more general search suggestion at the beginning of each topic. By the way, some of these pieces on YouTube start out with an ad or – even more irritating – are interrupted by an ad. Just give it five seconds and click on “Skip Ad” in the lower right-hand corner of the ad. We hope to see you back here in March for “An Armchair Traveler’s Musical Trip Around the World” – or something along those lines! George Walker: Lyric for Strings – Easy search: “Evanston Symphony Walker Lyric”” • Maestro Lawrence Eckerling conducting this lovely piece by George Walker at our last pre-pandemic concert on February 2, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8zUWIEX_RU For more of Walker’s music search “George Walker” YouTube. Here’s a link for his Lilacs, the work for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1996. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ScgQUzMqhg

William Grant Still – Easy search: “William Grant Still” • His Symphony No. 1 in A flat major – “Afro-American” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hzFcm6HCeI There are lots more offerings of Still’s music, so you can take your pick!

Tage Larsen, CSO Trumpeter – Easy search: “Tage Larsen Trumpet”. • Here’s a link to Tage in rehearsal with a DePaul group before their performance at Orchestra Hall. There are also some other videos of Tage with the rest of the CSO trumpet section and some interesting discussions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-SY9sCOGEg

Ashley Mayeux, Ballerina – Easy search: “Ashley Mayeux Dancer.” Lots of great videos!

Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate – Easy Search: “Amanda Gorman”

Wow! There are loads of videos from Inauguration Day. We stopped counting at 30! Just search her name on YouTube and also on . There’s a lot you can find out about this most impressive young woman poet!

ESO HighNotes Links 1 of 2 Vol.1, No.8: Feb2021 The Quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend, Alabama – Easy Search: “Gee’s Bend.” Again, there are so many choices of videos where you can hear the women’s voices as they talk about their work, their lives growing up, their quilting, and their singing

You can also Google “Souls Grown Deep Foundation,” which will take you to their website. Click on “Artists” and then on “Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers.” As you scroll down, there are well over 100 quiltmakers featured. You can click on the picture of a quilt, which will take you to a page with the quiltmaker’s other work and a print interview with her. Wonderful proud and poignant voices.

The Painted Houses of Tiébélé, Burkina Faso – Easy search: “Tiebele Burkina Faso.” (You don’t have to worry about the French accent marks. French is the common national language in Burkina Faso, but the Internet doesn’t demand the marks!) Again, a wealth of videos to choose from, some in French, some in English, and at least one in Chinese!

You can also Google “Tiebele, Burkina Faso,” which will take you to a number of websites and travel articles. If you just want to see photos, Google “”images tiebele, burkina faso.” And, if you’re interested in the history of this land-locked West African country, you can do a search on Wikipedia, which will also have a list of reference books. There’s always the library, too! Even in the pandemic there are people who will answer the phone when you call if they can!

1950s Rock & Roll – OK, here you’re on your own! We had a great time rocking and rolling our way through the 1950s and early ‘60s on Google and YouTube, but you no doubt have your own favorites. Just go to YouTube or Google and put in the name of a favorite song or artist from way-back-when, then sit back and enjoy yourself! By the way, The Supremes and Aretha are absent from the “Bygones” page because they didn’t come along until later in the 1960s, long after poodle skirts, bobby socks and saddle shoes had faded away and tie-dye was on the rise.

And just because we ran out of space in this issue of HighNotes, we’ll leave you with a few of the funnies that we didn’t have room for.

Stay safe, friends!

ESO HighNotes Links 2 of 2 Vol.1, No.8: Feb2021