Classical Music Recordings of Black Composers:


a reference guide




Project Overview  /   Recordings  /   Composers  /   Comprehensive CD Recording Publication  /   References, Music Scores  /   Web Links  /   Suggested Listening  /   Musicians & Conductors  /   In Philadelphia  /   Contact Us  /   Home  /  



CLASSICAL MUSICIANS, CONDUCTORS and PERFORMANCE GROUPS of SPECIAL INTEREST,



You are welcome to submit news and information of upcoming concerts, performers and recordings of interest. Questions are also welcome. Send to: rgreene@temple.edu Also see the Directory of Philadelphia Area Groups and Performances


BLACK and AFRICAN HERITAGE



  1. • MUSICIANS Use the following link for a comprehensive MUSICIAN LISTING If you are a musician, are you included? Take a look.
  2. • CONDUCTORS For conductor biographical information, please go to the following:

    MusicianBio.com. Requires user registration or you can temporarily use the following login information:

    User Name = guest
    Password = 1234


  3. • MUSIC PERFORMANCE GROUPS

    Chicago Sinfonietta - With Maestro Paul Freeman
    Harlem Symphony Orchestra -
    Imani Winds, New York, N.Y. - Features five outstanding, professional classical musicians of African-American and Latino heritage. Formed in 1997, the woodwind quintet was created to extend the boundaries of traditional woodwind quintet performance. Repertoire presented by Imani Winds highlights the group's commitment to diversity by featuring and championing works by African, Latin and American composers. Imani Winds is a recent winner of the Artists International Annual New York Debut Prize and was presented in a highly successful debut concert at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall on November 4, 2001. (Recordings)

    Marian Anderson String Quartet,- This is the first African American quartet to win a major competition in the field of classical music. Devoted to community outreach, the quartet abides by its philosophy that classical music is literally meant for everyone. It has performed in Alice Tully Hall, New York and the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.; - as well as in soup kitchens and institutions for the criminally insane. Following a performance at President Clinton's 1992 inauguration, they performed live on television's Good Morning America.. They teach on a regular basis in inner city classrooms.

    New Black Music Repertory Ensemble,- Based in Chicago and under the auspices of the Center for Black Music Research, this professional musician ensemble gives concerts and presents lecture-demonstrations that illustrate the vast range of music throughout the African diaspora. This organization gives authentic performances in many different styles, periods, and genres, and in groupings of instrumentalists and singers ranging from solos and duets to string quartets, woodwind quintets, and other ensembles of various size.

    Opera North - Opera North, Inc., founded in 1974 as Opera Ebony, is a non profit performance based cultural organization whose mission is to create performance opportunities to gifted minority classical concert artists and to make opera available to more racially diverse audiences. Selected, fully staged, opera productions include: Aida, Carmen, The Marriage of Figaro, II Trovatore, La Boheme, Don Pasquale, and Susannah. Ritz Chamber Players Society - The United States' first performance series comprised solely of accomplished musicians who span the African diaspora, and who focus on the classical music genre. As the Vision of founder and artistic director Terrance Patterson, the Ritz Chamber Players include some of the most notable and accomplished musicians of our time. To hear the Ritz Chamber Players perform is to hear history come to life. From Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky to today’s leading black composers Singleton, Walker, Perkinson and Bonds.

    Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra - This orchestra, based in Houston, Texas, was organized in 1983 by Ann Lundy. Its mission is to share music with communities that historically have had limited exposure to serious music. The 40-piece orchestra is the nation's only African-American community orchestra dedicated to performing works of African-American composers. Ms. Lundy serves as Music Director. Since its founding, the orchestra has performed throughout Houston , including two concerts with the Houston Symphony, and it has toured throughout Texas.

    Soulful Symphony - This symphony has established an unprecedented partnership with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. It is a symphony orchestra comprised of 75 exceptionally talented African-American musicians. Founded in 2000 by renowned composer, conductor, and pianist Darin Atwater, Soulful Symphony blends virtually every genre of music - gospel, jazz, classical and more. In addition, it goes into communities with educational and outreach programs to share a message of diversity through music - bringing African-American composers, artists, and musical genres to audiences who might never have the chance to hear them.

    Soweto String Quartet -

    Videmus, - A non-profit arts organization committed to producing concerts, programs and recordings of the concert music of African American, women and under-represented composers. Founded in 1986 by pianist Vivian Taylor, this group produced major concert events including the 1988 Boston premiere of the opera X-CERPTS by Anthony Davis and an ongoing chamber music concert series in New England. Following the appointment of its new Artistic Director, Louise Toppin, in October, 1997, Videmus moved its base of operation to North Carolina. (Recordings)

    The Young Eight, - The Young Eight is a group of young African American string players from The Juilliard School, The Boston Conservatory, Indiana University, New England Conservatory of Music, and the North Carolina School of the Arts. Founded in 2002 by artistic director Quinton I. Morris, the ensemble is dedicated to exposing the community to the arts through classical music.


  4. • SPECIAL INTEREST ORGANIZATIONS

    Buskaid String Project, South Africa - This project, founded in 1992 by British viola player Rosemary Nalden, is in response to a BBC Today programme broadcast that highlighted difficulties besetting a group of young Sowetan string players. Buskaid has been able to assist and initiate a wide variety of township music projects.

    Coalition of African Americans in the Performing Arts, - This organization's vision is to incorporate and provide a broad-based platform for artists, audiences, presenters, corporations, educators, and the community in an effort to broaden cultural outreach by fusing talent, providing resources, presenting opportunities, creating forums and performances for and to culturally diverse populations.

    Coalition of Harpists of African Descent (CHAD) -

    Detroit Symphony Orchestra,- This organization has taken a significant lead in lending visibility to Black composers through the African-American Composer and Visiting Composer Programs. Together with Music Director Naemi Jaarvi, it has sponsored an annual program to promote African-American classical composers since 1989 - a first of its kind in the nation.. Further information is available through the Symphony's education department.

    Eboni Strings, - A string trio founded in 1981, it includes gifted, classically trained female musicians. The group has performed extensively throughout the Philadelphia area - including surrounding Pennsylvania and New Jersey communities.

    Gateways Music Festival,- Rochester, N.Y. - An eight-day classical music festival featuring African-American musicians from throughout the United States in solo recitals, chamber music concerts, symphonic concerts, and lecture demonstrations.

    Myrtle Hart Organization - An internet-based music research and educational resource regarding the historical and contemporary accomplishments of classical musicians of color. It provides a forum for classical musicians of color to discuss social and economic challenges and triumphs faced within the larger classical community. A primary goal is to promote musicians of color and make their presence more accessible to the general public.

    Sphinx Organization, - Offers young Black and Latino classical string players a chance to compete, under the guidance of an internationally renowned panel of judges, and to perform with established professional musicians in a competition setting. The primary goal is to encourage, develop and recognize classical music talent in the Black and Latino communities.






    5. Project Overview  /   Recordings  /   Composers  /   Comprehensive CD Recording Publication  /   References, Music Scores  /   Web Links  /   Suggested Listening  /   Musicians & Conductors  /   In Philadelphia  /   Contact Us  /   Home  /  


Copyright © Richard Greene 1998 - 2016