Hall Johnson (1888-1970) arrangement – Ride on King Jesus
William Grant Still (1895-1978) Troubled Island / Martel: I Dream A World
Margaret Bond (1913-1972) arrangement – He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands
Intermission
Pianist Richard Thompson, Soprano Anita Johnson
Richard Thompson (b. 1954) I, Too, Sing America
Duke Ellington (1899-1974) Second Sacred Concert:
Heaven
T.G.T.T (Too Good To Title)
Almighty God
Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim, Cellist Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun
David Baker (b. 1931) Sonata for Cello and Piano, II. Blues (slow)
Cellist Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun
Coleridge Taylor-Perkinson (1932-2004) Lamentations: Black Folk Song Suite for cello solo, IV. Perpetual Motion
Pianist James Lent, Soprano Juliana Gondek
Charles Osborne (b. 1927) arrangement – Ki Eleicha
John Carter (1932-1981?) arrangement – Let Us Break Bread Together On Our Knees
Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim, Soprano Jumi Kim
Dong-Jin Kim (1913-2009) Cho-Hon (Invocation)
Pianist Polli Chambers-Salazar
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) Valse Suite: Three-Fours, Op 71
II. Andante
IV. Vivace
VI. Allegro assai
Pianist Richard Thompson, Bass-Baritone Mark Steven Doss
Louis Gruenberg (1884-1964) The Emperor Jones / Brutus Jones: Oh, Lawd Jesus, heah my prayer (Standin’ in de Need of Prayer)
J. Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954) arrangement – Go Down, Moses
Jacques Brel (1929-1978) Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris – If We Only Have Love –English Lyrics: Mort Shuman & Eric Blau
Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim, Soprano Jumi Kim
Joopoong Kim (b. 1958) Candlelight for Soprano (World Premiere)
Program Note:
This piece was composed to commemorate and honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose vision and leadership helped our society to advance towards greater civil equality for all. This piece attempts to capture the fragility of a candle’s flame, vulnerable to being extinguished by the slightest of winds. Yet with consistent care and protection, even this fragile flame can light the way in the darkest of times. Dr. King was that care and protection, kindling the fragile flame of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. That flame grew stronger and brighter, and ultimately lit the way towards greater equality for the entire nation. This piece is, therefore, titled “Candlelight” to express Dr. King’s legacy.
The melody attempts to express the equality of all men and women through its harmonious sounds, while the vertical harmony of the accompaniment is structured as a dissonant chord, composed using the homophonic texture. We may have heard the phrase “The night is darkest before the dawn.” The interaction between the harmonious melody and inharmonic accompaniment represents the struggle and darkness that faced Dr. King and his followers during the Civil Rights Movement. Yet the piece concludes by reaching an overall harmony. This ultimate harmony represents not only the achievements of Dr. King’s vision, but also this composer’s hope that the advances in civil rights we enjoy today continue to strive so that Dr. King’s vision of equality for African-Americans extends to equality for all minority groups.
