Concert Featuring Works of African-American Women Composers to be Performed at ISU Jan. 17
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Flutist Lea Pearson, accompanied by pianist Martha Krasnican, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 in the Recital Hall of Indiana State University's Center for Performing and Fine Arts, located at Seventh and Chestnut streets.
Pearson's concern for the under-represented has led her to research the music of women and black composers, uncovering many rare works. These performances emphasize the obstacles these musicians had to overcome as well as the ability of anyone to succeed, even in unexpected ways.
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, Pearson will honor six African-American women composers -- Florence Price, Avril Coleridge-Taylor, Valerie Capers, Undine Smith Moore, Mary Watkins and Omi Oni (Linda Thomas Jones).
Price was one of the first African-American women to receive national recognition as a composer. In 1932 she achieved national recognition when her Symphony in E Minor won first prize in the Wanamaker competition. It was premiered the next year by the Chicago Symphony, making Price the first African-American woman to have a work performed by a major orchestra.
Coleridge-Taylor, is the daughter of renowned British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. She had a long musical career as singer, conductor and composer. A prolific composer of over 90 works, she also formed her own orchestra and chorus and conducted the BBC and the London Symphony, and was the first woman to conduct Her Majesty's Royal Marine Band. She also published under the name Peter Riley.
Capers was born in New York City and received her early schooling at the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind. She went on to obtain both her Bachelor and Master degrees from the Julliard School of Music. Her outstanding work as an educator has been lauded throughout the country as being both innovative and impressive. Capers was influenced in the area of jazz by her father's ties to Fats Waller and her brother, the late Bobby Capers.
Moore had a long and productive career as both composer and teacher. She founded the Black Music Center at Virginia State University and taught there for almost 50 years, influencing generations of African-American composers.
Watkins burst into the women's music scene with her 1978 Olivia Records release of "Something Moving." Since then this respected composer, arranger, performer and teacher has worked in many genres, from classical to blues, movie sound tracks, and gospel interpretations.
Oni is one of the nation's foremost female African percussionists. She attended Cleveland public schools and was a student of fine arts at Case Western Reserve University. Her teaching and performance experiences include appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra, Dance Africa Chicago and on Sesame Street.
The concert is sponsored by Brannen Bros. Flutes and the ISU Friends of Music. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Joyce Wilson, ISU Music Department, at (812) 237-2758.
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Contact: Joyce Wilson, ISU Music Department, (812) 237-2758 or mijoyce@isugw.indstate.edu
Writer: Paula Meyer, ISU Communications & Marketing, (812) 237-3783 or devmeyer@isugw.indstate.edu
ISU Communications and Marketing: (812) 237-3773 or http://www.indstate.edu/news
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