WFDD.org: 'National Black Theatre Festival Announces 2013 Schedule' July 29 - August 3, Winston-Salem

National Black Theatre FestivalCredit Kathryn Mobley / WFDD

88.5 WFDD

June 4, 2013

Performers from around the world will entertain people in the Triad for six days and nights.

 

Winston-Salem will host the National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF) July 29-August 3. During the week, more than 100 shows will be performed across the city. Tickets are now on sale and range between $8 and $45. Executive Producer, Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin, is the wife of the festival's founder, the late Larry Leon Hamlin. She says this biennial event has a strong economic impact on Winston-Salem because it attracts thousands of people from across the country to the city, and all of them spend money staying in the hotels, eating at restaurants, renting cars and shopping. "In 2011, we had an economic impact of nearly $10 million," says Sprinkle-Hamlin. "Also, we love having the festival in Winston-Salem because it is The City of the Arts. So we’re bringing great, professional theater to this community. These shows deal with the real challenges of life in ways people of all racial, economic and personal background will be able to relate to.” Artistic Director Mabel Robinson agrees. “It’s important we bring in from around the world artists, technicians, singers and dancers, directors and playwrights here so they can appreciate their similarities and differences to create unique experiences that audiences will remember for a lifetime,” explains Robinson. “The festival is a vehicle to a reunion of spirit that I believe Winston-Salem is open to receiving.”

 

 A star-studded gala will kick off the biennial event at the M.C. Benton Convention Center. It will be followed by the opening show, The Eve of Jackie: A Tribute to Jackie Wilson. Broadway dancer, singer and performer, Chester Gregory, returns with a portrayal of this American musical icon whose career spanned the late 1950's through 1975. "This is the last full concert Wilson did before his career abruptly ends," says Gregory. "And during it, he reveals some very personal things." Gregory debuted on the NBTF stage in 2001 and he says it’s very special to him. "In 2001, we got to headline the festival with The Jackie Wilson Story. It was an awesome experience and I got a chance to meet the incredible Larry Leon Hamlin,” explains Gregory. “One night, he (Hamlin) spoke a powerful word into my life. Hamlin said, 'In 2003 you won’t be able to come to the festival because you’ll be on Broadway.' That was true, because in 2003 I was cast in Hair Spray on Broadway in the role of Sea Weed.” Gregory performed in that show for 2 1/2 years. The show he’s bringing to Winston-Salem will run in the University of North Carolina School of the Arts Steven’s Center for five nights. 

Read More

'RISING FROM ASHES: An Inspiring True Story about Rwanda and Redemption through Cycling, as told by Forest Whitaker'

New Documentary Executive Produced and Narrated by Forest Whitaker

Captures a Long, Amazing Ride to the 2012 Olympics

Opening in New York City and Los Angeles on August 2

From director T.C. Johnstone and told by Forest Whitaker comes RISING FROM ASHES, which will have its worldwide theatrical premiere on August 2 in New York and Los Angeles. 

In RISING FROM ASHES, two worlds collide when cycling legend Jock Boyer moves to Rwanda to help the first Rwandan National Cycling Team in their six year journey to compete in the Olympic Games in London. Setting out against impossible odds both Jock and the team find new purpose as they rise from the ashes of their past.

Executive produced and narrated by Forest Whitaker, this stunningly shot film follows Jock (the first American to compete in the Tour de France) and his Rwandan riders as they slowly but steadily learn what it means to be a professional cyclist - how to train, how to compete, how to live the life of a top level athlete. As they get better and better, the riders of Team Rwanda give their countrymen a vision of something greater than themselves and their history: hope for a future.

In Rwanda, ‘The Land of a Thousand Hills’, the bicycle is essential to life. It is how you move. It is how you work. And during the Genocide, it is how you survived. Stand on any corner of any village throughout the country, and farmers will scream down hillsides barefoot on 25 year old bikes loaded with 100 pounds of potatoes, taxi drivers peddle diligently with a mother and daughter in tow, and a child amuses himself for hours guiding a bent wheel down alleyways. It seems natural that bike racing has a rich history in Rwanda. For decades the country has participated in the sport, hosting local races for bragging rights, riding barefoot, many times without brakes or gears. During 100 days in 1994, as Rwandans were systematically murdered, thousands escaped certain death on their bikes. When the dust settled and the perpetrators were subdued, the country mourned the death of nearly one million of their countrymen. Amidst the heartache and trauma, a committed group of young cyclists began importing racing bikes into the country with the hopes of resurrecting the sport. In 2005, legendary bike builder Tom Ritchey explored the country on his bike, and upon meeting a group of cyclists who called themselves Team Rwanda, left with the vision there was potential for a National Team, and a question. What if they could make it to the Olympics?

Jock Boyer is one of America’s most fabled cyclists. He grew up battling Tom Ritchey in Northern California’s competitive cycling leagues, out of this rivalry a mutual admiration and friendship was born. At the age of 17, Jock left the U.S. to compete professionally against the World’s elite in France, and in 1981 he made history as the First American to ever ride in the Tour de France. Upon his return to the United States, after a prolific racing career, he would lose it all. In this period of darkness Tom reconnected with his long lost friend with an unlikely proposition, an offer to become the Coach of Rwanda’s first National Cycling Team.

The star of Team Rwanda is Adrien Niyonshuti. Adrien lost 60 family members in the Genocide, including six brothers and his mother’s entire line of heritage. Maybe because he sought purpose behind his pain, maybe he just had a gift, but Adrien started cycling. In 2006, he rode a mountain bike for the first time -- catching Jock and winning a local race, which forged the beginning of a relationship between two broken men. In 2011, Adrien qualified for the Olympic Games, a bold achievement that would send shockwaves throughout Rwanda, a living example that the ghosts and demons of our past have no power over our future.

RISING FROM ASHES was produced by two partnering non-profit’s, Gratis 7 Media Group and Project Rwanda. They in turn support Team Rwanda.

Team Rwanda started out as a cycling organization however they quickly learned they had to care for the greater needs of each athlete. Many of the riders could not read or write, lived in homes without fresh drinking water, were malnourished, and had never received healthcare. But there was still a greater issue, the issues of the heart. These riders were all recovering from the traumatic psychological effects of the 1994 genocide. Team Rwanda had to look deeper.

Team Rwanda has not solved all of these problems but it is making a difference.

- Riders are provided a modest salary to help provide for themselves and their families.

- Riders are given English lessons and taught how to read and write.

- Health care is provided for the ongoing issues of malaria and water-borne diseases.

- When funds are available, the riders are given regular health checks and dental care.

While the team has taken care of the physical and mental issues it has provided something greater: Hope.

Rwanda is a country recovering from one of the world’s most devastating genocides and they have longed for heroes. The riders of Team Rwanda have become more than just a cycling team; they have become ambassadors of hope and men to look up to. They have given the country a vision of something greater then themselves and a renewed sense of purpose.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

T.C. Johnstone (Director / Producer / Editor) began making films in Steamboat Springs over 10 years ago. After producing his first feature he moved to California and began working as a DP and documentary director on a wide variety of projects ranging from national television (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Discovery) to independent films. He currently focuses on independent documentary feature films.

RISING FROM ASHES

80 minutes, documentary, English, 2013
DCP, 16:9, Color, Dolby Digital 5.1
Directed and Produced by T.C. Johnstone
Edited by T.C. Johnstone, Elisa Bonora
Narrated by Forest Whitaker
Executive Producers: Forest Whitaker, Jon Halbert , Linda Halbert , Peb Jackson, Dan Cooper
Producer: Greg Kwedar
Composer: Joshua Myers
Cinematographers: David Eggerichs, Ryan Scheer Jeremy Rodgers, Jeffrey Waldron
Press kit, photos, & more available at www.firstrunfeatures.com/risingfromashes_press.html

Read More

BlackPast.org Posts Survey 'To Help Determine The Future Direction of This 10,000 Page Resource'

Prof. Quintard Taylor, Founder, BlackPast.org

Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History
The University of Washington, Seattle

Prof. Quintard Taylor writes:

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

I need your help. Our BlackPast.org team has put together a survey to help determine the future direction of the website.  If you wouldn’t mind, could you please take five minutes to complete this survey? Participating is easy: simply visit BlackPast.org (www.blackpast.org) and click on the Survey Banner located at the top of any page on the site.

BlackPast.org is now over seven years old and is in serious need of both a technological and design upgrade. By being brutally honest with us, describing what you like and don’t like about the website, we’ll have a clear roadmap for improving this 10,000 page resource. Your assessment will help us chart the future for this global resource now accessed by nearly three million visitors each year. We appreciate your perspective as we work to provide the best learning tool possible.

By the way, a $100 gift certificate will be awarded to one lucky survey participant, but we hope you will complete the survey regardless because we want to know how you feel about the website itself. 

Quintard 

Read More

Pianist Mikael Darmanie to Attend 'Catskill High Peaks Festival' as First Recipient of 'Jerome Wright Scholarship' for an African American Student

Mikael Darmanie

The Catskill High Peaks Festival

The Catskill High Peaks Festival (Artistic Director, Yehuda Hanani) is a performing and teaching summer institute bringing together renowned musicians, pedagogues and exceptionally gifted international students. It is held in the majestic Northern Catskill Mountains, surrounded by the iconic scenery – mountain peaks, water falls and charming hamlets – that inspired the Hudson River painters, and that continues to inspire generations of artists, musicians and writers.  The intimate scale and highest level of talent make possible an invigorating ten days of discovery, exploration, bonding, and growth. 

First recipient of the Jerome Wright Scholarship

Pianist Mikael Darmanie began his music studies at age 12 in Trinidad and Tobago. Mikael continued his studies as a student of Clifton Matthews at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he received his Bachelor of Music.  He went on to receive his Master of Music and an Artist Diploma at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Awadagin Pratt. In the fall he is beginning his doctoral studies with pianist Gilbert Kalish in New York.

Mr. Darmanie has performed throughout the United States, France, Switzerland, Germany and the Caribbean.  As a soloist, he has won first prize in a number of competitions, including the Southeastern Regional Piano Competition, Bearcat Festival Chopin Competition, Eurterpe Scholarship Competition, and the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs Competition. He also won Second Prize in the North Carolina MTNA Solo Piano Competition and was a Laureate at the New York Chopin Competition.  He has performed at several festivals, including Pianofest in the Hamptons, Art of Piano Festival, and L'Acadèmie de Musique de Sion (Switzerland).  Mr. Darmanie has also recently performed in Master Classes for Leon Fleisher, Paul Schenly, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Jerome Lowenthal, Joseph Kalichstein, and Menahem Pressler.

A versatile musician, Mr. Darmanie is equally adept as a soloist and chamber musician.  As a member of the Transverse Trio, he won First Prize in the North Carolina MTNA Chamber Music Competition. He has performed at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music as part of the Apple Hill Fellowship Trio.  In 2010, he performed in unique programs of Brazilian and French music for violin and piano at Lincoln Center Institute's Kenan Fellowship performance series.  In 2012, Mikael performed on the Taft Museum of Art Chamber Music Series (Cincinnati) with members of the Cincinnati Symphony.  He is a Graduate Assistant under the direction of Sandra Rivers at CCM, and works as a collaborative pianist performing a wide variety of repertoire.

Mr. Darmanie studied conducting with Serge Zehnacker, Robert Moody, and Ransom Wilson. He has given performances in North Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio conducting various piano concerti from the keyboard and has also conducted symphonic works by Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Haydn and Liszt. He has composed a handful of works, primarily for piano, and has performed his music throughout the United States and Western Europe. 

Read More

ConnectionNewspapers.com: 'Obituary: Dr. Thomas Wilkins Dies at 83. For more than 40 years, Wilkins worked to better lives of those around Reston.'

Dr. Thomas Wilkins with Reston founder Robert Simon. Wilkins, a longtime Reston resident and civil rights activist, passed away Saturday, July 20 at the age of 83. Photo by Alex McVeigh. 

The Connection

By Alex McVeigh
Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Reston — When Dr. Thomas Wilkins moved to Reston in 1969, he said he did so because it was “an island of equality in a sea of inequality.” Wilkins passed away Saturday, July 20 at the age of 83, having spent 44 years trying to make Reston a stronger community.

“I’m a Restonian,” Wilkins said in 2005, while discussing Reston’s history of inclusiveness for people of all races. “I’m fighting for what will make our community, not one of the best, but the best community in the United States."

He served in the Army, and graduated from Saint Paul’s College before spending a number of years working for the Department of Labor. Later, he was a staff member to Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Tom Davis, who would go on to become a congressman.

More recently, he worked with Warren Thompson of Thompson Hospitality, who runs American Tap Room in Reston.

Tammi Petrine, a member of the Reston Citizens Association, remembered Wilkins fondly as the man who officiated the wedding of her son and daughter-in-law at her home in Reston. She remembers the special bond Wilkins formed with their then three-year-old grandson Robbie.

“Quite a beautiful pair they made; the very tall, distinguished gentleman and a very short, curly haired nymph. Throughout the evening, Dr. Wilkins’ kindness never waived as his little shadow followed him step for step. At the end of the evening when Tom walked outside to leave, Robbie raced after him to bestow a big hug and kiss for his new friend,” she said. “The cliché that small children are the best judges of fine character certainly held true on this magical night as our family's seminal event was enriched by the charms of a great man whose life was dedicated to improving this very complex world.”

Carol Ann Bradley, past chair of the Reston Community Center and former principal of Terraset Elementary School, said Wilkins was one of the first people she met when she moved to Reston 40 years ago. “I will always remember Tom first and foremost as a loving father and husband,” she said. “The Wilkins home was always a place where my children and I felt welcome, it was filled with food, fun and family. He was a wonderful, caring friend who was always excited to help others.”

WILKINS WAS RECOGNIZED for his propensity to help others in 1997, when he was recognized as Best of Reston during the annual awards ceremony.

One of the most lasting parts of his legacy is the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Foundation, which he helped found in 1999.

“He founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Foundation as a member of the Martin Luther King Christian Church, with the idea that the church would organize it, incorporate it and eventually turn it over to the community, which is what happened,” said Roger Lewis, a member of the foundation. “His vision was that the needs of the community wouldn’t be met by just a faith-based organization, but with the efforts of the whole community.”                     

Read More

CD 'Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Undiscovered Piano Works' by Waka Hasegawa to be Released July 30, 2013 by Metropolis Group

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Undiscovered Piano Works; 

Waka Hasegawa, Piano; 

Metropolis Group 1301 (07/30/2013)

The pianist Waka Hasegawa has recorded piano works of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor on the Metropolis Group label, with a scheduled release date of July 30, 2013.  Retailers accepting advance orders include ArkivMusi and Amazon.com.

Amazon.com

"Waka Hasegawa established a successful career as part of the internationally acclaimed piano duo 'Piano 4 Hands' (with British pianist Joseph Tong), and as a much sought-after soloist."

ArkivMusic:
"Pianist Waka Hasagawa explores rarely heard insightful piano pieces."

Works on This Recording from ArkivMusic

1. Cameos, Op. 56 by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Performer:  Waka Hasegawa (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: England

2. Valse Suite, Op. 71, "Three-fours" by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Performer:  Waka Hasegawa (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: England

3. Forest Scenes, Op. 66 by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Performer:  Waka Hasegawa (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: England
Notes:
I. The Lone Forest Maiden
II. The Phantom Lover Arrives
III. The Phantom Tells His Tale of Longing
IV. Erstwhile They Ride, The Forest Maiden Acknowledges Her Love
V. Now Proudly They Journey Together Towards the Great City
 

4. Moorish Dance, OP. 55 by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Performer:  Waka Hasegawa (Piano)
Written: England 

[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List and a Bibliography by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com. We are collaborating with the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Foundation of the U.K., www.SCTF.org.uk]

Read More

OPC Symphony Orchestra Performs William Grant Still's 'Lenox Avenue,' 'Incantation and Dance' & 'Old California' Sunday, August 4 at 4 PM

[Africa: Piano Music of William Grant Still; 

Denver Oldham, piano; 

Koch International Classics 3-7084-2H1]

The Oakland Public Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra

announces its Fourth Season under the director of Dr. Sandra I. Noriega.The OPC Symphony Orchestra offers Bay Area musicians the unique opportunity to perform the rarely heard works of African-American, and other ethnically under-represented composers, in addition to standard repertoire.

Concert - Sunday, August 4th, at 4 PM. 

 

Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church - Barnett Hall - 3534 Lakeshore Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610    

To hear recordings of the concert repertoire and download available sheet music, please go to: 

http://www.sandranoriega.com/opcorchestrarepertoire.htm

 

Tuscaloosa Tango

Winner of the 2010 Alabama Orchestra Association Composition Competition, by local Bay Area composer, Daniel Leo Simpson. Simpson is described as an American Composer with a flair for creating "contagious" and engaging music, and specializes in unusual, interesting and dynamic works of every genre. From concerti and symphonies to commercials and film music, he is distinguishing himself as unique in his field.

Tuscaloosa Tango is written in the form of a DOUBLE fugue - very interesting! 

Capriccio Espagñol

by Russian composer, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, who initially planned this piece as a fantasy for violin and orchestra but eventually decided on a purely orchestral scoring. Korsakov possessed an exceptional knowledge of the characteristics and capabilities of different instruments, and Capriccio Espagñol strongly supports his reputation as a master orchestrator. Rimsky-Korsakov notes this aspect of the work in his autobiography: "According to my plan, the Capriccio was to glitter with dazzling orchestral color, and clearly I was not mistaken."

Lenox Avenue

by William Grant Still was originally performed as a CBS radio broadcast in 1936, and presents a splendid panorama of life in 1930's Harlem. It was composed as a set of musical vignettes depicting scenes and episodes one might run into on the central street of New York's Harlem, Lenox Avenue. Critics described the work as colorful, graphic, insinuating, a thrilling experience, and exceptionally praiseworthy.An October 31, 1937 review in the Los Angeles Times by Isabel Morse Jones states, "Life moves fast on the Lenox Avenue of William Grant Still. There is more real Negro character in it than in all  of Porgy and Bess... as it pictures a street in Harlem that is almost human in its personal characteristics."  

 

Incantation and Dance

for Oboe and Piano by William Grant Still. A professional oboist himself, enthralled with the beauty of the human voice, his music permeates with fluid lyricism. In this work, the melody appears as a reflective piano solo, and the oboe proves the perfect instrument to nurture and develop its introspective qualities. Though the tempo picks up in the Dance, the mood remains as somber as it is beautiful. 

 

Old California

by William Grant Still is a symphonic tone poem, that holds thematic charm by mingling Indian, Spanish and religious motifs, depicting their influence on the historical development of California as a meeting place of racial cultures. Critic Richard Saunders of the Hollywood Citizen-News, 1941, calls it "a work of strong melodic appeal, magnificently orchestrated, worth a permanent place in orchestral repertory." A prolonged ovation was accorded William Grant Still after a fine, initial presentation of this work.

  

For more information, please contact 

Artistic Director Sandra I Noriega at: 

sandra@sandranoriega.com

info@opcmusic.org

or call 510-239-9783

[William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com Recordings, sheet music and books of William Grant Still are available at www.WilliamGrantStill.com, which is operated by the composer's daughter Judith Anne Still] 

Read More