Part 1 of 2 In 1979 or earlier during a visit to the home of composer Roy Harris and wife, Johana Harris, atop a mountain in Pacific Palisades, Ca. with a striking view of the Pacific Ocean, I asked Roy Harris to write a symphony dedicated to me. After some thought, he told me that…
Please see passage from ‘In One Lifetime’, a personal perspective about composer William Grant Still by his wife Verna Arvey (pianist, librettist). “This reminded us of R. Nathaniel Dett’s strong plea, when he visited groups of Negro musicians in Los Angeles, for Negroes to buy and perform works by Negro composers. At the time, we…
The Politics of Music. Around 2008, I met an attractive, diminutive woman around 86 years of age that captured my attention. See brief bio https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4406619/bio. I was honored to present Soprano Hope Foye in numerous performances over the next five years.
Artist, scholar, and curator David C. Driskell died April 1, 2020 at age 88. David C. Driskell curated exhibit “Two Centuries of Black American Art: 1750-1950” attracted international attention and demonstrated that Black Art Matters. See http://www.dcmooregallery.com/artists/david-driskell
POLITICS of MUSIC concert scheduled June 29, 2020, Music Centers’ Walt Disney Concert Hall, has been cancelled due to current health crisis. When more is known, an alternate date will be offered to featured Metropolitan soprano Latonia Moore. Violinist Annelle Kazumi Gregory and collaborative pianist James Lent were scheduled to open the 2nd half…
Greetings and Happy Passover to Jewish friends with interfaith respect. As a practicing Catholic, I recently attended mass at the iconic Lady of Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles. My seat was near an African American gentleman who sang in the choir and came up front to lead the congregation in an opening song. He was…
American composer Roy Harris Symphony ‘1933’ was the 1st commercially recorded symphony in the United States. Roy Harris 5th Symphony was commissioned by the Boston Symphony conductor Serge Koussevitzky, a close friend of Dmitri Shostakovich. Roy Harris dedicated his 5th Symphony to the Russian soldiers who were our allies during WWII. The work premiered Feb…
Judith Still, daughter of composer William Grant Still, shared: “I might mention that the Metropolitan Opera gave him (William Grant Still) an appointment to show them a score of TROUBLED ISLAND, but when he arrived and they saw he was the “wrong color” they left him in the outer office for four hours but would…
Soprano Latonia Moore scheduled return to Los Angeles and debut at the Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert, June 29, 2020 rests with issues surrounding the coronavirus disease. In 2012, with one days notice, Latonia Moore made her spectacular debut at the Metropolitan Opera in the leading role of Verdi’s AIDA. Latonia Moore is schedule to…
Solo and collaborative pianist James Lent is scheduled to perform solo and with violinist Annelle Kazumi Gregory during POLITICS of MUSIC concert June 29, 2020, Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. Pianist James Lent is Lecturer and Coordinator of Instrumental Collaborative Piano at UCLA in addition to serving as a coach and accompanist for…