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Dearest Readers,

The Myrtle Hart Society has emerged as a powerful online coalition that seeks to galvanize the black community's attention on one particular issue: identity politics, specifically of classical musicians. Parents who enroll their children in music school need to know that their children are not simply taking music lessons; in addition, they are stepping into an historic community and global culture that impacts their thinking and environment. The Myrtle Hart Society and its partner organizations engage this community of young students, seasoned professionals and avid supporters through discussion and information dissemination in the form of research and current events.

Last month's challenge grant has been extended for another month! If 20 people give $20, we'll reach our fundraising goal. No one at MHS is paid. 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 and our very necessary upgrades. 

We hope that you enjoy this month's publication.

Faithfully,
Rashida N. Black

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Suki Guerrier, born in the United States of Haitian parentage, began her study of the piano at the age of five and was a recitalist and competition winner by her double digits. She has studied with Dorothy Taubman, Lev Natochenny at the Manhattan School of Music, Antonio Fermin of The Julliard School of Music and with Arpi Tchiroyan. She attended the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts while boarding at Walnut Hill School of the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts.  As a member of the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Quartet, she participated in four master classes with world-renown pianist André Watts. 

In 2004, Ms. Guerrier attended the International Piano Festival in Merano, Italy. In 2005, she traveled to Frankfurt, Germany to work with Lev Natochenny at the Frankfurt Conservatory of Music.  In 2007 she took part in the Beethoven Piano Festival in New York City. By invitation of Batofou and Cyto Cavé, Ms. Guerrier premiered at Fokal in Port-au-Prince Haiti in November 2007.  The event sponsored by Fondation Fokal, Pluripharm, Proforma, Radio Métropole, Maison Valerio Canez and Lait Bongû was "a great success" according to Roland Léonard, critic for Le Nouvelliste.  Ms. Guerrier was warmly welcomed as a daughter of Haiti.  While in Haiti, she met with and had many musical discussions with the celebrated pianist Micheline Laudun Denis. 

Her long-term goal is to one day record the music of some of the great Haitian classical composers such as Ludovic Lamothe, Justin Elie and Carmen Brouard (whose complete bio and discography have yet to be written and/or published online) and to make their works internationally known.  The realization of this upcoming concert is a reflection of her journey in Haiti. Ms. Guerrier is currently pursuing her Master's degree under the guidance of Stephanie Brown and Margaret Kempmeier.  She also holds a teaching fellowship at the Purchase Conservatory of Music.  In May 2008, she concluded a year-long program "Africa & The African Diaspora: Traditions, Revolutions & Innovations" of the works of Ludovic Lamothe and Carmen Brouard.

She performs this month in "Dreams of Haiti" on Sunday, June 1 at 4:00 PM. The Recital Hall, Music Building, Purchase College Conservatory of Music, 734 Anderson Hill, Purchase, New York 10577. The concert will feature soprano Colleen Beaumont and cellist Carl Baron. An MHS exclusive review will appear on myrtlehart.org later this month.

Colleen A. C. Beaumont, soprano, was born in New York and attended Professional Performing Arts School.  She had her debut at the age of sixteen, singing Qui sedes ad dexteram from the Vivaldi Gloria under the baton of Chantel Wright.  She received her undergraduate degree from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music, where she performed the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Madame Lidoine in Dialogues of the Carmelites and Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, all under the baton of Hugh Murphy, guidance of teacher Jean Miller-Goodheart, and stage direction of tenor Jacque Trussel.  She also performed scenes from Ariadne auf Naxos, Cosi fan Tutte and La Clemanza di Tito.  Colleen received her masters degree from Manhattan School of Music where she performed scenes from Il Trovatore, Don Giovanni, Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, Le Nozze di Figaro, played Ms. Pinch in the children's opera, The Araboolies of Liberty Street, and covered the role of the Old Woman in Lord Byron's Love Letter. In the summer of 2007, Colleen attended the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy, where she performed scenes from La Boheme (Mimi), Orfeo ed Euridice (Euridice) and Le Nozze di Fiagaro (Countess).  In September of 2007, Colleen performed the premiere of Richard Danielpour's Margaret Garner with the production team from NYC Opera.  Colleen is a member of the Mignon Dunn studio.

Langston Hughes, photographed by Nickolas Muray, 1923

It's not often that readers of this publication get the opportunity to see a headline like this: GANGSTER RAP ARTIST ICE-T TO PERFORM WITH INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AS PART OF LANGSTON HUGHES PROJECT WORLD PREMIERE. Guffaw. But seriously, the Grammy Award-wining politically-conscious rapper/actor/producer Ice-T (born Tracy Lauren Marrow) is also a lecturer (America's prisons, high schools, middle schools, libraries and colleges, including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Kansas State and Northwestern), United States Army soldier and author (The Ice Opinion: Who Gives A F*ck?, which theorizes police/CIA involvement in drug trafficking and the profit of prison-building). This month, the Newark, New Jersey native will narrate Langston Hughes' twelve-part masterwork titled Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz in a concert on Wednesday, June 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.

The work was composed and orchestrated by Dr. Ronald McCurdy, Chairman of the Jazz Studies Department, Professor of Music in the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California (USC) and Past President of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE). McCurdy founded the project and composed the scores based on musical cues suggested in notes written by the poet. The work was previously performed with jazz quartet and became known as The Langston Hughes Project. Although the ISO concert will have the same name, it will be the premiere of McCurdy's setting for orchestra.

"Ice-T and the ISO will be joined by the McCurdy/Wright Jazz Quartet to create the first-ever performance of the Langston Hughes Project for orchestra. To accent the program, images by African-American artists and photographers Jacob Lawrence, Gordon Parks, and Romare Bearden of the Harlem Renaissance will be projected on a large screen above the stage, linking the music and poetry to express Hughes' vision of the global struggle for freedom in the early 1960s. The production brings to light Langston Hughes at his best: insightful, wise, poignant, soulful, and witty. The concert will be conducted by David Spears." According to McCurdy, the piece is a 1960s call for artistic and social freedom and draws from blues, jazz, be-bop, Afro-Cuban mambo, German lieder, New Orleans jazz, Jewish liturgy, West Indian calypso and African drumming.

Commenting on his role in the world premiere of this project, Ice-T said, "It is a great honor to perform with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Ron McCurdy for this landmark event celebrating the brilliance of Langston Hughes." This is the first time that Ice-T has performed with a symphony orchestra.

The Urban Youth Harp Ensemble is a non-profit organization that exists to provide harp instruction to urban, at-risk students enrolled in the Atlanta School District. The UYHE is incorporated into the curriculum of the New Schools at Carver, School of the Arts, as well as offering an After School Program for 5th-12th graders who attend other Atlanta Public Schools. This musical endeavor is the brainchild of Elisabeth Remy, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Principal Harpist, and Roselyn Lewis, Atlanta Public Schools music teacher.

The Urban Youth Harp Ensemble began in the fall of 2000 with two students at Brown Middle School in Atlanta before moving to its current home at Carver High School. Marissa Knaub was added to the staff for 2007-08 school year as the primary instructor for the Carver Harp Academy. Ms. Remy is the Artistic Director of the Ensemble and the primary teacher for the UYHE after-school program. Ms. Lewis serves as the Executive Director and manager of the program. Currently, over 40 students receive free instruction on the harp either during or after school.

Once students enter the program they can continue until they graduate from high school. Mason Morton, one of the first students, graduated in 2006 and received eleven harp scholarships to college. The program is funded through foundation grants and private donations. Urban Youth Harp Ensemble will perform at the national convention of the American Harp Society in Detroit Michigan. For more information about the UYHE, please visit their website at www.urbanharp.org.

Under the direction of Maestro Leslie Dunner, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the impact of African American culture on classical music. The concert then brings together the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Black Dance Theatre to present Primary Movements, a work by Flint, Michigan's renowned black composer Jonathan Bailey Holland. "The collaborative piece will explore how African American music and dance has evolved through the collective experiences of African Americans."

Primary Movements is a 30-minute ballet that was composed by Holland in 2006. The movement of Primary Movements entitled Dixieland on the composer's web site sounds like a big brass band giving some ragtime nods reminiscent of a traditional New Orleans parade. There is prominent use of drums and clarinet to solo within the break beats of the work. Originally commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the piece will be performed with the Dallas Black Dance Theater. It is scored for timpani, 4 percussion, electric/acoustic bass, piano and strings.

The 2008 African American Festival is a family-friendly event. "Proceeds from the African American Festival will benefit the Dallas Black Dance Theatre's Summer Enrichment Program and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Young Strings Program." Tickets are available by calling the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at (214) 692-0203. The Young Strings Program is a unique, nationally recognized program, which promotes musical talent in young African American and Hispanic string players." Friday, June 20 at 7:30PM.

Catch Maestro Dunner with the Kwazulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra at City Hall in Durban, South Africa on Thursday, June 26 at 7:30PM. Program includes Berlioz: Les francs-juges Overture; Schumann: Cello Concerto featuring cellist Anzel Gerber;
Nielsen: Symphony #2.

SAMPLE TOPICS:
After reading the following articles on symphonic multimedia including Ice-T with the Indiana Symphony and jazzy dance troupes with the Dallas Symphony, you might sit back from your computer and wonder, Is this classical music?

Nowadays, you can watch television on your phone and opera in movie theatres. This is popular media. If citizens have accepted  these electronic stimulants as the norm, shouldn't we upgrade everything? Should traditions change with the times or should the "classics" remain authentic?

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?

Speak on it. NOTE: Select papers/comments will appear on the MHS website and/or will be excerpted for future MHS eNewsletters. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Violist Juliet White-Smith is an active soloist and chamber recitalist and has performed in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East to critical acclaim. She is a featured performer at the 36^th International Viola Congress in Montreal, Quebec. Her chamber music collaborations have brought her onstage with such luminaries as violinists Andres Cardenes and Benny Kim and pianist Gilbert Kalish. She has been a featured artist at various summer music festivals including Strings in the Mountains in Colorado and the Fontana Festival in Michigan. As an orchestral musician, she has performed in the viola sections of the Cleveland Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, and the Grand Rapids Symphony. American Viola Society President-elect White-Smith earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music and holds degrees from the University of Houston and Louisiana State University. Listen to her perform.

Fact: When asked how often you'd like to receive the MHS eNewsletter, 71.1% of our readers said that once a month was just fine. 21.2% wanted it weekly.
Results: We will continue to bring you community news once a month.

Fact: 82.6% of readers enjoyed knowing about events globally. 17.4% wanted to know what was happening around them specifically.
Results: MHS will continue to bring you community news from around the globe, but will be more specific in the headers with location so that readers can find quickly their local news.

Fact: How much would you pay to receive the MHS eNewsletter? Readers (62.1%) agreed that they would be willing to pay $10/year subscription (less than $1/issue). 31.8% wouldn't mind paying $20. (Thanks to the 7.6% who would pay $30/year.)
Results: The MHS eNewsletter is generously supported by loyal contributors to the non-profit organization, Myrtle Hart Society. With their continued support and additional support provided by new individual donors, MHS eNewsletter readers may never have to pay to receive this news.

Fact: None of MHS eNewsletter readers are Republican?! Of those who took the survey, 73.9% were Democrat, 20.7% were Independent, and 4.3% were apolitical. (Hi, 2.2% Green.)
Results: President Obama

Fact: Our readers were very concerned with the state of the world. However, health (63.0%), world (55.4%) and politics (55.4%) were ranked the highest. Entertainment, youths and environment were next in line.
Results: MHS is devoted to the intersection of issues and often seeks to find ways to connect this community of classical musicians to main society. Be on the lookout for articles that address theses and more intersecting issues.

Fact: We wondered about the social consciousness level our readers were, so we asked about social/cultural movements. Unsurprisingly, 45.0% of our readers were part of the civil rights movement. (Also noteworthy, 27.5% environment, 22.5% arts activism, 21.3% Black Nationalist, 13.8% AIDS activism, 11.3% LGBTQ and 10% disability rights.) Our readers have open minds and are involved in social struggles.
Results: MHS is an organization run by a younger generation born into technology, which shapes our theory of organizing and research as evidenced in the pages of myrtlehart.org. Unlike organizing efforts of the past, MHS uses evolving forms of expression to characterize social issues. However, we recognize that our life experiences are predicated on the achievements of the civil rights generation.

Fact: I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that 93.6% of the MHS eNewsletter readers listen to classical music. Then, perhaps given the fact that MHS eNewsletter readers are overwhelmingly people of color (African American, African/Caribbean, Latino/a, Native American), these numbers will also not surprise you: 78.7% jazz, 67% R&B, 59.6% soul, 57.4% Instrumental, 48.9% gospel and 44.7%cultural/world beat.
Results: MHS often refers to the community as "the classical community of color," but really, we are so much more than that. A number of our readers are Asian and European American. As well, definitions of what is deemed "classical," especially in America, are cause for great debate. Some say that jazz is America's classical music. Others want a broader definition of classical that includes ethnic and cultural (i.e. environmental) influences. Whatever you think, it's certain that our composers span the spectrum.

Fact: Artists/musicians/entertainers, students and educators read the MHS eNewsletter. Of those who are musicians, 48.6% teach and 64.3% perform. 27.1% compose and/or arrange. About 1/3 of MHS eNewsletter readers to not teach or perform, they just enjoy the music.
Results: We're glad we're hitting our mark. Welcome home.

MORE RESULTS

Cass Technical High School (Cass Tech) will be recognized in the Harpists Hall of Fame at this year's American Harp Society convention in Detroit, MI. Cass Tech is the only school in the city of Detroit with a Harp and Vocal Ensemble. Harp and Vocal has existed for eighty-two years since its inception by Cass Tech alum Velma Froude and was continued by the department's previous Director (from 1976-2007) Mrs. Patricia Terry Ross, a former student of the Cass Tech Harp and Vocal. In 2007, Ms. Lydia Cleaver, also a former Harp and Vocal student, assumed the Director position.

Mrs. Terry Ross adds: You should also know that [Cass Tech], having the longest ongoing public school harp program (since 1925), has produced more African-American harpists than any other single institution in the US.  Maurice [Draughn]'s arrangement of the Gershwin Preludes, which he and I premiered (and he and Lydia [Cleaver] will play at AHS), is now being carried by Vanderbilt [Music Company].  There's a rich harp history at Cass and, certainly, not only for people of color.

Alumni include harpists Dorothy Ashby, Harvi Griffin, Alice Coltrane, Rizpah Lowe, Susan Mazer, among others.

Steven Cole performs in Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly with the Cincinnati Opera on June 11, 13 & 15m, 7:30PM (3:00 p.m. Sunday matinee).

Pianist Terrence Wilson performs with the New Jersey Symphony on WQXR 96.3FM, Tuesday, June 24 at 9:05pm during their season of radio concerts. Program: BEETHOVEN Fidelio Overture; DAUGHERTY Deus ex Machina for Piano and Orchestra; RESPIGHI Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 3; BEETHOVEN Leonore Overtures Nos. 1, 2 & 3. These concerts will be broadcast nationally (October - December) after airing in the New York and New Jersey area. Check NJSO site for station listings.

You may remember vocalist Anwar Robinson from the 4th season of American Idol. This month, under the baton of Thomas Wilkins, Anwar will perform with the New Jersey Symphony at the 13th Annual Community Partners Concert on Wednesday, June 25 at 7:30PM, NJPAC in Newark. 50% of proceeds benefit Greater Newark area non-profit organizations. Tickets start at only $20.

Sphinx Competition 2008 1^st place laureate violinist Daniele Belen Nesmith performs the Brahms Violin Concerto, mvt III at the Community Partners Concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony on Thursday, June 26 at 8:00PM at Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15222. 

Support the 13th Annual Punch Family Foundation Benefit Recital (for Scholarships) @ Morton Meyerson Symphony Center on Saturday, June 28 at 1:30PM. In addition, Richmond Punch Jazz Quartet Performs at City Arts Celebration @ Stage on Sunday, June 15 at 5:00PM.

Soprano Nicole Collins performs at the Saltnote Stageworks Festival Indian Head, Maryland on June 13 and June 26-29 at 8:00PM.

The Marian Anderson String Quartet has been awarded the 2008 Guarneri String Quartet Residency by Chamber Music America (CMA). CMA awards an annual residency grant specifically designed for string quartets as part of their Residency Partnership Program.  Named in honor of the Guarneri String Quartet, the award is made possible through a generous gift from the Sewell Family Foundation.  The Quartet will travel to Seattle later this year for the two week residency, participating in the University of Washington's World Series cultural program. Their 2008 Chamber Music Institute summer session runs June 5-13, 2008.

The program's goal is to identify talented young singers and help them develop professional careers through a unique program that provides continuing financial support over a period of five years. Following annual auditions in New York, the foundation gives a number of $10,000 cash awards to gifted singers in the early stages of their careers to be used for any career-related purpose. Winners may also receive role preparation assistance for a period of five years to help defray expenses incurred in musical, dramatic, vocal, and language coaching for specific professional engagements.

 Applicants must be in the early stages of their careers and have completed their academic training. They should have sung at least one engagement with a known opera company, symphony orchestra, or other organization utilizing full orchestral accompaniment, and must submit a copy of a contract or letter of intent for a future professional operatic engagement following the foundation's November auditions. (The 2008 auditions will be held in New York on November 3, 4, and 5.)

 Eligible performers, who wish to apply for an audition, should visit the foundation's Web site for application instructions and the current application form. Deadline: September 15, 2008.

 RFP Link:
 http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15013317/sullivanfdn