This concert is made possible through the generous support of Suzanna and John Laramee in loving memory of Toni D. Green and in honor of her family and friends.
African Queens is an extraordinary evening of music and storytelling, featuring a powerful selection of new works by some of today’s most acclaimed composers, performed by “one of the nation’s most celebrated sopranos,” Karen Slack. This collaborative song cycle shines a spotlight on seven fierce African Queens, whose legacies as rulers and warriors have often been overlooked in the West, with each piece reflecting their beauty, passion, humility, and power. GRAMMY® Award-winning Slack brings her operatic virtuosity to this project, joined by pianist Kevin J. Miller, to celebrate living composers and elevate voices long underrepresented in classical music.
*Commissioned for Karen Slack by the Ravinia Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and School, Boston Symphony Orchestra for the Tanglewood Learning Institute, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, Washington Performing Arts, The 92nd Street Y, New York, and the Newport Classical Music Festival
Karen Slack, soprano
Kevin J. Miller, piano
PROGRAM:
DAVE RAGLAND Precatio*
CARLOS SIMON Behold, The Queen*
DAVE RAGLAND The Queen of Sheba*
JESSIE NZINGA MONTGOMERY The Song of Nzingha*
FRED ONOVWEROSUOKE Luwah (Bitter Tears)
SHAWN OKPEBHOLO A Letter From Queen Ufua*
-INTERMISSION-
FRED ONOVWEROSUOKE Duniya (Mystic Universe)
JASMINE ARIELLE BARNES I Am Not Your God*
WILL LIVERMAN A Prayer
JOEL THOMPSON Queen Nanny’s Lullabye*
DAMIEN GETER Amanirenas*
