HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

 

Climate change is an aspect of all possible changes happening around us right now, so our forthcoming 2022-2023 Music in Cultural Context year will be representing all these evolutionary lines we must address and think about through timelines across multiple cultural and geopolitical boundaries. 

Today's Music in Cultural Contexts celebrated VALENTINE'S DAY and the Black History Month.

                                                        OUR NEXT DATES:

                                                        March 19th at Royce Hall -- Saturday at 8 PM

                                                        April 24th at Royce Hall -- Sunday at 7 PM

                                                        Tickets: 213.622.7001 x221

We will also have, by popular demand, another zoom music gathering in April -- April 20th at 12:30

We started off by listening to W.E.B. DuBois CREDO, and then on to the Georgetown University choir.

"I believe in" also knowns as CREDO by Du Bois and the
Georgetown University Choir 

Next we visited early African American artists who were trained in Germany in the 30s. "Black voices in the land of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms", was an article published in New York Review of Books (February 2022). Marian Anderson (1897-1993), at the request of First Lady Eleanore Roosevelt and FDR, performed on the Lincoln Memorial steps on Easter Sunday in 1939. Ella Fitzgerald (selected by Joanie) as well as Roberta Flack (selected byLorraine) were the pieces chosen by our own members of the FWC Music Section.

Roberta Flack sings the iconic 
"THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE"

Our special guests Kathryn and Elin Burgess performed Elin's and Chris's Welsh song from her first album, released in January 2022. They read a poem both in Welsh and in English. It was an outstanding performance and a special treat for us all to hear the sounds and the words of the lovely song in both languages: "Dacw Mghariad," with opening line, "There is my sweetheart down in the orchard."

We wish Elin and her fiancé Chris good luck!

Maria Penedo, aka LOLO, read "Madness", a fado song both in English and Portuguese. Several photos from our own trip to Lisboa's famous fado club in the Alfama district were shared with the audience. 

Several other poems were set to music by F. Liszt, A. Dvorak, and E. Elgar.

The program was conceptualized around LOVE and Black History Month, the house was full and happy, and our special guests were an outstanding addition to the progra. 

                            Here are those smiles at the end of the event, some had to leave earlier.

From left top row: Rochelle (zoom host), Zorana (Founder and chair), Amelita
Middle row: Roma, Glorya, Jarka and Debby
Bottom row: Lolo, Lorraine
Several attendees left earlier, including Joy, Jarka, Marion, Kathryn, and Milos
Debby Kennel was with us as well

We started with The KISS (a painting by Gustav Klimt), and
finished with a lovely poem "Jenny kiss'd me" read by Amelita