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Dearest Readers,

This month, we have received a "challenge grant." The donations received in the month of May will be matched dollar for dollar. Your gifts help to support this publication and future MHS initiatives including our first composer in residence, deVon R. Gray, whose music can be heard on our myspace.com/myrtlehartsociety page. 

Thanks to everyone who filled out the survey last month. The survey confirmed certain speculations about the community interested in this newsletter as much as it surprised with its differences. Based on your comments, MHS will make a number of changes in the upcoming months.

Faithfully,
Rashida N. Black

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On Friday, his Myspace page said that he was "deciphering Coleridge-Taylor's piano music." 24 year-old French Beninese Francis Paraïso began his piano studies at age 12 at the 'Conservatoire National de Région d'Angers'. Three years later, he began to compose for his instrument. In 2001, he obtained his final degrees in piano, chamber music, music theory and musical analysis. He obtained the same degrees in 2004 in a National Music School in Paris.

After his French high school diploma, Francis enrolled in The University of Musicology where he obtained his 'Maîtrise' of Musicology (fourth year of university study) in 2005. By 2006, he had earned his 'DESS' (fifth year of university studies in Direction and Management of Music). In 2007, Francis earned the pianist accompanist degree. Often concertizing his own piano works and chamber music concerts, he is also the accompanist for the opera and the orchestra and teaches piano in a national music school.

Francis Paraïso's works contain piano pieces, chamber music, amusical, duos voice/piano. His favorite composer is César Frank and among his influences are French composers such as Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Jean Cras, Paul Le Flem, Gabriel Fauré, Guy Ropartz, Louis Vierne, Charles Koechlin, Edvard Grieg, Joaquin Turina, Albert Roussel, Gabriel Dupont, Marcel Labey, Florent Schmitt.

Francis favors impressionist music adding, "I think with Ravel, Debussy and many others, it's rather simple to travel from "classic (impressionism)" to "jazz" (early style). This a very colorful music full of misty landscapes, tumultuous oceans, soft winds and luminous tomorrows. It has touched my heart since the first note. In some way, it's by this style that I express in my music pieces all my 'Africanity' (not sure about the spelling in English...)" He performs in France. If you are in France or will visit this month, support Francis Paraïso.

Tuesday, May 6 at 8:30PM in Angers (Pays de la Loire) at the "Grand Théâtre." Program--Gershwin: An American in Paris for two pianos; Fessard: Piece for Two pianos and percussions; Milaud: Scaramouche for two pianos; Georges Antheil: Ballet mécanique for four pianos and percussions.

Saturday, May 10 at 8:30PM, Francis Paraïso will perform his own works at Juigné sur Loire  Rabelais Festival. Program--Turina: piano quartet op 67; Fauré: piano quartet op 15; Bach: suites for violin solo and cello solo and Paraïso: piano solo pieces

Friday, May 30 at 8:30PM in Angers at "Grand Théâtre." Program--Gershwin: Rhaspody in Blue for piano and wind orchestra among others.

"I figure, if we're going to do it, then let's do something that enriches us as people," Baker says. "Let's explore new music. I'm not looking for the same experience twice in a row."

~Renee Baker, Founding member FAQtet Ensemble 

Demarre McGill, currently principal flutist of the San Diego Symphony (he was principal of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and The Florida Orchestra prior),  is a graduate of the Curtis Institute and Juilliard School with his bachelors and masters respectively. He is the 2003 winner of the Avery Fischer Career Grant, an award bestowed on those with the musical brilliance to adjourn into solo careers. He has performed concerti with the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, Winston-Salem Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and the Juilliard Symphony and is a member of the Ritz Chamber Players.

Demarre is also the co-artistic director of Art of Élan, a chamber music organization that "aims to enrich the cultural life of San Diego by presenting and producing chamber music concerts in an artistically stimulating and invigorating environment." The concerts are thematic-each pays homage to a different culture and features a revolving roster of performers from various ethnic backgrounds. The series concludes with an all-Asian program inspired by Masami Teraoka's Los Angeles Sushi Series-Tai and Red Sky (1982). Many of Mr. Teraoka's paintings feature the intersection of his native Japanese culture and American culture. Similarly, Art of Élan's programming combines various cultures all which meet at the crossroads of classical music. Even the venue in which the concerts take place, the Hibben Gallery at the San Diego Museum of Art, compliments the music. The walls are adorned with artworks based on an idea, historical period, or style--classical.  

All concerts take place on Tuesday, May 20 from 7-8 PM without intermission in the Hibben Gallery at the San Diego Museum of Art. This month's Asian Program includes "Three Songs for Pipa and Cello," by Bright Sheng; "Air," by Toru Takemitsu for solo flute; "Plum Blossoms," by Shi-Hui Chen; "Reflection of the Moon in the Er-Quan Spring," by Yan-Jun Hua, arranged by Zu-Quiang Wu; "Shepherd's Song," a Mongolian Folk Song, arranged by Yi-Wen Jiang; "Harvest Celebration," by Jing-Ping Zhang, arranged by Yi-Wen Jiang and Korean Folk Song, "Arirang," arranged by Geoffrey Keezer. Tickets: $20 members of the Museum of Art/$25 nonmembers/$10 students. Contact: www.ticketmaster.com, or call (619) 696-1969.

Who is Nathaniel Ayres: a once talented classical violinist whose life fell apart as a young adult while attending Juilliard; or, just another black man suffering from severe schizophrenia and homelessness commonly found on our city streets?

The answer is "both"; something uncovered by Los Angeles Times journalist Steve Lopez who wrote  human interest columns about Mr. Ayres.  These columns connected with many readers including state legislatures. Now, Mr. Ayres' story has been published in a book entitled The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music. Through their conversations, Lopez writes about homelessness in Los Angeles, the housing crisis in America, economic disparities and mental illness.

The collection of articles began with journalist Lopez's encounter with and subsequent interest in  hearing this street musician and recognizing a level of musical talent.  Over many months, this relationship grew into a human bond and connection that is all too uncommon in today's society. This interaction impacted Mr. Lopez as much as Mr. Ayers. In addition to numerous instrument donations, the book is scheduled to become a movie (November 2008) starring Jamie Foxx in the lead role.

Academy Award-winning, classically-trained pianist Jamie Foxx (born Eric Morlon Bishop on December 13, 1967, in Terrell, Texas) majored in music at  the United States International University (now known as Alliant International University) in San Diego, California. He trained at Juilliard and eventually wowed audiences with his depiction of Ray Charles in Ray. Currently, he's taking violin and cello lessons. AskMen.com reports that "The 'Miami Vice' actor has signed up for the role of real-life musical prodigy Nathaniel Ayers, who developed the mental illness in his second year at music school and ended up homeless on the streets of Los Angeles." 

The feature film will depict Ayers' relationship with LA journalist Steve Lopez. Upon the movie's release, MHS will host a panelist-driven forum to discuss intersecting topics including this community's connection to mental illness and prevention.

Collaborative author Richard Greene adds that "a percentage of proceeds from the book and the movie will go to Mr. Ayers for his housing and possible medical treatment." Now to find a way to make a model of this success and provide the service to the larger community of mentally ill and homeless citizens. 

Baritone Gordon Hawkins: "I was born in Clinton, Maryland, the youngest of seven children. My father was a minister and we sang in church and that's where my musical heritage began. All of my older brothers and sisters played musical instruments. Each of us had to find a musical instrument no one else in the family played, so we could have our own turf. It was sort of a sibling rivalry thing. I learned the clarinet and started off playing symphonic music mostly. After high school, I went to the University of Maryland on a baseball scholarship but ended up getting an injury and couldn't play, so I turned to music.

"I had a natural gift for singing and the passion and love were certainly there, but like anybody, I needed to develop it, so I started taking voice lessons. I did the opera productions and also did a lot of plays. As it turned out I found myself in the right place at the right time and found the right people to guide me. I got my undergraduate degree in voice and then took a couple of years off to figure out what to do. During that time I did the apprentice program at Wolf Trap and won the George London competition and the Met auditions and came under the eye of the folks in New York and at the Metropolitan Opera.

"My professional debut was in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Baltimore - the soprano was Allesandra Marc whom I went to school with. I did some smaller roles with Washington Opera but probably my big break was doing Porgy and Bess at the Met with James Levine conducting. That led to other roles, including Marcello in the broadcast of La Bohème in 1991 with Mirella Freni and Plácido Domingo when I stepped in for a buddy of mine, Brian Schexnayder, who was not able to perform that day." [Robert Wilder Blue. Verdi baritone Gordon Hawkins takes up a great American role. USOperaWeb (Accessed April 25, 2008.)]

This month, he performs with the Washington National Opera in their production of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana on May 25, 2008 at 2:00 PM and May 30, 2008 at 7:30 PM.

FAQtet Ensemble: (shown) Todd Matthews, violin; Phyllis Sanders, violin; William Porter, cello; Renee' Baker, violin/viola; (not shown) Robert Fisher, violin; Karl Siegfried, bass

Recently, journalist Corey Hall of the Jazz Institute of Chicago asked the question "somehow, someway, serious string quartet musicians needed to be introduced to improvisation. But how?" Below is an excerpt from the insightful April 2008 article entitled 'RENEE BAKER'S FAQ: CLASSICAL CREATIVITY IN THE HERE AND NOW':

Renee Baker, personnel manager and principal violinist for the Chicago Sinfonietta, first entertained this challenge nearly two years ago. It came from her new association with flautist/composer Nicole Mitchell, who had selected Baker to perform in her Black Earth Strings Ensemble in 2006. Eventually, Baker would then introduce her idea to Connoisseur Musica, a classical ensemble she formed in 1991.

This transformation-from exclusively European classical music to studying African-American composers, and, soon after, original music-would be realized through the renamed Faith and Action Quartet (FAQ). This ensemble currently includes Baker, cellist William Porter, violinists Phyllis Sanders and Robert Fisher, and acoustic bassist Karl Siegfried.

"We had faith that we were in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing, and it just blossomed," Baker says. "FAQ has morphed into a group that primarily plays my compositions. We often add bass, drums, and other instruments as we see interest. It's been a lot of fun."

According to Baker, convincing classical musicians to accept new music and improvisation has been rewarding. The violinist adds that original music presents new and higher technical demands on everyone. When performing classical music, the player is not required to interpret the music or emote; the job is solely to display skills and assimilate within a section.

"But with original music, you are asked to bring all your skills to the table and interact, not just with the music but with the other musicians," she says. "I have learned that the musicians will expand as much as I allow them to expand. If they feel there is no right or wrong, they will absolutely open up.

"It's very advantageous for me to have a core of musicians willing to explore new music," Baker continues. "I have found in FAQ a real willingness to learn and expand."

When introducing improvisational music to her classically-trained colleagues, Baker insists they follow this mantra: There is no wrong. While every member needs to be sensitive to the moment, one's courage need not defer to avoid making a "mistake." The only mistake, Baker adds, is when a player hides his courage.

Nyaho's CD is Overpowering!

For some of us, the name of William Chapman Nyaho came to attention only recently, but this has been a major and most happy discovery.  He had begun his musical studies in his native Ghana, to be followed with degree work at Oxford University and the Conservatore de Musique in Geneva, the Eastman School of Music, and finally with his doctoral study at the University of Texas-Austin.

The first of what must be a series of CDs was issued on Musicians Showcase MS 1091 not long ago.  Three well-known works appear in fresh interpretations: Margaret Bond's Troubled water, the tenth of Coleridge-Taylor's 24 Negro melodies, Deep river, and Dett's beloved In the bottoms.  We need not feel guilty of infidelity to Natalie Hinderas, who returned the Dett suite into the repertoire (and her Juba has more laughing-barrel tongue-in-cheek), but Nyaho gives the music new life. 

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, whose stock shot up, and rightfully so, before his death, is represented by a dynamic Scherzo.  Nothing is more delightful than the Three Jamaican dances of Oswald Russell, now a resident in Switzerland. Three composers are introduced: Gymah Labi, from Ghana, is represented by a movement from his Six dialects in African pianism - that movement espoused by Akin Euba, J. H. Kwabena Nketia, and so many contemporary African composers seeking a totally new approach to texture and rhythm in piano composition.  This is further illustrated by Joshua Uzoigwe, an enormously gifted Nigerian, whose Talking drums is offered here.  It will be a tremendous boost to recorded literature for history classes and individual students in piano and composition.  This CD is as exciting and informative as any I have heard in recent times.

Dominique-René de Lerma
Lawrence University

Click here to purchase
Senku
from MSR Classics 

During the late 1960s, African American classical musicians interested in orchestra positions fought for fairness during auditions. Women joined them as allies who also faced discrimination based on physical appearance among other stereotypes. Due to their collective struggles, blind auditions were introduced, the result of which increased the number of women in orchestras. However, the number of people of color stayed relatively the same. Similarly, musicians from the disabled community fought for ramps onto stages in venues that requested their performance. Few were granted. 

In the name of fairness, equality and access, has anything changed? What are we fighting for?

Send your submission (a paragraph or a thesis) to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Select papers will appear on the MHS website and/or will be excerpted for future MHS eNewsletters.

Cinque, Leader of the Amistad Captives

Although I received A's in Spanish, I just now learned that "Amistad" is a Spanish noun meaning friendship. How ironic that the same name was given to a 19th century Spanish schooner on which was a slave rebellion. Here's the abstract:

On July 2, 1839, Africans being carried aboard La Amistad from Havana, Cuba were led by fellow captive Sengbe Pieh, known in America as Joseph Cinqué, in a revolt against their captors. After gaining control of the ship, the Africans demanded to be returned home, but the ship's navigator deceived them about their course, and sailed them north along the North American coast to Long Island, New York. The schooner was subsequently taken into custody by the United States Navy and the Africans were taken to Connecticut to be sold as slaves. There ensued a widely publicized court case in New Haven, CT about the ship and the legal status of the African captives.

At that time the transport of slaves from Africa to the Americas was illegal, so they were fraudulently described as having been born in Cuba. It needed to be decided whether the Africans could be considered salvage and the property of Naval officers who had taken custody of the ship, whether they were the property of the Cuban buyers, or of Spain as the Queen of Spain claimed, or lastly if the circumstances of their capture and transportation meant they were free. The issues became the focus of the Amistad (1841) Supreme Court case, which figured prominently in abolitionism in the United States. (edited from Wikipedia.com and the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA)

The Amistad Case and Its Consequences In U.S. History by Clifton Johnson.
"Too much should not be made of the court's decision in the Amistad case. While thirty-six Africans regained their freedom, the decision was by no means an attack on the institution of slavery in the United States or abroad. On the one hand, Justice Story declared that the Africans had exercised the "ultimate right of all human beings in extreme cases to resist oppression, and to apply force against ruinous injustice." In other words, free men have a natural right to resist enslavement. On the other hand, he stated that the blacks, had they been legally recognized as slaves of Spanish citizens, would have been deemed property within the meaning of the treaty of 1795 and restored to the claimants. Antonio was so restored. Thus the Court recognized that the natural right to freedom could be taken away by positive law." (Amistad Research Center: Where Heritage Meets Vision. Accessed April 14, 2008.)

Anthony Davis professor of music at University of California San Diego composed his fourth opera, AMISTAD, based on the slave ship uprising of 1839 and the subsequent trial. The opera was premiered at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in November 1997. The libretto is by Thulani Davis. The opera was originally directed by New York Public Theater artistic director George C. Wolfe. Anthony Davis worked with librettist Thulani Davis on his first and best-known opera X: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MALCOLM X, which premiered at the New York City Opera in 1986.  

Spoleto Festival USA
The opera stars Cinque: Gregg Baker, Goddess of Waters: Mary Elizabeth Williams, Margru/Voice 5: Janinah Burnett, Grabeau/Voice 1: Kevin Maynor and Bahia: mezzo-soprano Kendall  Charlon Gladen.  Shows at 8:00PM on Thursday, May 22; Sunday, May 25; Tuesday, May 27; Thursday, May 29; Saturday, May 31; Monday, June 2; Saturday, June 7.

Contributing author Brian Parker is a freelance writer and musician in New Orleans, LA.

VocalEssence celebrates its 40th Anniversary Season with Philip Brunelle, Founder and Artistic Director. The 130-voice VocalEssence Chorus and 32-voice Ensemble Singers invite you to their ‘Gala: Serengeti Serenade' on Saturday, May 3 at 6:00PM at The Historic Milwaukee Depot. The magnificent landscape of the Serengeti region and the invigorating music of Africa inspire the 2008 vocalessence Gala, led by co-chairs Gayle Fuguitt and Julie Zelle. There will also be a drum and dance troupe performing music of Ghana! Program includes Rosephanye Powell: Sorida (A Zimbabwe Greeting); Keep Your Lamps - arr. André Thomas; Duke Ellington, arr. Sanford Moore: Come Sunday. Make your Gala reservations online.

Then on Saturday, May 10 at 8:00PM, join the vocalessence Ensemble Singers in a performance of Dawson: Soon Ah Will Be Done; Burleigh: My Lord, What A Mornin'; Hogan: My Soul's Been Anchored In The Lord at the Trinity Lutheran Church, Stillwater, MN. Order tickets online.

Tenor Cornelius Johnson performs on Sunday, May 18 at 3:00PM with soprano Kimberly Jones at Sherwood Conservatory of Music (1312 South Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605). Admission is free and open to the public. He also performs on Saturday, May 31 at 6:00PM at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels (640 Tyler St. Gary, IN 46402) with soprano Akilia McCain, and other guest artists to benefit The Heart Institute for Children Foundation at Advocate Hope Hospital in Chicago. Contact Mr. Johnson for more detail.

ADIDAM which stands for All Day I Dream About Music is the creation of violinist John H. Littlejohn who will perform on Wednesday, May 14 at 7:00PM at the ISQ Concert: North Peace Cultural Center in Fort St. John, British Columbia and on Thursday, May 15 at 7:30PM at the ISQ Concert: Mackenzie, BC in Mackenzie, British Columbia.

Soulful Symphony performs its season finale on Friday, May 2 at 8:00PM at The Music Center at Strathmore and Saturday, May 3 at 8:00PM at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Entitled Say Amen Somebody, Soulful Symphony will feature the work of gospel music by Donald Lawrence. 

Victor Ryan Robertson is Ramiro in Gioachino Rossini's La Cenerentola. Spoleto Festival USA on Friday, May 23 at 6:30PM; Monday, May 26 at 7:30PM and Friday, May 30 at 7:30PM.

From AfriClassical.blogspot.com: Black Symphonists Concert in Los Angeles Experience the grandeur and sophistication of musical gems penned by eminent symphonists of the African diaspora dating from 1600 to the present. Glenn Graub, cellist; Marissa McLeod and Jeff Corwin violinists join the Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra in a performance of Symphonie Concertante, Op. 6, No. 1, of Joseph de Bologne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Other works featured include: African SuiteFela Sowande; Overture by José Mauricio Nunes Garcia. May 4 at 5:00PM. $20 admission. Wilshire United Methodist Church, 4350 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. Contact: 310-677-8155.

The Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra was founded in 1988 by Janise White, Musical Director, Harpsichord. Celinda Searle Levno, Flute. Tom Jones, Conductor. [José Mauricio Nunes Garcia, Joseph de Bologne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges and Fela Sowande are profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Raymond Harvey, Music Director and Conductor of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, will conduct two concerts during The Gilmore Keyboard Festival in Grand Rapids MI through Tuesday, May 13 at the Royce Auditorium, St. Cecilia Music Center. Shows at 8:00PM. Program includes Poulenc: Aubade, Concerto chorégraphique, Messiaen: Coleurs de la cité céleste (Colors of the Celestial City), Janácek: Capriccio, Copland: Appalachian Spring (original instrumentation). The gala features Ingrid Fliter on Saturday, May 10 at 8:00PM at Chenery Auditorium. Program includes Liadov: Eight Russian Folk Songs, Op. 58, Mozart: Piano Concerto in A, No. 23, K. 488, Chopin: Piano Concerto in F Minor, No. 2, Op. 21.

Violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama will perform at Bargemusic (Fulton Ferry Landing near the Brooklyn Bridge) on Saturday, May 3 at 8:00PM. Program includes--Jean Francaix: Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello in C Major (1933); Ernst von Dohnányi: Serenade for String Trio in C Major, Op. 10; Antonin Dvořák: Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 87.

Pianist Leon Bates performs with the Chicago Sinfonietta under the baton of Maestro Paul Freeman. Program includes the World Première of Larry Hoffman's Three Songs for Bluesman & Orchestra, George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Maurice Ravel). Sunday, May 11, 2:30PM, Dominican University, 7900 W Division, River Forest and Monday, May 12, 7:30PM, Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center, 220 South Michigan Ave, Chicago. 

Lester Lynch performs in Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Thursday, May 29 at 8:00PM and Saturday, May 31 at 8:00PM

Lisa Daltirus stars in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida with Portland Opera. Friday, May 9 at 7:30PM; Sunday, May 11 at 2:00PM; Tuesday, May 13 at 7:30PM; Thursday, May 15 at 7:30PM; Saturday, May 17 at 7:30PM.

Lawrence Brownlee in Vincenzo Bellini's I Puritani with Seattle Opera on Saturday, May 3 at 7:30PM; Sunday, May 4 at 2:00PM; Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30PM; Saturday, May 10 at 7:30PM; Sunday, May 11 at 2:00PM; Wednesday, May 14 at 7:30PM; Friday, May 16 at 7:30 PM; Saturday, May 17, 2008 7:30PM. 

 Donnie Ray Albert stars at John Brown in Frederick Douglass with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City through May 11. He also stars in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Austin Symphony Orchestra Society thru May 17 and performs the Belshazzar's Feast & Faure Requiem Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from May 12 - 24.

Willie Anthony Waters conducts the Boston Lyric Opera in Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio on May 2, 4 & 6. Evening performances begin at 7:30PM and Sunday performances are matinees at 3:00PM.