concert Details
May 5, 2024 at 3:00 pm
Baldwin Auditorium, Duke University’s East Campus
Free admission (donations gratefully accepted)
Dr. Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, conductor
Can’t join us in person? Livestream the concert here.
On the program
- Spirituals of Liberation, Anthony Kelley
- Can’t You Line ‘Em, William Grant Still
- Of Our New Day Begun, Omar Thomas
- Umoja: Anthem of Unity, Valerie Coleman
- An American in Paris, George Gershwin
Click the links above, or the photo captions below, for program notes and more information about each composer and piece.
Anthony Kelley
George Gershwin
About the Art
Artist Lily el Naccash imagined this concert as a conversation between these American composers – regardless of their ability to meet during their lifetimes. She included an Americana-style landscape background through a windowsill, with a stack of letters in the foreground. All the stamps on the letters are actual stamps the USPS has put out, and each stamp represents one of the five composers in some way, whether through their state of origin, their nickname, or their influences. Examples:
Alain Locke Harlem Renaissance stamp: Locke was a notable influence on WIlliam Grant Still
Velvet ant: Professor Kelley famously goes by “Ant” with his friends, and favors ant decor everywhere
Cardinal and goldenrod (Kentucky) from the state birds and flowers set: Valerie Coleman hails from Kentucky
Thank you to our sponsors
This concert was supported by the Durham Arts Council’s Annual Arts Fund and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. The DMO thanks Duke Health for the sustaining support they have provided for more than a decade for helping us fulfill our mission, and our supporters and affiliates at Duke University, including John Brown, Vice Provost for the Arts; Rick Nelson, Concert Manager; and Colin Booy, Production Technician, Department of Music.
