Hope in the Night

Drew Peterson, pianist

Josephine Baker

John Edward Hasse, guest curator

Felix Conteras, conga

Ellington Carthan, pianist and narrator

Jeffrey Mumford, guest curator

Annie Jacobs-Perkins, cello

Katerina Burton, soprano

CAAPA Choir

Robin De Jesús, actor

David Strathairn, actor

Kevork Mourad, artist

Derek Goldman, playwright/director

José Sacín, bass baritone (Don Quihote)

Israel Lozano, tenor (Master Peter)

Jennifer Zetlan, soprano (Trujaman)

Ricardo Marlow, Flamenco guitar

Philip Kennicott, guest curator

Hany Hassan FAIA, visuals

Flávio Chamis, guest curator

André Mehmari, pianist and composer

Tatjana Mead Chamis, viola

Elin Melgarejo, vocalist

Jerod Tate, guest curator

Nino Rota, composer

Hope in the Night

‍In partnership with Duke Ellington School of the Arts and the DESA Alumni Association

PCE celebrates composer William Dawson and features a forgotten masterpiece from this major Black symphonist. At its 1934 premiere, by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony received a thunderous ovation and was hailed by some as the highest achievement in American symphonic music. But Dawson never found a publisher, and the music disappeared from view.

Louis Moreau Gottschalk, born in New Orleans, was raised on Black Creole music – and is the earliest American composer whose music we still hear. His lively and energetic “symphony” Night in the Tropics, with Cuban percussion, was among the best known orchestral works in 19th Century America.

This is the final concert in PCE’s season-long project, The Rediscovery and Renewal of Black Classical Music, which seeks to elevate consequential composers who have too long been neglected for all their profound contributions to American orchestral music. PCE has long been a national leader in unearthing this buried history. By contextualizing this story– where the music came from, why it disappeared, and what to make of it today– we reflect on our nation’s complex cultural history and gain insight into how to nurture understanding and dialogue.

The project coincides with Joe Horowitz’s book Dvorak’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music released in November 2021.

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Program

READ Joe Horowitz’s Wall Street Journal article on Dawson’s symphony‍‍

Hope in the Night

March 18, 2022, 7:00PM Pre concert discussion with George Shirley, 7:30PM Concert

Duke Ellington School of the Arts | The Ellington Theater | 3500 R St NW, Washington, DC 20007

‍

George Shirley, tenor

PostClassical Ensemble conducted by Music Director Angel Gil-Ordóñez

Duke Ellington School of the Arts Orchestra and Orchestral Director Isaac Daniel
Duke Ellington School of the Arts Concert Chorale and Choral Conductor Dr. Monique Spells

‍

Program

William Dawson: There is a Balm in Gilead
William Dawson: Negro Work Song (world concert premiere)
William Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony (DC premiere)
The Bond of Africa
Hope in the Night
O, Le' Me Shine, Shine Like a Morning Star!
Louis Moreau Gottschalk: Night in the Tropics

Special Thanks to the Leadership Council

‍

Terri Allen
Executive Director
Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts
‍‍Dr. Gwynne Brown
Professor of Musicology
University of Puget Sound
Kevette Burwell
Duke Ellington School of the Arts Alumni Association
Dr. Lorenzo F. Candelaria
Professor of Musicology
Vanderbilt University
Catherine Chieco, MS, MSW
Writer
‍Dr. Mark Clague
Associate Professor of Musicology
University of Michigan
‍Eugenia V. Colón, CFRE
President & CEO
Colón & Associates, LLC‍
Dr. John Michael Cooper
Professor of Music
Southwestern University‍
Christopher Cowan
Director, U.S. International
Development Finance Corp.
Isaac Daniel
Assistant Principal
Duke Ellington School for the Arts
‍Kevin Deas
Baritone
Kehembe V. Eichelberger
Associate Professor Voice
Howard University
Regan Leslie Ford
Director, SE Washington, DC, Campus
Levine Music
‍Dr. Matthew Franke
Master Instructor
Howard University
Jennifer Hayman
Director of Music and Arts
All Souls Church Unitarian
Melvin and Juanita Hardy
Millennium Arts Salon
Mary and Philip Kopper
Advocates for the performing arts
Marty Austin Lamar
Director of Music and Creative Arts
Metropolitan A.M.E. Church
‍Jocelyn McClure
Duke Ellington School of the Arts Alumni Association
‍Tony and Buffy Miles
Advocates for the performing arts
Ronald Lee Newman
Duke Ellington School of the Arts Alumni Association
Ricky Ramón
Professor, Theater
Howard University
George Shirley
Tenor
University of Michigan
Pamela Simonson
Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts
Jeffery Tribble Jr.
President and CEO
Levine Music
Greg Watkins
Music Director
CAAPA Chorale

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What people are saying

So many thanks for that most inspiring, capacious evening. With PCE’s usual ability to surprise and delight… that symphony was astonishing…

Kate

Your leadership and dramatic shaping of the Symphony last night was truly masterful - and so inspiring. I know I’ll never forget this experience. Thank you, Maestro!

Chris

I loved the intimacy of the ensemble and the aching beauty of the melody repeating and recurring and turning up where I did not expect it . And I found the quality of the sound thrilling.

That was my take on the concert --that and the tears that it brought to my eyes, simply to be there, to be present at the creation of something so beautiful..

Michaele

What a perfect PCE evening, wonderful concert and lovely gathering

Liz

Angel, You are so musical! I've played the 4th twice, it was the first Mahler I heard as a kid, and I'm invariably disappointed that conductors don't let it breathe. U nailed it.

David

Congratulations again to you and your superb ensemble on a wonderful and provocative performance in the Terrace Theater last evening. As always, we learned something from this concert and it was fun, too.

Alec

Everything about it was sheer delight, including the lively and interesting talk at the end…

Catherine

Hope in the Night

Hope in the Night

Hope in the Night

Program

Special Thanks to the Leadership Council

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