CityMusic Cleveland

CityMusic Cleveland Presents: Celebrating Black Excellence

October 19, 2023

Description

Celebrating the wonder of African American musical heritage in a brilliant program featuring the vocal talents of Oberlin Conservatory’s own Travis Guillory, Elizabeth Hanje, and Benhur Mosazghi.

In the second series of our 20th season, CityMusic celebrates the wonder of African American musical heritage in this brilliant program featuring a piece by one of the most revered living Black composers, Jessie Montgomery, and the vocal talents of Oberlin Conservatory’s own Travis Guillory, Elizabeth Hanje, and Benhur Mosazghi.

Celebrating Black Excellence will feature excerpts from the iconic opera, Porgy and Bess by Jewish composer, George Gershwin. This opera was hailed as the first great American opera for its setting in black American communities and its performance by black artists at a time when black culture was exoticized by the white majority in the country.

Artie Shaw’s Clarinet Concerto pairs virtuoso boogie-woogie blues and virtuoso riffs, and features a spotlighted solo from clarinetist, Daniel Gilbert. Montgomery’s Strum is full of dancing rhythms and folk-inspired melodies. The program will also include a lively performance of Manuel De Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance.