October 30, 2020 – Austin Opera announces a casting update for its spring 2021 production of Puccini’s Tosca. Celebrated American soprano Latonia Moore joins the cast in the title role. A native of Houston, Moore makes her Austin Opera debut as the fiery diva caught in the crossfire of love. She has recently sung Tosca…
Guest Artists Masterclass (Margaret Bonds & Florence Price) by Dr. Michael Cooper.
Colburn School and Sphinx Organization Form Partnership to Engage, Develop, and Empower Young Artists of Color on the West Coast. Beginning in 2021, Colburn will provide full scholarships in its Academy program to pre-collegiate musicians who are winners and semi-finalists in the Junior Division of the Sphinx Competition; present the Sphinx Virtuosi in a…
LA Phil SOUND/STAGE (laphil.com/soundstage) Episode 6 – premieres Friday Oct 30, 2020 Kamasi Washington performs an excerpt from his original score to BECOMING: An intimate portrait of Michelle Obama – a new documentary based on the former First Lady’s bestselling memoir. See excerpt: https://www.laphil.com/about/watch-and-listen/soundstage-kamasi-washingtons-becoming
PREMIERE performance of a 1941 song by Florence Price on a text by Langston Hughes: the Monologue for the Working Class. Dr. Michael Cooper is responsible for this Florence Price revision and numerous other Florence Price and Margaret Bonds new discoveries and revisions.
Lawrence Brownlee is busy preparing for the November 13 release of this new album, “Amici e Rivali”, where his soaring tenor, alongside Michael Spyres’, will pay homage to Rossini’s male arias and duets that are featured in seven of the composer’s 1800s operas. But in a year that also sparked conversations around racial justice—in America,…
CBS has hired Will Packer Media executive Sheila Ducksworth to head up its development efforts under a deal with the NAACP. Ducksworth will serve as president of the CBS/NAACP production partnership, supervising development of scripted, unscripted and documentary content across all platforms and designed to tell inclusive stories that give Black artists more visibility. Read…
Sidiki Dembélé is a master of the n’goni and calabash (traditional African instruments). This song was written in dedication to his grandfather, who was the chief griot for the Ivory Coast. Sidiki is joined by the Manchester Collective string quartet. Voice and Percussion – Sidiki Dembélé Cello – Abel Selaocoe Violin – Rakhi Singh…
South African cellist Abel Selaocoe is redefining the parameters of the cello (between Western and non-Western musical traditions with a view of helping classical music reach a more diverse audience).
In September, American Ballet Theatre announced the promotion of Calvin Royal III, making him the company’s first Black male Principal Dancer in over two decades. Royal joins Misty Copeland in the roster of American Ballet Theatre’s principal dancers. Royal joined the main Company as an apprentice in October 2010 and the corps de ballet in…