African American Symposium Concert Page

CONCERTS

The African-American Shakespeare Company

Envisioning the Classics with Color

Sherri Young, the founder of the company

The African-American Shakespeare Company (AASC) is the only company of African-American actors that performs European Classical works in the country. These time-honored works are told within the perspective of the African-American culture.

The African-American Shakespeare Company's mission is to produce European Classical works with an African-American cultural perspective and to provide opportunities and accessibility for minority artists and their community to view these works in a manner that is inclusive of their cultural heritage and identity.

The Girls Choir of Harlem

The Girls Choir of Harlem overall consists of 240 girls in grades 4-12, which is divided into Preparatory and Concert Units. Approximately 40 girls comprise the performing ensemble, in a repertoire that emphasizes the classical tradition while encompassing folk, spirituals, gospel and jazz.

The Girls Choir of Harlem

All the girls attend The Choir Academy of Harlem with the members of The Boys Choir of Harlem, which means that as part of their school day they take classes in music history and theory, solo and ensemble voice, movement and an instrument. Counselors, artistic and academic teachers provide support for the young women in all aspects of their lives, not just school. One hundred percent of The Girls Choir's graduates have been accepted to college since their first Academy graduating class in 1996. In November 1997, The Girls Choir of Harlem made its formal debut at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center to a warm critical reception.

Patrice Rushen

Multi-Grammy-nominated artist, Patrice Rushen, is fashioning her career after her long-time friend and mentor, Quincy Jones. Composer, Producer, International Recording Artist, Rushen has definitely earned the respect awarded her by her peers in the music industry. A classically trained pianist, Rushen has spent a lifetime honing the skills which make her one of the music industry's most versatile and sought after artists.

Considered one of the world's top jazz pianists, Rushen has performed with and produced for such esteemed artists as Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Prince, and Lionell Hampton to name but a few. She has played at the world's most prestigious jazz festivals, with Philharmonic Orchestras, and has even written an award winning symphony which received one of the highest honors in the world of symphonic composers. It is scheduled to be played by the Cleveland Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and will be presented at the Kennedy Center in the year 2000.

Ms. Rushen has been named the Artistic Director of Education for the Theolonious Monk Institute, housed at the University of Southern California, and has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award.

The Marian Anderson String Quartet

For nearly a decade, the Anderson String Quartet has brought music, inspiration and hope to every segment of American society. Driven by their belief that artistic expression is a birthright of all people, the Anderson Quartet has performed in hundreds of Churches, Libraries, Museums, Soup Kitchens, Institutions for the Criminally Insane and Juvenile Correctional Facilities. Their relentless pursuit of artistic achievement has brought them to such venues as New York CityUs Alice Tully Hall, the Cocoran Gallery and the Library of Congress, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Kilbourn Hall, and the Chateau Cantanac-Brown (Bordeaux, Franc). In 1992 the Anderson performed for an audience of millions when it was featured on a live segment of ABC Television/s "Good Morning America."

In 1993, they performed at the Washington D.C. Kennedy Center as part of President ClintonUs Inaugural Celebration. The Anderson QuartetUs unique ability to combine artistry and humanity has made them a natural magnet for audiences of all ages. The Anderson String Quartet is not only in the business of creating beautiful music; they are in the business of changing lives.

Symposium Concert

Maestro Michael Morgan is currently celebrating his tenth anniversary as Music Director of the Oakland East Bay Symphony. He is also Artistic Director of the Oakland Youth Orchestra, Principal Conductor of Sacramento Philharmonic and Music Director of Festival Opera in Walnut Creek. Michael holds a chair, and guest conducts at Indiana University. Michael Us long list of accomplishments includes winning the 1st prize in the Hans Swarowsky International Conductors Competition in Vienna. His operatic debut was in 1982 at the Vienna State Opera in MozartUs "The Abduction form the Seraglio." In 1986 Sir Geor Solti chose him to become Assistant for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for seven years.

The Symposium Orchestra Conductor, Michael Morgan
Other guest appearances have included the Berlin State Opera, St. Louis Opera theatre, Washington Opera, and New York City Opera. He has conducted the San Francisco, National, Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, Seattle, Vancouver, Detroit and Oregon Symphony Orchestras; as well as the Los Angeles and Warsaw Philharmonics and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He makes over 100 appearances in the nationUs schools, particularly in the East Bay, and gives many speeches on the importance of music education and minority access to, and participation in, the arts.

Under his baton he will guide more than seventy of AmericaUs most talented and highly skilled African American orchestral musicians through some of the most celebrated and contemporary compositions by Adolphus Hailstork, William Banfield, Patrice Rushen, and George Walker to name a few as well as serving as the official orchestra to accompany the winners of the Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latino strings players.This competition is the only one of its kind in the country and offers the young performers the opportunity to showcase their talents, experience a positive competition environment and become acquainted with a highly talented and motivated peer group and to compete for extensive monetary prizes and professional-level performance opportunities.

Sphinx Finals Concert

The 2000 3rd Annual Sphinx Competition, showcasing the top young Black and Latino string players in the country, culminates with the Finals Concert, which takes place this year at 4:00 pm on Sunday, March 5, 2000, at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, MI. Admission is free. In addition to the live performance, the concert will be taped for broadcast on NPR, PBS stations and other major media venues. Past years of the highly acclaimed Sphinx Competition brought to Ann Arbor such notable string legends as Isaac Stern and resulted in performances by the winners with the National Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony and Ann Arbor Symphony as well as sessions with top performing artists, including Itzhak Perlman. In addition, the Sphinx presents over $80,000 in prizes and scholarships!

Visit the Sphinx Website

       The Finals Concert features the three finalists, selected from the top young minority musicians across the country, performing along with the unique nationally-assembled all African-American professional orchestra under the guidance of Maestro Michael Morgan, one of the country's premiere African-American conductors and current conductor of the Oakland, CA Symphony. The finalists will perform both standard repertoire as well as repertoire by minority composers as they compete for the 1st Place $10,000 prize and extensive performance opportunities.
       The Sphinx Competition's purpose is to promote the development of string instrument experience in young African-Americans and Latinos. It is open to African-American and Latino string players under the age of 26. As participants in the Sphinx, the young musicians are able to develop their existing talent, gain first-hand audition and competition experience, receive recognition (both verbal and monetary) for their abilities and be exposed to a variety of highly-experienced music professionals.
Audra McDonald, Soprano

    Audra made her Carnegie Hall debut on opening night of the 1998-1999 season, singing selections from Porgy and Bess with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas. The concert, which was televised internationally and recorded for BMG Classics, was repeated in San Francisco and at the Kennedy Center. She also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra and Leonard Saltkin, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Marin Alsop and the Boston Pops to name a few. On television, Ms. McDonald was introduced as a dramatic actress in the CBS television movie "Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters, First 100 years." She appears on ABC this season in the Walt Disney Television production of the Broadway musical Annie, and is also featured in "My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies," a PBD broadcast of the 1998 Carnegie Hall event. She has also been a feature subject on "60 Minutes." Audra McDonald grew up in Fresno,California. She graduated from the Juilliard School in 1993. This performance marks her regional debut.
The Pamela Joseph Youth Dance Troupe

    The Pamela Joseph Youth Dance Troupe was designed out of her desire and determination to provide a positive outlet for inner city children and special populations. Through a wide variety of programs such as Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Tumbling, African and Therapeutic Recreation, P.J.Ys Dance Art School present a vast amount of opportunities for its students. The school goals are to help students achieve realistic, measurable success through the Arts, to assist students in exploring hidden, and unknown potential, talent, skill and interest in Dance Education. It also provides an opportunity for students to interact in creative therapeutic groups, therefore enhancing self-esteem, concentration, physical fitness, motivation, discipline, team building and problem solving skills.