November 6-9, 2019
Black Professional Classical Musicians Festival
Nashville, Tennessee
The Colour of Music Festival announces the Nashville, TN début of Colour of Music Festival ‘Petit’ November 6-9, 2019 at multiple noted venues throughout downtown Nashville, a five-day festival featuring black classical artists and scholars from France, Britain, Colombia, the Caribbean, and the United States performing organ, piano, vocal, chamber and orchestral works showcasing the impact and historical significance of black classical composers and performers on American and world culture.
Colour of Music Festival Tickets and Information: $10-$45
In person: Frist Art Museum Auditorium, W.O. Smith Music School, Belmont University, Harton Recital Hall, and Vanderbilt University Ingram Hall
By phone: Advance E-tickets (866) 811-4111
Online: www.colourofmusic.org
Support "Casop: A Requiem for Rice," a new piece of contemporary classical music commissioned by the Pittsburgh Foundation Benjamin Harris Memorial Fund and Nicky Horvitz Gordon Memorial Fund, the Heinz Endowments Small Arts Initiative, and the Opportunity Fund. A true marriage between West African and European classical traditions, Casop: A Requiem for Rice is a modern and African-American inspired take on a classic requiem in the spirit of Verdi, Mozart, Faure, and Britten. It mourns the souls of the enslaved who died on Lowcountry rice plantations, their bodies unburied, their suffering unmourned, and their sacrifices unmarked for future generations. The Orchestral Debut of "Casop: A Requiem for Rice" on February 13, 2019 will feature libretto which recovers the voices of the enslaved by acclaimed historian and executive producer, Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black, and original score by composer, three-time Emmy Award-winner John Wineglass.
New Blog Post!
“Unburied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice” in the South Carolina Rice Fields!
Previous post: The Requiem Continues…Thanks to GPAC!
Casop reclaims African and African-American history and fosters reconciliation among Africans, Europeans, and Americans. The stories of Africans enslaved on Lowcountry rice plantations become a new genre, the vehicle through which oppressed and voiceless peoples can tell their stories, mourn their dead, and celebrate their contributions to the world.
The following principal artists are creating new artistic works for Casop:
Executive Producer and Librettist
The Libretto by Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black is the foundation for the many interpretations of Casop: A Requiem for Rice. It recovers the rare voices and reveals the experiences of Africans enslaved on Lowcountry rice plantations.
Composer
(Emmy® Award-Winning Composer) has performed on five continents, before every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan and with several Oscar® and Grammy® Award Winning artists, including Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Jamie Foxx to name a few.
Director and Filmmaker
On-stage film instillations by Julie Dash, with David Claessen, designed to be shown on a digital screen behind orchestra, mapping projections of inland and tidal rice field landscapes aiming to interest and educate the participants in the history and consequences of Lowcountry rice production as experienced by enslaved Africans.
Cinematographer
On-stage film instillations David Claessen, designed with Julie Dash, designed to be shown on a digital screen behind orchestra, mapping projections of inland and tidal rice field landscapes aiming to interest and educate the participants in the history and consequences of Lowcountry rice production as experienced by enslaved Africans.
