Thursday, September 10, 2009

Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra: Start of Inaugural Season Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

[Jeri Lynne Johnson, Founder and Conductor, The Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra]

Julia Rubio, Executive Director of The Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, has issued a Press Release:
Philadelphia, PA – September 10, 2009. The Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra led by Music Director and Founder Jeri Lynne Johnson will commence its inaugural season with a musical celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. This world-class ensemble will perform works by famed Latin American composers beautifully contrasted by Beethoven’s unforgettable 5th Symphony. The first of a three-concert season, the September 19th 7:30pm concert at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater is FREE and open to the public.

Tickets, although free, are limited and must be reserved through Ticket Philadelphia (215) 893-1999, online
http://www.ticketphiladelphia.org, or in person at the Ticket Philadelphia Box Office. The concert stage will be shared by a diverse selection of masterworks to illustrate that classical music has been a part of the musical heritage of every color and race.

William Grant Still – Danzas de Panama
Javier Alvarez – Metro Chabacano (Mexico) – Performed by the all-Latino Dalí String Quartet
Aldemaro Romero – Fuga con Pajarillo (Venezuela)
Astor Piazzolla – Contemplación y Danza (Argentina) – Clarinet Soloist Doris Hall-Guilati
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 5

The concert will open with William Grant Still’s Danzas de Panama. Still was an African-American classical composer who wrote more than 150 compositions and was the first African-American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra. First performed in 1948, Danzas de Panama is based on Panamanian folk themes and evokes vignettes of indigenous dances performed by candlelight, intricate and percussive sounds of zapatas, or shoe-tapping, and even prayer. [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]






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