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May 12, 2021, SOME BLACK COMPOSERS 2 DMV COMPOSERS May 12, 2021, SOME BLACK COMPOSERS 2 DMV COMPOSERS c GEORGE THEOPHILUS WALKER June 27, 1922-Aug. 23, 2018 Lyric for Strings played by the BBC Prom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZLLVacAT6Y Walker’s music was firmly rooted in the modern classical tradition, but also drew from African-American spirituals and jazz. His nearly 100 compositions range broadly, from intricately orchestrated symphonic works and concertos to intimate songs and solo piano pieces. “His music is always characterized by a great sense of dignity, which is how he always comported himself,” says composer Jeffrey Mumford, who, as a music professor at Lorain County Community College in Ohio, uses examples of Walker’s music in his classes. Lyric for Strings, which has become his most often-performed work. We will listen to the BBC Prom perform this work under Kevin John Edusei. Jeffrey Mumford born June 22, 1955 Insight into his composition “Let Us Breathe” 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRaGuuB-NJc “Let Us Breathe” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4NeMD_XPHc Jeffrey Mumford (born June 22, 1955) is a U.S. composer who teaches music at Lorain County Community College. Mumford was born in Washington, D.C., and holds degrees from the University of California, Irvine (B.A., 1977) and the University of California, San Diego (M.A., 1981). Dr. ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK Manhattan School of Music Alumni Awards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd6TE3mVXMI “I Will Life Up Mine Eyes”, Mov’t III Alleluia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gepfsA70TUE “Shout for Joy” excerpt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxwSUUks7v4 Adolphus Hailstork (born Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork III, April 17, 1941) is a Black American composer and educator. He was born in Rochester, New York and grew up in Albany, New York, where he studied violin, piano, organ, and voice. He currently resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is Professor of Music and Eminent Scholar at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Has composed: 3 Operas, 7 Piano works, 11 solo instrumental works, 12 Choral & orchestral works, 14 orchestral works, 30 chamber works. Hailstork is of African American ancestry and his works blend musical ideas from both the African American and European traditions. His newest works include THE WORLD CALLED (based on Rita Dove’s poem TESTIMONIAL), a work for soprano, chorus and orchestra commis- sioned by the Oratorio Society of Virginia (premiered in May 2018) and STILL HOLDING ON (February 2019) an orchestra work commissioned and premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is currently working on his Fourth Symphony, and A KNEE ON A NECK (tribute to George Floyd) for chorus and orchestra. Dr. ANWAR GABRIEL MYRON OTTLEY Born November 18, 1984 “Sabbath Hymn” sung by the Aeolian Alumni https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s7SQUjUnqk “Old Rugged Cross” arr. by Myron S. Ottley, sung by Anwar Ottley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRAS8hOsb0s “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” arr. by Anwar Ottley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0qPss9H3c0 From a very young age Anwar Ottley has been immersed in the field of music as he was born into a musical family. As a child, he attended the Ottley Music School, founded 48 years ago by his aunt, Nevilla E. Ottley. Ladies and Gentlemen, let us welcome to our class today Dr. Anwar Ottley, my nephew, pastor and educator. He pursued graduate studies at Andrews University where he received his Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting with a secondary emphasis in Music Theory and Composition. Anwar is an active composer and arranger published by GIA Publications. He currently serves as the Pastor of Worship at the Takoma Park Seventh- day Adventist Church located in Takoma Park, Maryland, and as Assistant Professor/Director of Choral Activities at WAU. Dr. Ottley completed coursework towards a Doctor of Worship Studies degree in 2020 at Liberty University. EVELYN SIMPSON-CURENTON born 1953. My Faith Has Found Refuge in You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmK8HheqdlY “O Glory” sung by Kathleen Battle and Metropolitan Opera Chorus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS8ELJauF5E Evelyn-Simpson Curenton was a child prodigy. She played the piano at the age of two. She began piano lessons at age five. When she was seven years old she began to perform with the Singing Simpsons of Philadelphia, a family group, After graduating from Germantown High School she earned a B.M., Music Education and Voice from Temple University. She has been commissioned to write works for the American Guild of Organists, George Shirley, Duke Ellington, and her sisters Joy Simpson and Marietta Simpson; arranged music for the Carnegie Hall Concert of Spirituals for Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, and the Porgy and Bess Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera, and has performed with musical organizations such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia's National Opera Ebony (later renamed Opera North). Based in the Washington, D.C., area, Evelyn Simpson-Curenton is Music Director of the Washington Performing Arts Society's Men and Women of the Gospel and an associate of the Smithsonian Institution. She has given lectures and participated in workshops on early 18th-century black religious music and the music of African-Americans during the Civil Rights era. Ladies and Gentlemen, the famed Evelyn Simpson-Curenton is with us today. Let us welcome her. .
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