REPEATS 6/24: Not a Question of “If” My Son, But “When” – The Cautionary Love of a Black Mother in Driving While Black
A sudden, grievous red light cast the Greensboro Opera stage as cellist Cremaine Booker and percussionist David Verin churned up the sounds of undeniable frustration. Lead soprano and librettist, Roberta Gumbel, stumbled on...
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Lyrics by the Lake Uses Spoken Word, Poetry, Music, and More to Explore Resiliency, Humor Despite Difficulties
The kick-off for the second annual Lyrics by the Lake at Southeast Center for Contemporary Art was...
Read MoreGlenis Redmond: Telling Stories through Poetry is Masterclass for Students of all Ages
Storytelling is not unique to the South; it is a universal characteristic of us humans. Poets have been reciting since the ancient Greeks. But Southern storytelling is special, and Glenis Redmond’s poetry is masterful. She...
Read MoreUnited Strings of Color Offers Vigil with Poetry and Music
It’s been nearly 20 years since 9/11, in the wake of which there were memorial performances of Mozart’s Requiem literally around the world. And yet the slaughter on our own streets, in our own communities, and often at the hands of law enforcement officials, sworn to protect and defend us, has continued virtually unabated. Enter Margaret Partridge, former executive director of the Philharmonic Association, the umbrella organization that hosts a wide range of youth performing organizations, from beginner orchestras to full-fledged jazz bands. It was her idea, sparked by the death of violinist Elijah McClain in 2019, to create a program called United Strings of Color to offer enhanced opportunities to young musicians of color….
“O Blissful Loss of Self” – an Important Example of Underrepresented Programming
O Blissful Loss of Self: Explorations of Ecstasy in the Music and Poetry of Women is a multifaceted concert project from the flute and voice duo Anima Vox. Tadeu Coelho and Carole Ott Coelho were spurred by the Women’s...
Read MoreNC Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green’s The River Speaks of Thirst
The River Speaks of Thirst, by Jaki Shelton Green, with guests Shirlette Ammons, CJ Suitt, Jennifer Evans, and Nnenna Freelon. Released June 19, 2020. ℗ 2020 Soul City Sounds. Phil Venable, Executive Producer. Engineered,...
Read MoreWhen Imani Winds came to Raleigh over a decade ago, the ensemble had already been in business for ten years. As Joseph Robinson, former principal oboe of the NY Philharmonic, recently said, Imani has become the world’s...
Read MoreCiompi Quartet: “Summer Solstice: Stretch, Tap, Pull, Resonate”
It was a dark and stormy night, or fixing to get that way, as concertgoers gathered at Kirby Horton Hall at Sarah Duke Gardens, filling all the seats. The evening’s concert featured two married couples; the two members of...
Read MorePoetic Lyricism in Music: Leaves of Grass
Kenan Auditorium was graced by the soulful words of Walt Whitman reinvented in music by the Fred Hersch Ensemble. This was the last performance in the 2018-19 series UNCW Presents. The series has been bringing imaginative and...
Read MoreBlack Poetry Theatre’s “Flip the Script”: The Pros and Cons of Updating Classic Theatre
Black Poetry Theatre (BPT) presented a workshop reading of the new script Tend to Your Own House at The ArtsCenter as part of BPT’s “Flip the Script” programming. I’m afraid the evening exhibited staging...
Read More“Phenomenal Woman” Comes to NC
Maya Angelou joined Appalachian State University on a bitterly cold Tuesday in a joyous and exuberant artistic celebration of the work and life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The ASU Dance Ensemble, Gospel Choir, Symphony...
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