Dearest Readers,

As usual, we have a lot to cover! This month's edition celebrates Women's Month. Our featured musicians exemplify strength, perseverance and humanity in a range of non-musical roles from nurse to clothing designer! Should it surprise you that they are also Grammy award-winners and pioneers on the Billboards? This is the image that we want in the media. These are the role-models our youths should emulate. This newsletter attempts to bring this positive community to a wider population.

This month also marks our one year "MHS eNewsletter" anniversary! Part of MHS's mission is to build audiences of color and support the individual artists and organizations that comprise the classical community of color. MHS knows that support is the best way to show interest. In keeping with our mission, we're inviting you to help us support the community by attending any event listed in this publication. (See official rules for details.) At the same time, you will also help us stay on track with the mission of building audiences!

Be part of the mission. Make a tax-deductible contribution.

Happy reading!
Rashida N. Black

If you want to be included in an upcoming edition of the eNewsletter, just email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Greenville, South Carolina native Karen Parks was plucked from her school chorus as a teenager to receive advanced training at The Fine Arts Center. She later earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from Furman University, a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Texas at Austin and received post graduate studies in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

A Fulbright Scholarship for Voice enabled her to study exclusively with Maestro Gabriele Pisani at La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy. From there, she was asked to join the San Francisco Opera, where she toured the role of Micaela in Bizet's Carmen. She was also invited to perform the role of Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci for three seasons in the Castle at The Savonlinna Opera Festival in Savonlinna, Finland. She has performed nationally and internationally in many different roles including the role of Harriet Tubman in the two operas Harriet and Frederick Douglass. By special commission, she was the first artist to record an English language album (Nocturne) of Finnish classical music from Finnish poetry.

Most recently Parks released four solo recordings Nobody Knows: Songs of Harry T. Burleigh, Journeys of the Heart, Nocturne and Spiritually Yours, A Private Collection. Songs of Harry T. Burleigh debuted at #2 on the Billboard's Traditional Classical chart. This is the highest chart position ever attained for an album of music by an African-American classical composer!

Photo: Michael Provost

Cuban-born conductor and composer Tania León  began studying piano at age four in Havana. She later earned a Bachelor of Arts from Carlos Alfredo Peyrellade Conservatory and Master of Arts from the National Conservatory. In addition to her musical studies, she rounded out her education with classes in business administration. She  left Havana for New York City to continue her studies at New York University where she earned both a Bachelor and Masters of Science.

León is the co-founder and first music director of the Dance Theater of Harlem. She has conducted orchestras from Broadway to Madrid. An interview from 1999 by editor Frank J. Oteri of the NewMusicBox at the American Music Center includes many interesting and personal facts and opinions including Leon's views on Nationalism in Music, being an American composer and gender. In addition to her full performance calendar this month, she will present the keynote speech as an Ambassador of American Culture in Madrid, Spain. 

(1) Pianist Jose Lopez performs Momentum and Mistica.  Miami Art Museum, 101 West Flagler St., Miami, FL. Sunday, March 2 at 3PM. (2) As U.S. Artistic Ambassador of American culture in Spain, Tania León will serve as keynote speaker for the United States Embassy's Black History Month program in Madrid. Tuesday, March 4 thru Thursday, March 6. (3) Terry Rhodes: "Modern Music of Latin America" featuring the world premiere of a new work by Tania  León. Part of the music department's Latin Festival on the Hill. Memorial Hall,  UNC-Chapel Hill, Thursday, March 27 thru Sunday, March 30 at 7:30PM.  919-843-3333. (4) Orpheus Chamber Orchestra premieres a new work by Tania  León. Williams Center, Easton, PA. Friday, March 28 at 8PM. (5) Orpheus Chamber Orchestra premieres a new work by Tania  León. SUNY Purchase.  Sunday, March 30 at 8PM. (6) Chicago Sinfonietta, Tania León, guest conductor. Works by León, Zwilich, Chen Yi, Holmes & Haydn. Soloist Jade Simmons performs León's Kabiosile for piano and orchestra. Dominican University, 7900 W. Division. Sunday, March 30 at 2:30PM. (7) Chicago Sinfonietta, Tania León, guest conductor.  Works by León, Zwilich, Chen Yi, Holmes & Haydn.  Soloist Jade Simmons performs León's Kabiosile for piano and orchestra.  Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center.  220 South Michigan Ave. Monday, March 31 at 7:30PM.

Carmella Jones began her career as many opera stars do not: as a nurse with over 12 years in the profession, seven spent working with high-risk pregnancies in the labor and delivery ward in a Los Angeles hospital. Raised in a religious, work-class Southern Californian family, she was not allowed to consider a career in classical music. Her family instead insisted upon service oriented work as a doctor, a nurse, a social worker or a teacher. She therefore majored in biochemistry. Her skill at nursing afforded her vocal lessons. While working full-time as a perinatal specialist, she continued studying voice.

In 1993, Jones receive a call from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to sub in Seven Popular Songs by Manuel de Falla. She took a week of sick leave to memorize the songs and made a successful debut. That chance occurrence led to regular engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Opera. Anyone who has heard her sing in numerous roles knows that to call her a mezzo-soprano is to rob her of the categories of her other ranges. She has performed such roles as Azucena, Lady Macbeth, Carmen, Baba the Turk, Adalgisa, Amneris, Santuzza, Ariadne (Strauss), Tosca, and Ortrud. She has performed with the Los Angeles Opera, L'Opera de Montreal, Netherlands Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Minnesota Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Washington Choral Society, Tulsa Philharmonic, and San Jose Symphony.

But get this: Carmella Jones still hasn't abandoned nursing -- she works part-time at Los Angeles County General Hospital. Go on Ms. Jones!

Hear her and bass-baritone Eric Owens in Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem on Friday, March 7 and 8 at 8:00PM and Sunday, March 9 at 2:30PM.

Reyna Carguill earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama under the tutelage of Ginger Beazley (teacher of Angela Brown). She later studied with Virginia Zeani at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.

Carguill is currently a member of the Sarasota Opera Apprentice Artist Program and the recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant. She has performed as Clara in Porgy and Bess with Evansville Philharmonic, Tosca in Tosca with the Indiana University Opera Theater, Beatrice in the American premiere of Sven-David Sandstrom's Jeppe, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus and Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica. 

Sarasota Opera and Orchestra present Giuseppe Verdi's I due Foscari (The Two Foscari). Opera in three acts (two intermissions). Performed in Italian with English projected titles. Saturday, March 22 at 8PM; Tuesday, March 25 at 8PM; Thursday, March 27 at 8PM; Sunday, March 30 at 1:30PM.

Not only a pianist but a youth advocacy speaker as well, Jade has spoken across the country to great acclaim. She speaks on numerous topics of social concern as founder of the Where Do You Stand?! speaking series and has appeared on a variety of radio and television programs where she has spoken on topics ranging from the arts to provocative issues such as youth suicide prevention. As an advocate for the arts in education, she has created a presentation entitled Mozart on the Move for elementary school students and has conducted outreach programs for the Van Cliburn Foundation and the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival. Now going into its third season, Jade is the founder and director of the Impulse Artist Series which provides an audience for uniquely talented, up and coming pianists.

A true renaissance woman of the millennium, Ms. Simmons designs her own concert wear, writes and in 2007 has plans to embark on her first media venture with the creation of Chops; a radio show exploring diverse styles of music and the lives of the artists who perform it. A native of Charleston, South Carolina and a graduate of Rice University's prestigious Shepherd School of Music, she received her Master of Piano Performance degree as a Provost Fellow under the tutelage of concert pianist Jon Kimura Parker.

Pianist, educator, advocate and fashionista Jade Simmons is so fierce, you should read the rest of her bio.

See her perform at (1) the Hyde Park Suzuki Institute, 1448 E. 53rd St. Chicago, IL, on Saturday, March 1 at 1:00PM. Concert is free. (2) Solo Recital at the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock (501-664-582), St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Little Rock, AR. Monday, March 3 & Tuesday, 4. (3) Artist-in-Residence at Community Outreach Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute,Utica, NY. Wednesday, March 12 thru Friday, March 14. (4) Artist-in-Residence, Solo Recital Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute, Utica, NY. Sunday, March 16. (5) Soloist w/Chicago Sinfonietta performing original compositions by Tania Leon at Lund Auditorium, Dominican University River Forest, Illinois, and then at Orchestra Hall, Chicago, Illinois on Sunday, March 30Monday, March 31.

If you watch American Idol, you're already familiar with Mandisa who made it to the final rounds of the popular show's fifth season. Mandisa grew up in Citrus Heights, California (Sacramento County) and attended American River College in Sacramento where she studied Vocal Jazz. She earned her Bachelor of Music from Fisk University, where she performed as a Fisk Jubilee Singer.

Already an author, Mandisa's book IdolEyes (with Angela Elwell Hunt) was published by Tyndale House in May 2007. She performed a self-written song entitled "True Beauty" on American Idol Extra. Her first single, "Only the World," debuted on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart at #2 and reached #1 the following week. Later, her first full-length album debuted at #1 on the Top Christian Albums charts propelling her into a historical first--Mandisa's album marks the first time a new female artist debuted at #1 in the charts 27 year history. The album also debuted at #43 on the Billboard 200, an unusually high debut on that chart for a Christian artist. 

Fisk University Jubilee Singers under the direction of Paul T. Kwami will perform in the Schermerhorn Symphony Center (home of the Nashville Symphony), giving a full concert for the first time in the hall, since the opening of this facility. The group is among the oldest musical organizations in the city of Nashville and is well-known for performing Negro spirituals. In this concert, the Singers will not only perform Negro spirituals but also music from other countries.

In July 2007, the Fisk Jubilee Singers were invited to the West African Nation of Ghana to perform during that country's 50-year independence celebration. During this monumental journey to Africa, a CD and concert DVD entitled "Sacred Journey," were filmed and recorded at Elmina Castle, an 800 year old slave trade facility. The World Premiere of the Concert Documentary will follow the musical selections of the Jubilee Singers, but you can catch a glimpse of its beauty on YouTube.

Tuesday, March 18, 7:00PM - Laura Turner Concert Hall

Darrel Andrews, who for many years was bandmaster at Caroll High School in Monroe LA, had his new work, King's Wonderful Dream, performed on January 19 by the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Butterman, with Walter Jackson, a former student, reading portions of Dr. King's I have a dream speech.  The work is set for woodwinds in pairs, with piccolo, four horns, three trumpets and trombones, tuba, percussion, and strings.  Highly diatonic, it makes subtle reference to several spirituals in the course of just over 11 minutes.  Performance materials may be rented from D'Isaac Music Company, 222 W. Algonquin Trail in Shreveport 71107.  The composer may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Dominique-René de Lerma
Lawrence University

Cellist Owen Young joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in August 1991. He has been on the faculties of the Boston Conservatory, the New England Conservatory Extension Division, and the Longy School of Music, and is currently active in Project STEP (String Training and Education Program for Students of Color) and the BSO's Boston Music Education Collaborative. From 1991 to 1996 he served as a Harvard-appointed resident tutor and director of concerts in Dunster House at Harvard University. His teachers included Eleanor Osborn, Michael Grebanier, Anne Martindale Williams, and Aldo Parisot. Young is a cum laude graduate of Yale University where he received his bachelor's and master's degrees.

See him perform in the Community Chamber Concert: Members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Granoff Music Center, Tufts University - Medford, MA on Sunday, March 30 at 3:00 PM. This event is free. Program: WEIR: One Golden Branch; SCHUBERT: Quintet in A for piano and strings, D.667, Trout.

"My greatest satisfaction is performing. Performing is my way of being part of humanity, of sharing. There's something beautiful about having an entire audience hanging on a single note." André Watts

André Watts' childhood and background is both awe-inspiring and unbelievable. He has broken through so many barriers and continues as one of the world's "greatest in demand" pianists, performing on the most prestigious concert stages and with the most preeminent orchestras and conductors. (African American Registry)

Watch him perform "Revolutionary" etude on YouTube. See him live with the Austin Symphony.  Friday, March 14 & Saturday, March 15 at 8:00PM. Riverbend Centre. Program includes Francaix's  L'Horloge de Flore (The Flower Clock); Roussel's Suite in F; Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22 and Debussy's La Mer (The Sea).

In his unapologetically honest (unofficial) autobiography, pianist Roy Eaton admits, "I lost half of the first joint of my right fourth finger in an accident when I was 3. Yet I had the audacity to aspire to become a classical concert pianist." He is a graduate of City College of New York (B.S.S. magna cum laude) and the Manhattan School of Music (Bachelor of Music). He won the first Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Award and received a fellowship for graduate study in Musicology from Yale University. He debuted with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1951.

This month, he performs with the Cedar Rapids Community Concert Association at the Paramount Theatre on Tuesday, March 18 at 7:30PM. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Cedar Rapids Community Concert Association  (319) 540-2301; This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Lauded for his moving interpretations of African American spirituals, Gold Medal winner of the American Traditions Competition, Robert L. Sims has been hailed by critics for his rich tone, energetic performances, and convincing stage presence. Sims premiered the spiritual suite, I'm a Soldier, for baritone and orchestra composed for him by Lena McLin and orchestrated with Jan Bach. The work debuted with the Savannah Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Chelsea Tipton.

An alumnus of Oberlin Conservatory, SUNY Binghamton, Northwestern University, and Music Academy of the West, he has toured nationally in the ensemble Three Generations, a celebration of American spirituals and folk songs with renowned artists George Shirley, the late William Warfield and Benjamin Matthews. Recently, he debuted with Simon Estes and Jubilant Sykes in the trio Simon, Sykes & Sims, singing spirituals and American songs.

Sims recently made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall, and has performed in concert at Lincoln Center in New York, the Smithsonian Institution, the Los Angeles African American Museum, Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, the Chicago Historical Society, the Latour de France International Music Festival in France, and the celebrated American Church in Paris. 

Robert Sims will perform Saturday, March 1 at 8:00PM in a Duo Concert with the legendary ODETTA featuring American Folk Songs and Blues; Portsmouth Community Concerts, Portsmouth, Virginia. We'll hear more about this artist in the upcoming months!

Baritone Timothy Jones stars in Connecticut Opera's production of Gioachino Rossini's La Cenerentola under the baton of General and Artistic Director Willie Anthony Waters. Before each performance, Waters gives a free pre-opera lecture at the theater. See them at the Belding Theater, The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, March 7 at 8:00PM; Sunday, March 9 at 2:00PM; Tuesday, March 11at 7:30PM; Thursday, March 13 at 7:30PM; Saturday, March 15 at 8:00PM.

Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves and baritone Lester Lynch perform in Kentucky Opera's production of Samson And Delilah on Friday, March 28 at 7:00PM.

Minnesota Orchestra presents Five-time Grammy winner soprano Kathleen Battle on Sunday, March 30 at 2:00PM in Orchestra Hall.

New York native baritone Leon Williams has performed in Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center and the White House. He is an alumnus of the Harlem Boys Choir and a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music. He performs in Britten's War Requiem  with the Grand Rapids Symphony on Friday, March 14 & Saturday, March 15 at 8:00PM in DeVos Performance Hall.

Pianist Stewart Goodyear performs Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue at The Peace Center Concert Hall on Saturday, March 8 at 8:00PM and Sunday, March 9 at 3:00PM.

NEW PUBLICATION
Indiana University Press is pleased to announce the recent publication of: Fiddling in West Africa: Touching the Spirit in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba Cultures by Dr. Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje

Fiddling has a lengthy history in Africa, one that has long been ignored. Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje corrects this oversight with an expansive study on fiddling in the Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba cultures of West Africa. DjeDje not only explains the history of the instrument itself, but also discusses the processes of stylistic transference and adaptation, suggesting how these may have contributed to differing performance practices. (Instructors interested in adopting this book for course use should refer to the exam copy policy.)

A songbook containing the song texts (lyrics), musical transcriptions, biographies, and other information about fiddlers discussed in the book is published by UCLA Ethnomusicology Publications. To accompany Indiana's publication, a two-disk CD recording containing musical examples by fiddlers discussed in the book has been published by UCLA Ethnomusicology Publications (see details below).

Buy FIDDLING IN WEST AFRICA, 1950s-1990s; Vol. 1 & Vol. 2

NEW RELEASE
African Art Music for Flute: The Music of Ndodana, Nketia, Onovwerosuoke, Tamusuza and Uzoigwe was recorded by Wendy Hymes, flutes; and Darryl Hollister, piano (59:04). The CD is AMP Records AGCD 2081 (2008). CD available from AfricanChorus.org.

Tracks: Fred Onovwerosuoke's works on the CD are Just Before Dawn; Iroro and Ayevwiomo. Bongani Ndodana composed Visions Part I and Visions Part II. J.H. Kwabena Nketia is represented by his Republic Suite, in seven movements. The contributions of Joshua Uzoigwe are Ilulu; Ogbe Nkwa and A Sketch for Flute, all from Oja Flute Suite. Justinian Tamusuza wrote Okwanjula Kw Endere. The idea for the CD came from the doctoral dissertation of Wendy Hymes at Louisiana State University, African Art Music for Flute: Selected Works by African Composers. Darryl Hollister received his Master's in Music from the New England Conservatory of Music. (AfriClassical.blogspot.com)

Dr. Wendy Hymes writes in the liner notes: The works presented here offer us a glimpse of the spirit and traditional musics of Africa. The composers' diverse training backgrounds have led each to connect with different African and Western musics, but each has succeeded in finding their own unique voice and how to connect with diverse audiences on multiple continents.  While some performers find this cultural duality fascinating, it is also a formidable barrier to many performers. Though written for western instruments using western notation, as in contemporary compositions that employ extended techniques, the performer must familiarize himself/herself with new elements, such as a barrage of polyrhythm, new melodic and harmonic sensibilities as well as the foreign cultural traditions that influenced the composer which are integral to the piece. (africanchorus.org)

UPCOMING CONFERENCE
National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. (NANM)

Since its inception in Chicago in 1919, NANM has provided encouragement and support to thousands of African American musicians, many of whom have become widely respected figures in music and have contributed significantly to American culture and music history.  The organization has awarded scholarships to scores of talented young musicians throughout the country. This year's competition instrument is ORGAN.  A Competition Registration Form for the March 27-29 Central Region Conference in Detroit, MI. 

The Storm is Passing Over is a traveling and online exhibition that uses photographs, manuscripts and memorabilia to document the lives of Maryland's African-American musicians. It tells the stories of their struggles and achievements during the long years of segregation, from Reconstruction to the passage of the first Civil Rights Act in 1964.

These exhibits are accessible to everyone with internet connection and worth reading in full. This groundbreaking information is also excellent for school/class projects.