Zoom Concert Recording Coming Soon!
Watch Video: AACMSO Performs Symphonie Concertante in C Op 6 No. 1 with Manoela Wunder, Marissa McLeod, Ernie Carbajal Jr.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS & JAMES REESE EUROPE
PROGRAM
Sunday, February 28, 2021
6pm PST
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83450298044
Meeting ID: 834 5029 8044
Welcome…………………………………………...Elizabeth White, President
History of AACMSO……………………………....Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Interview with Rob Foster Europe, Great Grandson…….Professor Womack
Castle House Rag…………………………………James Reese Europe (1914)
Memphis Blues…………………………...William Christopher Handy (1912)
Introduction to Frederick Douglass &
Interview with Jeraldine Saunders Herbison…….Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Frederick Douglass Symphonic Suite………….Jeraldine Saunders Herbison
I Have Often
Thus I Used to Think
Is There Any God?
I’ll Try It - Dorceal Duckens, Bass-Baritone & George Sampson, Tenor
The Glad Ship Is Gone
The Steamboats
Only Think of It
Under the Yoke
There Is A Better Day A Comin’
Freedom Shuffle-Instrumental Dance
ZOOM CONCERT HOST & PANELISTS:
Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Political Analyst, AACMSO Board Member, HOST
Professor Vince Womack, AACMSO Conductor
Professor Janise White, AACMSO Founder & Director
Ms. Elizabeth White, AACMSO Board President
Bill Doggett, Marketing, Historian
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Host is an author and political analyst. He is the author of multiple books on race and politics in America. The most recent include; The Obama Legacy, The Trump Challenge to Black America, and From King to Obama: Witness to a Turbulent History. He has authored a book on music: “It's Our Music Too: The Black Experience in Classical Music”.
Hutchinson is a frequent guest analyst on Fox News John Gibson Show, O'Reilly Show, Hannity & Colmes, Glenn Beck Show, PBS Lehrer Report, NPR's Talk of the Nation, various CNN news shows, New Nation MSNBC.
He hosts the live call-in program, The Hutchinson Report on Pacifica Radio outlet KPFK-FM radio in Los Angeles featuring his commentary and the voices of listener-callers, and KTYM-Radio in Los Angeles.
AFRO-AMERICAN CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY ORCHESTRA (AACMSO) Founded in 1988 by Professor Janise White, AACMSO began as a piano quartet and expanded by 1990 to a chamber orchestra. AACMSO has pioneered in bringing attention to obscure composers of the African diaspora through live performances over KUSC Radio since 1988. International trips to archival collections expanded the repertoire with the revival of early historic works dating back to the 1500s. With the assistance of Ethnomusicologist, Dr. Jacqueline Djedje, AACMSO discovered additional lost works creating a plethora of repertoire for Black Symphonist Concerts. The Series has presented works by over thirty symphonists both historic and contemporary. Recordings have been broadcast over BBC Radio and nationwide classical radio stations. In 2015, AACMSO’s Sancho Minuets & Optional Dances recording was displayed at the West Africa Exhibit in the British Library from October 2015 to February 2016; archived in the British Library Repository (2015-16); broadcast over BBC Radio 4 for “Britain’s Black Past” in a ten-part documentary that aired in October 2016 and in May and September 2020, on BBC 3 in Episode 1 of “The Blacke Trumpeter” by composer, Eleanor Alberga. In 2018, AACMSO’s Lyric for Strings video performance appeared on NewMusicBox in an interview with Pulitzer Prize Winner composer, Dr. George Walker entitled “Concise and Precise.” Additionally, AACMSO’s two commissioned works and recordings of “Cape Coast Castle Symphony” and “Jazz Flute Concertino” by Dr. Joyce Solomon Moorman were archived in the Research Foundation Library of the City University of New York.
AACMSO is mentioned in the Bibliography of Black Composers by Dominique Rene de Lerma, the International Dictionary of Black Composers by Samuel Floyd, Jr.; Brass Music of Black Composers by Aaron Horne; Music by Black Women Composers: A Bibliography of Available Scores by Helen Walker-Hill; From Spirituals to Symphonies: African-American Women Composers by Helen-Walker-Hill; Black American Music: Past & Present by Hildred Roach; and the Encyclopedia of Women Composers by Aaron Cohen.
PROFESSOR VINCE WOMACK, CONDUCTOR
Mr. Womack teaches in the Music Teaching & Learning Department at the University of Southern California (USC) Thornton School of Music and was previously Assistant Director of the USC Trojan Marching Band. He also serves as Instrumental Music at Foshay Learning School. He holds a Bachelor degree in Music Education from the University of Michigan and a Master degree in Music Education from the University of Southern California.
PBS recently featured Mr. Womack in an inspiring mini-documentary called The Jazz Ticket, which follows the journey of a promising Foshay music student preparing to audition for the Berklee College of Music. Mr. Womack and his students have made multiple national television appearances and and were featured in the premiere episode of the Queen Latifah Show performing with Grammy Award-winner, Alicia Keys. Under Mr. Womack’s direction, the Foshay Jazz Ensemble recently performed in Paris, France as American Ambassadors.
JANISE WHITE, CONDUCTOR, PIANIST, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
Professor White served as tenured Music Professor with the Los Angeles Community College District for over two decades. A child prodigy, she began piano studies at Mills College at age 4 and recorded at age 9. White is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (B. Music, piano); Oberlin Conservatory (Artist Diploma Studies); University of Southern California (M. Music, piano); and Cal State University, Hayward (Choral Credential). She studied conducting with Dr. Denis DeCoteau. Her piano teachers were Adolph Baller (San Francisco Conservatory of Music); Francis Walker, (Oberlin Conservatory) sister of Pulitzer Prize Winner, Dr. George T. Walker and Daniel Pollack (University of Southern California). She has appeared as soloist with orchestras on the west coast and concertized as recitalist in London, France, Canada, Virgin Islands and for radio and television. White researches works by Black composers, creates and publishes orchestrations for AACMSO’s Black Symphonist Concerts.
White is listed in “American Black Women in the Arts and Social Sciences” by Dr. Ora Williams, “Brass Music of Black Composers” by Aaron Horne, “African-American Music: A Chronology: 1619-1995” by Dr. Hansonia Caldwell; “The Magic of Music” by Leroy Hurte, “The Bibliography of Black Music and the Greenwood Encyclopedia” by Dr. Dominique Rene de Lerma.
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Robert Foster Europe is a singer/songwriter and guitarist from Long Island, New York. He is the great grandson of James Reese Europe. Because he shares the DNA of the famed military bandleader, he also has a proclivity for popular music. Rob’s repertoire encompasses a wide array of Blues, Americana, and Roots music. He has opened for Guy Davis, and John Hammond, Jr. He is also the lead singer and guitarist for the band “Foster Europe Band”.
ABOUT THE COMPOSERS:
JAMES REESE EUROPE: Composer & Military Band Leader (1880-1919)
James Reese Europe studied violin with Enrico Hurlei and Joseph Douglass, grandson of Frederick Douglass (son of Charles Douglass, statesman). He was a prolific composer of over 30 marches and dances. By 1889, his family left their home of Mobile, Alabama moving to Washington, D.C. In 1905, seeking employment, Europe relocated to New York. There he gained employment by freelancing as a pianist at night clubs in New York and later was appointed as the musical director of the Jolly John Larkin Company. In 1906, Europe became musical director of the Bob Cole/Johnson brothers show. In 1910, Europe served as conductor of the Clef Club Symphony Orchestra which performed at Carnegie Hall which boasted of having 125 members (some who played mandolins and banjos). This orchestra served as a marketing tool for the employment of its 125 Black musicians. In 1917, he organized an all black U.S. Fifteenth Infantry Band during World War I which toured France, performing for heads of state, and the Congress of Women in Paris in 1918. Its reputation was according to the New York Times, “the best military band in the world.” As a seminal figure in jazz, Europe became the music director for dancers, Irene and Vernon Castle, touring across the United States and abroad. In 1914, Europe composed the famous, “Castle House Rag”.
CASTLE HOUSE RAG (1914)
Castle House Rag was one of Europe’s best known songs composed for the dance team, Vernon & Irene Castle. The Fox trot dance invented by Europe and collaborator Dabney is intended to be danced to this song. Its riveting melodies and highly syncopated rhythms repeat, modulate and introduce multi-thematic material. Composed in the ragtime derived structure, it consists of a slow introduction in dance-trio form ABAC followed by a bridge and repeats C. This piece has been revived by Janise White with a new orchestration from the piano manuscript held at the Library of Congress.
JERALDINE SAUNDERS HERBISON
Herbison graduated with distinction from Virginia State College earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education with a major in Violin and Minors in Voice and Piano. Her Principal Composition teacher includes Dean of African American Women Composers, Professor Undine Smith Moore of Virginia State University. Additional composition teachers include Clare Boge, Hart College, Tom Clarck, Texas Southern University, in courses of study at the University of Michigan division at Interlochen, and Harvey Stokes, Hampton University.
A prolific composer of over 100 works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, choral music, art songs, instrumental solos, concertos, her works have been performed at the Kennedy Center and by professional soloists, chamber musicians and orchestras throughout the United States and England. Herbison is listed in The International Dictionary of Women Composers by Aaron Cohen, Black Music: Past and Present Volume 2 by Hildred Roach and The International Dictionary of Black Composers by Samuel Floyd, Jr.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS SYMPHONIC SUITE
Evolved from a suggestion by Dr. Willis Patterson, Voice Professor at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, the work contains primarily symphonic writing highlighting the Baritone solo with Chorus in thirteen movements, thus the title, Frederick Douglass Symphonic Suite. The form is a mix between an art song, and chamber music and small SAT chorus. Its movements contain original thematic material using the style of the traditional African American folk song, and the tone painting of water with the music of the harps, closing with an instrumental Freedom Shuffle for banjo and orchestra. This work is cyclical with themes recurring in other movements. My Suite attempts to imitate in sound the soul of the soliloquy; the lament on being a slave, and the determination to escape to Freedom, as it is narrated by the abolitionist, statesman, orator, educator, violinist and minister, Frederick Douglass. He penned these statements in his book, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave written by Himself” published in 1845. The scene takes place on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay near the Covey Plantation where Frederick often wandered to cogitate freedom. At age 20, atlas Douglass escaped to New York to freedom!
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Dorceal Duckens, Bass-Baritone performed operatic roles with many Opera Companies internationally. In 1975, he performed Treemonisha with the Houston Grand Opera and in 1978 he performed La Boheme with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera. Additionally, he performed at the Spoleto Festival in Italy with Gian Carlo Menotti. He currently performs with Houston Ebony Opera. Duckens has appeared with the Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra twice in 2018 and 2019 singing the role of Frederick Douglass in the Frederick Douglass Symphonic Suite.
Bill Doggett is a well respected published historian, archivist and lecturer specialized in African American Performing Arts History. He is the nephew of 1950s Rhythm & Blues-Rock’ n Roll famed pioneering jazz organist, Bill Doggett, creator of the landmark instrumental of early Rock n Roll titled Honky Tonk. Honky Tonk was awarded by Billboard and Cashbox with recognition as the most important instrumental recording in the early Rock n Roll era.
Since 2012, Doggett has lectured at universities and conferences across the country on subjects in African American performing arts history. Doggett specializes in diversity inclusion advocacy in the Classical Music Performing Arts as a strategic marketing agent for African American contemporary composers, Anthony Davis, Richard Thompson and Adolphus Hailstork.
In 2015, Doggett was commissioned by The Recorded Sound Division of The Library of Congress to produce an extensive Pilot titled, #BlackVoicesMatter, Race, Music and Message at The Dawn of Recorded Sound for The National Jukebox. Doggett has developed a national reputation in this specialization which he has broadened to explore the impact of Technology paired with Lost Cause Confederacy nostalgia about Race commercialized through Technology and its’ impacts on contemporary culture.
DONATE by visiting aacmsorchestra.org.
DALE BREIDENTHAL, Los Angeles Philharmonic, VIOLINIST
Violinist Dale Allmond Breidenthal was born in Los Angeles and raised in the West Adams area along with her musical siblings Edmond and Kathy Allmond. Ms. Breidenthal began violin studies at eight with Linda Rose at Mt. St. Mary’s Community School on the Doheny Campus. Later she continued formal collegiate studies at the University of Southern California with Professor Eudice Shapiro while also performing as a substitute member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 1983, Ms. Breidenthal won a permanent position in the LA Philharmonic with 2019 marking 36 years of dedicated service to creating music for the City of Los Angeles and the world. Most recently, she has performed with the LA Phil in Seoul and Tokyo and will be performing in Scotland in August. In the summer of 2020 she will be performing in Hiroshima with the Music for Peace orchestra.
VINCE WOMACK, USC PROFESSOR & ASSISTANT AACMSO CONDUCTOR:
Vince Womack is Music Director at James A. Foshay Learning Center, an urban, K-12 public school in south Los Angeles. This position followed a seven-year tenure at Canoga Park High School where he was director of instrumental and choral music. From Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Dolby Theater, to the Hollywood Bowl and the Cathedral of Our Lady, Mr. Womack has conducted ensembles in the finest venues in Los Angeles.
Mr. Womack recently initiated and oversaw the completion of a 10 million dollar theater renovation project at Foshay. This impressive performing arts facility brings state-of-the-art quality opportunities to the school and community. Due to his efforts to overcome odds and bring high quality, creative music education to public, inner-city schools, Mr. Womack has received the Fulfillment Fund Outstanding Teacher Award, the Bogart/USC Family of Five Teacher Award, the Los Angeles Music Center’s Bravo Award, the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation Award, and ETM-LA’s Shining Star Award.
Mr. Womack teaches in the Music Teaching & Learning department at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and was previously Assistant Director of the USC Trojan Marching Band. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Michigan and a master’s in Music Education from the University of Southern California.
PBS recently featured Mr. Womack in an inspiring mini-documentary called The Jazz Ticket, which follows the journey of a promising Foshay music student preparing to audition for the Berklee College of Music. Mr. Womack and his students have made multiple national television appearances and and were featured in the premiere episode of the Queen Latifah Show performing with Grammy Award-winner, Alicia Keys. Under Mr. Womack’s direction, the Foshay Jazz Ensemble recently performed in Paris, France as American Ambassadors.
RICHARD TAYLOR, LYRIC BARITONE
Mr. Taylor received his Degrees in voice from the University of Michigan, where he was awarded first prize in their Concerto Competition. While there he was a student of Dr. Willis Patterson. He began his professional career with the Michigan Opera Theatre singing the role of Jake in "Porgy and Bess". He continued his career touring China with the Pacific Chorale singing the title role in the oratorio "Elijah". He toured the United States and Europe with the Houston Grand Opera as a featured performer. Richard Taylor sang his first Scarpia for the Anchorage Opera. He appeared as soloist in the world premiere of Earnestine Rodgers-Robinson's "The Nativity" at Carnegie Hall. He also debuted in Carnegie Hall singing the Faure' and Verdi Requiems under the direction of Donald Neun. His debut with Opera San Jose was the title role in Verdi's "Rigoletto". In Barcelona, Spain he performed as soloist in the "Verdi Requiem". He sang with the Nevada Opera as Leporello in Mozart's "Don Giovanni", and appeared as a soloist in Bach's Mass in b minor with the Memphis and Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra's. Richard has worked with many noted conductors throughout the world including; Antal Dorati, Robert Shaw, John Alexander, and Donald Nuen. As part of John Hopkin's University's distinguished concert series Mr. Taylor performed as both singer and jazz bassist in a celebration of the musical genius of George Gershwin. He also appeared with the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra to perform songs of Charles Ives. During Richards professional career he has been honored to perform with many professional organizations. Including; Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Pacific, Pacific Chorale, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Long Beach Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, Southbend Symphony Orchestra, Spirit Chorale of Los Angeles, and Los Angeles Baritones.
GERTRUDE BRADLEY, LYRICO-SPINTO SOPRANO
Gertrude Bradley is a lyrico-spinto soprano who loves to sing Spirituals, art songs, contemporary Gospel, and Broadway show tunes. Her vast classical repertoire includes arias from the operas La Rondine, Aida, La Forza Del Destino, Porgy and Bess, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Carmen, Otello, Tannhaüser, La Wally, and Adriana Lecouvreur, to name a few. Gertrude has appeared in numerous concerts throughout the United States and has performed internationally in Taiwan, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, the Philippines, Israel, South Africa, Namibia, and Egypt. Ms Bradley has sung for over 500 memorial services which include the prestigious services of Los Angeles Dodgers’ Roy Campanella, and Don Drysdale, and Margie Grier (wife of football star Rosie Grier). She performed in the debut of the LA Philharmonic director, Gustavo
Dudamel who conducted the electrifying Beethoven’s 9 th at the Hollywood Bowl. She has been guest soloist with the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, the Afro-American Chamber Society Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and was privileged to sing with the Pacific Symphony orchestra. Gertrude has sung recitals for the organization Blacks for LA Opera, and was in the LA Opera production of Porgy and Bess at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. One of her proudest achievements is being a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall in New York. Ms Bradley has over 30 years experience in musical theatre, which includes performances in the Crystal Cathedral's “The Glory of Christmas,” and “The
Glory of Easter” productions and a two year tour with the Whispers in the production of “Thank God the Beat Goes On.”
She is a host, teacher and musician on OCN Christian network broadcast of “The Lord Reigns.”
ERNIE CARBAJAL, Jr., CELLIST
ERNIE CARBAJAL Cellist, Symphonie Concertante Soloist & Principal Cellist for AACMSO. Ernie is a protege of Professor Glen Grab who has recently been awarded a scholarship to attend the University of Colorado, Boulder pursuing undergraduate studies in music with Professor David Requiro.
MANOELA WUNDER, VIOLINIST, Symphonie Concertante Soloist holds a Bachelor of Music from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College (NY) in Violin Performance and a Master of Music degree with distinction under scholarship from DePaul University in Chicago. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, violinist Manoela Wunder has performed with a wide range of orchestras and chamber groups in New York, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles as well as Europe. Her music has been heard in the most prominent halls across the country, including Alice Tully Hall (NY), Symphony Center Chicago and Walt Disney Concert Hall (LA). She is a multiple prizewinner of competitions in the United States and Europe and has been a guest at many prominent festivals throughout her career. In Brazil, she has been coaxed back to her hometown to perform as a soloist with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro, in the most prestigious halls of the city and on national television.
MARISA MCLEOD, VIOLINIST, Symphonie Concertante Soloist a native of Newark, New Jersey, began her studies of the violin at the age of three. She received her Bachelor of Music degree at Montclair State University, and her Master of Music degree from the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. She received her Suzuki certification from the School for Strings in New York City and the Eastman School under Anastasia Jempelis. As a former member of the Anderson String Quartet for ten years, she toured the country performing for concerts. They were artists in residence and members of the music faculty at California State University, Los Angeles. Their travels took them all over the country where they performed numerous recitals and children’s concerts. She has also performed and recorded for artists like Snoop Dog, Smokey Robinson, En Vogue, Moesha, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, and many others She has recently performs with California Philharmonic, Santa Barbara, and various orchestras in Southern California..
DAVID CRAWFORD, FLUTIST
DAVID CRAWFORD Flutist/Composer/Producer/Orchestrator was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He received a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Music from California Institute of the Arts. He began his professional career as an Orchestrator/Arranger for major record companies such as, RCA, Capitol, Columbia, Universal Music Group, Polygram and others. On flute he has performed with the Santa Monica Symphony, Cal Arts Orchestra and is currently performing with the African American Chamber Music Society. He is a voting member of the National Association of Recording Arts & Science (Grammys). In 2006 he was the founder of Knights of Music Foundation, a non profit organization that provided instrumental music programs for underserved communities and schools.
PROGRAM
Sunday, February 28, 2021
6pm PST
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83450298044
Meeting ID: 834 5029 8044
Welcome…………………………………………...Elizabeth White, President
History of AACMSO……………………………....Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Interview with Rob Foster Europe, Great Grandson…….Professor Womack
Castle House Rag…………………………………James Reese Europe (1914)
Memphis Blues…………………………...William Christopher Handy (1912)
Introduction to Frederick Douglass &
Interview with Jeraldine Saunders Herbison…….Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Frederick Douglass Symphonic Suite………….Jeraldine Saunders Herbison
I Have Often
Thus I Used to Think
Is There Any God?
I’ll Try It - Dorceal Duckens, Bass-Baritone & George Sampson, Tenor
The Glad Ship Is Gone
The Steamboats
Only Think of It
Under the Yoke
There Is A Better Day A Comin’
Freedom Shuffle-Instrumental Dance
ZOOM CONCERT HOST & PANELISTS:
Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Political Analyst, AACMSO Board Member, HOST
Professor Vince Womack, AACMSO Conductor
Professor Janise White, AACMSO Founder & Director
Ms. Elizabeth White, AACMSO Board President
Bill Doggett, Marketing, Historian
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Host is an author and political analyst. He is the author of multiple books on race and politics in America. The most recent include; The Obama Legacy, The Trump Challenge to Black America, and From King to Obama: Witness to a Turbulent History. He has authored a book on music: “It's Our Music Too: The Black Experience in Classical Music”.
Hutchinson is a frequent guest analyst on Fox News John Gibson Show, O'Reilly Show, Hannity & Colmes, Glenn Beck Show, PBS Lehrer Report, NPR's Talk of the Nation, various CNN news shows, New Nation MSNBC.
He hosts the live call-in program, The Hutchinson Report on Pacifica Radio outlet KPFK-FM radio in Los Angeles featuring his commentary and the voices of listener-callers, and KTYM-Radio in Los Angeles.
AFRO-AMERICAN CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY ORCHESTRA (AACMSO) Founded in 1988 by Professor Janise White, AACMSO began as a piano quartet and expanded by 1990 to a chamber orchestra. AACMSO has pioneered in bringing attention to obscure composers of the African diaspora through live performances over KUSC Radio since 1988. International trips to archival collections expanded the repertoire with the revival of early historic works dating back to the 1500s. With the assistance of Ethnomusicologist, Dr. Jacqueline Djedje, AACMSO discovered additional lost works creating a plethora of repertoire for Black Symphonist Concerts. The Series has presented works by over thirty symphonists both historic and contemporary. Recordings have been broadcast over BBC Radio and nationwide classical radio stations. In 2015, AACMSO’s Sancho Minuets & Optional Dances recording was displayed at the West Africa Exhibit in the British Library from October 2015 to February 2016; archived in the British Library Repository (2015-16); broadcast over BBC Radio 4 for “Britain’s Black Past” in a ten-part documentary that aired in October 2016 and in May and September 2020, on BBC 3 in Episode 1 of “The Blacke Trumpeter” by composer, Eleanor Alberga. In 2018, AACMSO’s Lyric for Strings video performance appeared on NewMusicBox in an interview with Pulitzer Prize Winner composer, Dr. George Walker entitled “Concise and Precise.” Additionally, AACMSO’s two commissioned works and recordings of “Cape Coast Castle Symphony” and “Jazz Flute Concertino” by Dr. Joyce Solomon Moorman were archived in the Research Foundation Library of the City University of New York.
AACMSO is mentioned in the Bibliography of Black Composers by Dominique Rene de Lerma, the International Dictionary of Black Composers by Samuel Floyd, Jr.; Brass Music of Black Composers by Aaron Horne; Music by Black Women Composers: A Bibliography of Available Scores by Helen Walker-Hill; From Spirituals to Symphonies: African-American Women Composers by Helen-Walker-Hill; Black American Music: Past & Present by Hildred Roach; and the Encyclopedia of Women Composers by Aaron Cohen.
PROFESSOR VINCE WOMACK, CONDUCTOR
Mr. Womack teaches in the Music Teaching & Learning Department at the University of Southern California (USC) Thornton School of Music and was previously Assistant Director of the USC Trojan Marching Band. He also serves as Instrumental Music at Foshay Learning School. He holds a Bachelor degree in Music Education from the University of Michigan and a Master degree in Music Education from the University of Southern California.
PBS recently featured Mr. Womack in an inspiring mini-documentary called The Jazz Ticket, which follows the journey of a promising Foshay music student preparing to audition for the Berklee College of Music. Mr. Womack and his students have made multiple national television appearances and and were featured in the premiere episode of the Queen Latifah Show performing with Grammy Award-winner, Alicia Keys. Under Mr. Womack’s direction, the Foshay Jazz Ensemble recently performed in Paris, France as American Ambassadors.
JANISE WHITE, CONDUCTOR, PIANIST, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
Professor White served as tenured Music Professor with the Los Angeles Community College District for over two decades. A child prodigy, she began piano studies at Mills College at age 4 and recorded at age 9. White is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (B. Music, piano); Oberlin Conservatory (Artist Diploma Studies); University of Southern California (M. Music, piano); and Cal State University, Hayward (Choral Credential). She studied conducting with Dr. Denis DeCoteau. Her piano teachers were Adolph Baller (San Francisco Conservatory of Music); Francis Walker, (Oberlin Conservatory) sister of Pulitzer Prize Winner, Dr. George T. Walker and Daniel Pollack (University of Southern California). She has appeared as soloist with orchestras on the west coast and concertized as recitalist in London, France, Canada, Virgin Islands and for radio and television. White researches works by Black composers, creates and publishes orchestrations for AACMSO’s Black Symphonist Concerts.
White is listed in “American Black Women in the Arts and Social Sciences” by Dr. Ora Williams, “Brass Music of Black Composers” by Aaron Horne, “African-American Music: A Chronology: 1619-1995” by Dr. Hansonia Caldwell; “The Magic of Music” by Leroy Hurte, “The Bibliography of Black Music and the Greenwood Encyclopedia” by Dr. Dominique Rene de Lerma.
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Robert Foster Europe is a singer/songwriter and guitarist from Long Island, New York. He is the great grandson of James Reese Europe. Because he shares the DNA of the famed military bandleader, he also has a proclivity for popular music. Rob’s repertoire encompasses a wide array of Blues, Americana, and Roots music. He has opened for Guy Davis, and John Hammond, Jr. He is also the lead singer and guitarist for the band “Foster Europe Band”.
ABOUT THE COMPOSERS:
JAMES REESE EUROPE: Composer & Military Band Leader (1880-1919)
James Reese Europe studied violin with Enrico Hurlei and Joseph Douglass, grandson of Frederick Douglass (son of Charles Douglass, statesman). He was a prolific composer of over 30 marches and dances. By 1889, his family left their home of Mobile, Alabama moving to Washington, D.C. In 1905, seeking employment, Europe relocated to New York. There he gained employment by freelancing as a pianist at night clubs in New York and later was appointed as the musical director of the Jolly John Larkin Company. In 1906, Europe became musical director of the Bob Cole/Johnson brothers show. In 1910, Europe served as conductor of the Clef Club Symphony Orchestra which performed at Carnegie Hall which boasted of having 125 members (some who played mandolins and banjos). This orchestra served as a marketing tool for the employment of its 125 Black musicians. In 1917, he organized an all black U.S. Fifteenth Infantry Band during World War I which toured France, performing for heads of state, and the Congress of Women in Paris in 1918. Its reputation was according to the New York Times, “the best military band in the world.” As a seminal figure in jazz, Europe became the music director for dancers, Irene and Vernon Castle, touring across the United States and abroad. In 1914, Europe composed the famous, “Castle House Rag”.
CASTLE HOUSE RAG (1914)
Castle House Rag was one of Europe’s best known songs composed for the dance team, Vernon & Irene Castle. The Fox trot dance invented by Europe and collaborator Dabney is intended to be danced to this song. Its riveting melodies and highly syncopated rhythms repeat, modulate and introduce multi-thematic material. Composed in the ragtime derived structure, it consists of a slow introduction in dance-trio form ABAC followed by a bridge and repeats C. This piece has been revived by Janise White with a new orchestration from the piano manuscript held at the Library of Congress.
JERALDINE SAUNDERS HERBISON
Herbison graduated with distinction from Virginia State College earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education with a major in Violin and Minors in Voice and Piano. Her Principal Composition teacher includes Dean of African American Women Composers, Professor Undine Smith Moore of Virginia State University. Additional composition teachers include Clare Boge, Hart College, Tom Clarck, Texas Southern University, in courses of study at the University of Michigan division at Interlochen, and Harvey Stokes, Hampton University.
A prolific composer of over 100 works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, choral music, art songs, instrumental solos, concertos, her works have been performed at the Kennedy Center and by professional soloists, chamber musicians and orchestras throughout the United States and England. Herbison is listed in The International Dictionary of Women Composers by Aaron Cohen, Black Music: Past and Present Volume 2 by Hildred Roach and The International Dictionary of Black Composers by Samuel Floyd, Jr.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS SYMPHONIC SUITE
Evolved from a suggestion by Dr. Willis Patterson, Voice Professor at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, the work contains primarily symphonic writing highlighting the Baritone solo with Chorus in thirteen movements, thus the title, Frederick Douglass Symphonic Suite. The form is a mix between an art song, and chamber music and small SAT chorus. Its movements contain original thematic material using the style of the traditional African American folk song, and the tone painting of water with the music of the harps, closing with an instrumental Freedom Shuffle for banjo and orchestra. This work is cyclical with themes recurring in other movements. My Suite attempts to imitate in sound the soul of the soliloquy; the lament on being a slave, and the determination to escape to Freedom, as it is narrated by the abolitionist, statesman, orator, educator, violinist and minister, Frederick Douglass. He penned these statements in his book, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave written by Himself” published in 1845. The scene takes place on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay near the Covey Plantation where Frederick often wandered to cogitate freedom. At age 20, atlas Douglass escaped to New York to freedom!
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Dorceal Duckens, Bass-Baritone performed operatic roles with many Opera Companies internationally. In 1975, he performed Treemonisha with the Houston Grand Opera and in 1978 he performed La Boheme with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera. Additionally, he performed at the Spoleto Festival in Italy with Gian Carlo Menotti. He currently performs with Houston Ebony Opera. Duckens has appeared with the Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra twice in 2018 and 2019 singing the role of Frederick Douglass in the Frederick Douglass Symphonic Suite.
Bill Doggett is a well respected published historian, archivist and lecturer specialized in African American Performing Arts History. He is the nephew of 1950s Rhythm & Blues-Rock’ n Roll famed pioneering jazz organist, Bill Doggett, creator of the landmark instrumental of early Rock n Roll titled Honky Tonk. Honky Tonk was awarded by Billboard and Cashbox with recognition as the most important instrumental recording in the early Rock n Roll era.
Since 2012, Doggett has lectured at universities and conferences across the country on subjects in African American performing arts history. Doggett specializes in diversity inclusion advocacy in the Classical Music Performing Arts as a strategic marketing agent for African American contemporary composers, Anthony Davis, Richard Thompson and Adolphus Hailstork.
In 2015, Doggett was commissioned by The Recorded Sound Division of The Library of Congress to produce an extensive Pilot titled, #BlackVoicesMatter, Race, Music and Message at The Dawn of Recorded Sound for The National Jukebox. Doggett has developed a national reputation in this specialization which he has broadened to explore the impact of Technology paired with Lost Cause Confederacy nostalgia about Race commercialized through Technology and its’ impacts on contemporary culture.
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DALE BREIDENTHAL, Los Angeles Philharmonic, VIOLINIST
Violinist Dale Allmond Breidenthal was born in Los Angeles and raised in the West Adams area along with her musical siblings Edmond and Kathy Allmond. Ms. Breidenthal began violin studies at eight with Linda Rose at Mt. St. Mary’s Community School on the Doheny Campus. Later she continued formal collegiate studies at the University of Southern California with Professor Eudice Shapiro while also performing as a substitute member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 1983, Ms. Breidenthal won a permanent position in the LA Philharmonic with 2019 marking 36 years of dedicated service to creating music for the City of Los Angeles and the world. Most recently, she has performed with the LA Phil in Seoul and Tokyo and will be performing in Scotland in August. In the summer of 2020 she will be performing in Hiroshima with the Music for Peace orchestra.
VINCE WOMACK, USC PROFESSOR & ASSISTANT AACMSO CONDUCTOR:
Vince Womack is Music Director at James A. Foshay Learning Center, an urban, K-12 public school in south Los Angeles. This position followed a seven-year tenure at Canoga Park High School where he was director of instrumental and choral music. From Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Dolby Theater, to the Hollywood Bowl and the Cathedral of Our Lady, Mr. Womack has conducted ensembles in the finest venues in Los Angeles.
Mr. Womack recently initiated and oversaw the completion of a 10 million dollar theater renovation project at Foshay. This impressive performing arts facility brings state-of-the-art quality opportunities to the school and community. Due to his efforts to overcome odds and bring high quality, creative music education to public, inner-city schools, Mr. Womack has received the Fulfillment Fund Outstanding Teacher Award, the Bogart/USC Family of Five Teacher Award, the Los Angeles Music Center’s Bravo Award, the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation Award, and ETM-LA’s Shining Star Award.
Mr. Womack teaches in the Music Teaching & Learning department at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and was previously Assistant Director of the USC Trojan Marching Band. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Michigan and a master’s in Music Education from the University of Southern California.
PBS recently featured Mr. Womack in an inspiring mini-documentary called The Jazz Ticket, which follows the journey of a promising Foshay music student preparing to audition for the Berklee College of Music. Mr. Womack and his students have made multiple national television appearances and and were featured in the premiere episode of the Queen Latifah Show performing with Grammy Award-winner, Alicia Keys. Under Mr. Womack’s direction, the Foshay Jazz Ensemble recently performed in Paris, France as American Ambassadors.
RICHARD TAYLOR, LYRIC BARITONE
Mr. Taylor received his Degrees in voice from the University of Michigan, where he was awarded first prize in their Concerto Competition. While there he was a student of Dr. Willis Patterson. He began his professional career with the Michigan Opera Theatre singing the role of Jake in "Porgy and Bess". He continued his career touring China with the Pacific Chorale singing the title role in the oratorio "Elijah". He toured the United States and Europe with the Houston Grand Opera as a featured performer. Richard Taylor sang his first Scarpia for the Anchorage Opera. He appeared as soloist in the world premiere of Earnestine Rodgers-Robinson's "The Nativity" at Carnegie Hall. He also debuted in Carnegie Hall singing the Faure' and Verdi Requiems under the direction of Donald Neun. His debut with Opera San Jose was the title role in Verdi's "Rigoletto". In Barcelona, Spain he performed as soloist in the "Verdi Requiem". He sang with the Nevada Opera as Leporello in Mozart's "Don Giovanni", and appeared as a soloist in Bach's Mass in b minor with the Memphis and Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra's. Richard has worked with many noted conductors throughout the world including; Antal Dorati, Robert Shaw, John Alexander, and Donald Nuen. As part of John Hopkin's University's distinguished concert series Mr. Taylor performed as both singer and jazz bassist in a celebration of the musical genius of George Gershwin. He also appeared with the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra to perform songs of Charles Ives. During Richards professional career he has been honored to perform with many professional organizations. Including; Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Pacific, Pacific Chorale, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Long Beach Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, Southbend Symphony Orchestra, Spirit Chorale of Los Angeles, and Los Angeles Baritones.
GERTRUDE BRADLEY, LYRICO-SPINTO SOPRANO
Gertrude Bradley is a lyrico-spinto soprano who loves to sing Spirituals, art songs, contemporary Gospel, and Broadway show tunes. Her vast classical repertoire includes arias from the operas La Rondine, Aida, La Forza Del Destino, Porgy and Bess, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Carmen, Otello, Tannhaüser, La Wally, and Adriana Lecouvreur, to name a few. Gertrude has appeared in numerous concerts throughout the United States and has performed internationally in Taiwan, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, the Philippines, Israel, South Africa, Namibia, and Egypt. Ms Bradley has sung for over 500 memorial services which include the prestigious services of Los Angeles Dodgers’ Roy Campanella, and Don Drysdale, and Margie Grier (wife of football star Rosie Grier). She performed in the debut of the LA Philharmonic director, Gustavo
Dudamel who conducted the electrifying Beethoven’s 9 th at the Hollywood Bowl. She has been guest soloist with the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, the Afro-American Chamber Society Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and was privileged to sing with the Pacific Symphony orchestra. Gertrude has sung recitals for the organization Blacks for LA Opera, and was in the LA Opera production of Porgy and Bess at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. One of her proudest achievements is being a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall in New York. Ms Bradley has over 30 years experience in musical theatre, which includes performances in the Crystal Cathedral's “The Glory of Christmas,” and “The
Glory of Easter” productions and a two year tour with the Whispers in the production of “Thank God the Beat Goes On.”
She is a host, teacher and musician on OCN Christian network broadcast of “The Lord Reigns.”
ERNIE CARBAJAL, Jr., CELLIST
ERNIE CARBAJAL Cellist, Symphonie Concertante Soloist & Principal Cellist for AACMSO. Ernie is a protege of Professor Glen Grab who has recently been awarded a scholarship to attend the University of Colorado, Boulder pursuing undergraduate studies in music with Professor David Requiro.
MANOELA WUNDER, VIOLINIST, Symphonie Concertante Soloist holds a Bachelor of Music from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College (NY) in Violin Performance and a Master of Music degree with distinction under scholarship from DePaul University in Chicago. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, violinist Manoela Wunder has performed with a wide range of orchestras and chamber groups in New York, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles as well as Europe. Her music has been heard in the most prominent halls across the country, including Alice Tully Hall (NY), Symphony Center Chicago and Walt Disney Concert Hall (LA). She is a multiple prizewinner of competitions in the United States and Europe and has been a guest at many prominent festivals throughout her career. In Brazil, she has been coaxed back to her hometown to perform as a soloist with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro, in the most prestigious halls of the city and on national television.
MARISA MCLEOD, VIOLINIST, Symphonie Concertante Soloist a native of Newark, New Jersey, began her studies of the violin at the age of three. She received her Bachelor of Music degree at Montclair State University, and her Master of Music degree from the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. She received her Suzuki certification from the School for Strings in New York City and the Eastman School under Anastasia Jempelis. As a former member of the Anderson String Quartet for ten years, she toured the country performing for concerts. They were artists in residence and members of the music faculty at California State University, Los Angeles. Their travels took them all over the country where they performed numerous recitals and children’s concerts. She has also performed and recorded for artists like Snoop Dog, Smokey Robinson, En Vogue, Moesha, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, and many others She has recently performs with California Philharmonic, Santa Barbara, and various orchestras in Southern California..
DAVID CRAWFORD, FLUTIST
DAVID CRAWFORD Flutist/Composer/Producer/Orchestrator was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He received a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Music from California Institute of the Arts. He began his professional career as an Orchestrator/Arranger for major record companies such as, RCA, Capitol, Columbia, Universal Music Group, Polygram and others. On flute he has performed with the Santa Monica Symphony, Cal Arts Orchestra and is currently performing with the African American Chamber Music Society. He is a voting member of the National Association of Recording Arts & Science (Grammys). In 2006 he was the founder of Knights of Music Foundation, a non profit organization that provided instrumental music programs for underserved communities and schools.
AACMSO Piano Trio members: Benton Preciado, Cellist, Manoela Wunder, Violinist & Janise White, Pianist Perform NEGRO SPIRITUALS at LaSierra Church ~7:00pm - Friday, April 5th, 2019
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AACMSO PERFORMS The Afro-American Suite by Undine Smith Moore, Friday, August 21, 2018 for LLBN TV Live Broadcast
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June 3 Concert Honorees
Congrats!!!
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AACMSO RECEIVES CONGRESSIONAL AWARD FROM
CONGRESSWOMAN JUDY CHU
February 11, 2018
Black Symphonist Concert Series 2017
February - June 2017 - Southern California School & College Tour
Sponsors: LA County Arts Commission/Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas/AACMSO Board Members;
Disclaimer: Concerts subject to change;
Sponsors: LA County Arts Commission/Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas/AACMSO Board Members;
Disclaimer: Concerts subject to change;
