Florence Price Violin Concerto No. 2 Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2020-02-17 | Florence Price Violin Concerto No. 2Kelly Hall-Tompkins, violinUrban Playground Chamber OrchestraThomas Cunningham, conductorProgram Notes by A. Kori HillFlorence Price (1887–1953) was a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, where she lived until 1927 when she and her family relocated to Chicago. Fleeing the racial terrorism of the Jim Crow South, Price found herself in a city whose segregation policies had led Black Chicagoans to establish economic, artistic, and scholarly institutions that facilitated creative and communal growth. Already a member of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM), Price became an active (and famous!) participant in the Chicago chapter, which hosted recitals and conferences and served as an important networking space for Black musicians. Like her contemporary and colleague Harry T. Burleigh, Price was interested in the creative potential of a classical music aesthetic built on antebellum-era Black folk and western classical music genres. Rather than a conservative or conventional venture, Price’s stylistic decisions exemplified how Black Americans were envisioning the creative potential of past artistic material in contemporary expressions of Black American life. Price’s Violin Concerto No. 2 contains four distinct sections; each section contains the same melodic material that reappears in different orchestrations, textures, and/or accompanied with new motivic material. Price’s structural and textual decisions indicate a close study of spirituals and juba dance, from her use of varied repetition, heterophonic textures, rhythmic material, and harmonic language. In less than 20 minutes, Price showed how adhering to standard composing rules, be it for concertos or spirituals, provided innovative ways to engage with these art forms, crafting new ways of hearing the past and understanding its artistic purpose in the present. Violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins brings her unparalleled virtuosity and commitment to social justice to this performance.
Frederick C. Tillis: Spiritual Fantasy No. 12, Crucifixion Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2022-01-02 | Dr. Frederick C. TILLIS: Spiritual Fantasy No. 12Movement 3: CrucifixionLady Jess, violinHajnal Pivnik, violinJason M. Amos, violaMaria Jeffers, cello“Dr. Frederick Tillis, originally from Galveston, TX was a jazz saxophonist, composer, distinguished educator at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and writer of fifteen books of poetry. In my first listen of this work, I was immediately drawn to the cross-blending of jazz and European elements and traditions, as well as the undeniable influences of his international travels. I find myself most fulfilled working in configurations that combine elements of “jazz” and “classical”; a level of open, creative communication is required that often shatters existing conditionings that would otherwise limit this in a traditionally “classical” setting. The Spiritual Suite No. 12, in addition to being structurally intricate, demands a similar sense of collaboration to set these traditional spirituals in a way that is faithful to the score, with a rhythmic pocket as tight as any jazz combo, but that communicates the power of the songs themselves to the audience“ - Lady Jess
Announcing: Lady Jess, Artistic Director of Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2020-09-15 | upchamberorchestra.orgVideo Artistic TeamLawrence Casseus: @milancocostudio milancocostudio.com Toby: @tobywinphoto tobywinphoto.comWilliam Oh: @oh_story ohstoryphotography.com
Alice Coltrane: Radhe-Shyam arr. Harp and String Orchestra Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2020-02-17 | Dr. Ashley Jackson, harpUrban Playground Chamber OrchestraTranscribed and arranged: Dr. Ashley Jackson, Dr. Thomas CunninghamColtrane, Mahler & Schumann are common names to find on concert programs, but did you know these were not single-composer homes? Alice, Alma and Clara were, too, world-class composers. However, in the case of Alma and Clara they struggled against societal expectations of what a woman's compositions should be. With the exception of Clara's piano concerto, both composers were confined to art song, solo piano works and some chamber music. In order to amplify their songs, Urban Playground artistic director Thomas Cunningham has arranged the works for string orchestra, hoping to share a glimpse of what might have been had such restrictions on their writing not existed. Alice, who later went by Turiyasangtananda (or Turiya), was a harp firebrand, bringing the instrument to the forefront of jazz as a bandleader and composer. After the passing of John, Turiya joined an Ashram in California. The works you'll hear were originally devised solely for members of her Ashram, but later released internationally.
From Song Came Symphony: William Grant Stills And They Lynched Him on a Tree Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2019-12-29 | William Grant Still (1885-1978)And They Lynched Him on a Tree (1940) Lucia Bradford, Contralto Lawrence Craig, NarratorBrooklyn Ecumenical Choir, Chorus of MournersAd hoc chorus, Lynch MobUrban Playground Chamber OrchestraThomas Cunningham, ConductorAlain Locke, dean of the Harlem Renaissance (and editor of the seminal text The New Negro), was a fundamental figure in William Grant Still’s life (1885-1978) and specifically in the creation of And They Lynched Him on a Tree. It was Locke who initially sent the poem by Katharine Garrison Chapin to Still and even reviewed the work’s premiere: “[It] universalizes its particular theme and expands a Negro tragedy into a purging and inspiring plea for justice and a fuller democracy.” This idea of a “fuller democracy” was further explored by Still in his 1944 work In Memoriam: The Colored Soldiers Who Died for Democracy, the subtext of which pointed to the cruel irony of soldiers of color fighting for freedom abroad that they did not experience at home.William Grant Still’s choral ballad And They Lynched Him on a Tree is a work of great immediacy. Still wrote the work for two choruses; an all white lynch mob, and a black chorus of mourners of the murdered man. The story begins directly following the lynching. The lynch mob revels in their deed before retiring to their homes. Soon after the murdered man’s mother and a chorus of mourners emerge to grieve. At the end of the work the two choruses come together, but not in any measure of solidarity or resolution, but more so as a combined Greek chorus proffering a warning. This work is also an early example of Still’s remarkable ability to synthesize his avantgard training with Edgard Varèse, with more conservative models of composition and his own lived experience as a black man in America. Still, although he publicly downplayed the role of race as an impediment to his career, was a keen observer of America. He completed the work while an anti-lynching bill was able to pass the House of Representatives, but unable to advance in the Senate. Still said: “It is my sincere hope that this [piece] will accomplish some good, and that it will come to the attention of those who have perhaps not thought much about the subject. Then I also pray that it will outlast the purpose for which it was written.”
William Grant Still And they Lynched Him on a Tree with Brandon Williams Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2019-05-01 | Dr. Brandon WilliamsAudio courtesy of Dr. Brandon Williams, Michigan State University College of Music.
Clara Schumann: Die Gute Nacht Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2019-01-25 | Justine Aronson, sopranoThomas Cunningham, conductorUrban Playground Chamber OrchestraArranged for string orchestra by Thomas Cunningham. Perhaps the most frequent critical response to Clara’s lieder was how “manly” they were─for certain a backhanded compliment. It was not until critics could not discern who wrote which songs in Clara and Robert’s joint collection Liebesfrühling that it was tacitly admitted that their work was of the same quality. One of the foremost pianists of her time, Clara performed more than 1,300 public recitals over the span of her 60-year career (1830-1891). She pioneered the piano recital model that continues to this day (“Bach or Scarlatti, a larger opus such as a Beethoven sonata, followed by shorter pieces by Brahms, Chopin, Mendelssohn or Schumann”). Clara was further well known for preluding, a now lost art form whereby pianists improvised in between pieces as a bridge of sorts. During Clara’s career virtuoso pianists were expected not just to present works by other composers, but also their own compositions. Clara Wieck began composing prolifically at the age of 9. There was a distinct shift in her writing post-1940 that downplayed virtuosity, replacing it with a greater emotional depth and breadth of character. Tonight’s songs are chosen from that later period. Clara saw herself as an advocate for Robert’s music. After his death in 1856, she stopped composing. This was, in part, financial, she needed to concertize more regularly to provide for her seven children. In total, she wrote 23 works with opus numbers, an additional two dozen songs, a piano concerto, and a number of solo piano works.
Jennifer Jolley: Spielzeug Straßenbahn Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2018-10-07 | Brandon Patrick George, FluteHajnal Pivnick, Solo ViolinDaniel Walden, HarpsichordThomas Cunningham, ConductorUrban Playground Chamber Orchestra6 October 2017Christ and St. Stephen's Episcopal ChurchNew York, NYhttp://www.upchamberorchestra.org/lineage--heritage-ii.htmlPROGRAM NOTEWhen asked to re-imagine a Brandenburg concerto, I was thrilled: this gave me the excuse to write for a Baroque ensemble.When thinking about this project, I noticed that trains have a constant musical energy about them (similar to Brandenburg concertos), and I was instantly reminded of this upon viewing the jolly Neighborhood Trolley from the iconic educational television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. This toy trolley merrily converses with characters and easily traverses both Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.With this in mind, I make my musical offering in the form of a toy trolley, one that will bridge the gap between my twenty-first century contribution and Bach’s eighteenth-century one, taking us to an imagined time and place that I have never traveled.
Evan Williams: Dead White Man Music, II: Flow (My Tears) Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2017-12-12 | Daniel Walden, harpsichordUrban Playground Chamber OrchestraThomas Cunningham, conductor06 October 2017 | 8 PMEvan Williams | Dead White Man MusicThe great man theory was a view of history popular in the nineteenth century that posited that society was advanced by a succession of “great men,” who influenced history through the centuries. It may come as no surprise that the majority of these men (besides notable exceptions, such as Jesus or Mohammed) were White. In recent decades such views of history have been criticized, and the contributions of women and people of color have been studied in greater detail.However, even today, there is perhaps no better field of study to see the great man theory at work than in the classical canon. The music of long-deceased White male Europeans reigns supreme in concert and recital halls, and these men are credited with all of the stylistic progressions of Western art music. To put it bluntly, the performance and study of the canon is the performance and study of dead White man music, and that fact often feels like a barrier for female composers and composers of color.Dead White Man Music serves as a personal reflection on this issue, and my own contribution to classical music as a young Black composer. This concerto for harpsichord draws on inspiration and influences from across the centuries: from Bach and Dowland to Julius Eastman and Nina Simone, from the baroque Folia to postminimalism and rock. Through the work I ask, What music am I called to write and who should be my models?Dead White Man Music was commissioned by Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra with the generous support of over sixty donors through a crowdfunding campaign. The concerto was written for harpsichordist Daniel Walden.
Listening Guide: Jennifer Jolley Spielzeug Straßenbahn Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2017-09-30 | Learn more about Jennifer Jolley's work Spielzeug Straßenbahn.http://www.upchamberorchestra.org/lineage--heritage-ii.htmljenniferjolley.com
Composer Shorts: Harry T Burleigh, Part 1 Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2017-08-18 | Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949)Guest: Dr. Marti NewlandBurleigh Society: burleighsociety.comHarry T. Burleigh's Annual Service of Negro Spirituals at St. George's Church: A Tributeyoutube.com/watch?v=QMumMbbLIyoMusic: Indra Thomas & Sandra Lutters, Deep Riveryoutube.com/watch?v=4VPWiM-mOVgMarti Newland & Kamel Butros, Lovely Dark and Loney Oneyoutube.com/watch?v=-hv7zLcOJwEwww.upnyc.org
Composer Shorts: Trevor Weston, Part 1 Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2017-07-15 | Trevor Weston@TrevorWeston1Listen: http://www.trevorweston.com/new-album Music:Weston: FLYING FISH for orchestra (2016)Allegri: Miserere Mei DeusChopin: Prelude in E minor, Op. 24, Nr. 8Weston: FUDO MYOO for string quartet (2012)
Composer Shorts: Evan Williams Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2017-06-24 | Evan Williams http://www.evanwilliamsmusic.info@EvanWilliamsMus Grime (2012): http://www.evanwilliamsmusic.info/grime.htmlTickets & More Information: http://www.upchamberorchestra.org/lineage--heritage-ii.html Apologies for the wind.
Composer Shorts: S. Coleridge Taylor Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2017-06-10 | Show Notes: Frederick J. Loudin was an original member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers and London resident in the 1890s. See the earliest recording of Deep River in the Fisk style: youtube.com/watch?v=GcS_WxmTPA8 Maud Powell (1867-1920) was the first American violin virtuoso to win international fame and acclaim. She recorded actively between 1904 and 1919 for the Victor Company record label, including on June 15th, 1911, her arrangement of Taylor’s Deep River for violin and piano. See: youtube.com/watch?v=ZTh0jl3Ej7U Wayne D. Shirley, see: Shirley, Wayne D. "The Coming of "Deep River"." American Music 15, no. 4 (1997): 493-543. doi:10.2307/3052384 Taylor’s preface to Twenty-Four Negro Melodies for Piano (Op. 59): The Negro Melodies in this volume are not merely arranged—on the contrary they have been amplified, harmonized and altered in other respects to suit the purpose of the book. I do not think any apology for the system is necessary. However beautiful the actual melodies are in themselves, there can be no doubt that much of their value is lost on account of their extreme brevity and unsuitability for the ordinary amateur. What Brahms has done for the Hungarian folk-music, Dvořák for the Bohemian, and Grieg for the Norwegian, I have tried to do for these Negro Melodies. The plan adopted has been almost without exception that of the Tema con Variazioni. The actual melody has in every case been inserted at the head of each piece as a motto. The music which follows is nothing more nor less than a series of variations built on the said motto. Therefore my share in the matter can be clearly traced, and must not be confused with any idea of “improving” the original material any more than Brahms’ Variations on the Haydn Theme “improved” that.
William Grant Still: Poem for Orchestra Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2017-05-12 | Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra (UPNYC)Thomas Cunningham, conductor10 January 2017
Dobrinka Tabakova: Concerto for Cello and Strings, mvmt. I Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2017-01-12 | 28 October 2016, US PremiereDobrinka Tabakova: Concerto for Cello and Strings (2008)Julian Schwarz, celloUrban Playground Chamber OrchestraThomas Cunningham, conductor
Carwithen Piano Concerto | Thomas Bagwell Preview Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra 2016-10-02 | Pianist Thomas Bagwell sits down with UPNYC Artistic Director Thomas Cunningham to discuss the upcoming US premiere of Doreen Carwithen's Piano Concerto. Tickets: http://bit.ly/2dl1Goh
