Dvořák in America
FOUR CINCINNATI MUSIC ORGANIZATIONS WELCOME GRAMMY WINNING SINGER GEORGE SHIRLEY, 88,
WHO BROKE OPERA’S COLOR BARRIER, FOR A WEEK OF CELEBRATORY EVENTS
Former New York Times Music Critic, Author Joseph Horowitz, Leads Two Kickoff Events
March 28, 2023, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --- Most people know of Jackie Robinson, Sidney Poitier, and Teddy Wilson, who broke baseball, movie, and jazz color barriers. Too few know Grammy winner George Shirley, who did the same in American and European opera, followed by an international career. That will change, at least in Cincinnati.
On Easter Sunday, April 9, the first-ever collaboration between Chamber Music Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Opera, the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and three major Black churches begins a week-long celebration of Mr. Shirley’s crucial contributions to the performing arts.
Beginning in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when overt segregation was still rampant in America, Mr. Shirley— who sang Verdi’s Requiem with the Cincinnati Symphony, judged the Metropolitan Opera District Auditions here and has given masterclasses at CCM, and —became
· The first Black high school music teacher in the Detroit public school system
· The first Black singer in the U.S. Army Chorus.
· The first Black singer to win the national Metropolitan Opera Auditions.
· The first Black tenor to have a contract with the Metropolitan Opera, where he sang for 12 years.
· A world-renowned performer of more than 80 operatic roles—in many cases the first Black singer to do so—opposite opera’s greatest divas, including Martina Arroyo, Teresa Berganza, Monserrat Caballé. Grace Bumbry, Mirella Freni, Anna Moffo, Roberta Peters, Leontyne Price, Renata Scotto, Theresa Stich-Randall, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi, and Shirley Verrett, and under many legendary conductors at the world’s great opera houses.
· A Grammy winner for singing the role of Fernando on the 1968 RCA recording of Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte.
· Distinguished University Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where he continues to teach.
· A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest arts honor, from President Barack Obama in 2015.
· A 2022 Opera America Hall of Fame inductee, joining the Cincinnati Opera’s Patricia Beggs.
The following are the key events of Cincinnati’s Easter week celebration of Mr. Shirley, who will turn 89 on April 18.
Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023 – Exact times TBA
Mr. Shirley will sing spirituals during Easter morning services at three of Cincinnati’s most important churches: Corinthian Baptist Church in Bond Hill, Rev. Dr. KZ Smith, Pastor; New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Carthage, Reverend Dr. Damon Lynch, Jr, Pastor; New Prospect Baptist Church in Roselawn, Rev. Damon Lynch III, Pastor.
Monday, April 10, 2023, 7:00 p.m., Baur Room, Mary Emery Hall, UC/College Conservatory of Music
Former New York Times Music Critic and author of many books on music, Joseph Horowitz interviews Mr. Shirley about his extraordinary life and barrier-breaking career, presents video recordings of Mr. Shirley’s performances, and accompanies Mr. Shirley’s vocal performances on the piano. Parking in CCM Garage. Chamber Music Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Opera, the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and three major Black churches
Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 7:00 p.m., Baur Room, Mary Emery Hall, UC/College Conservatory of Music
Leading from the keyboard, Joseph Horowitz tells a remarkable story. On arrival from Bohemia, Dvorak expected American music to follow European classical models. From student Harry T. Burleigh, he learned that it was Black sorrow songs and spirituals, and later used Black themes in his Ninth Symphony, “From the New World,” and Op. 96 string quartet, “American.” He later became the first Black composer to influence American classical music. Messrs. Horowitz and Shirley present the composers’ works with CCM pianists.
Admission to both events is free, but registration is required.
Thursday, April 13, 2023
Cincinnati Opera will record a podcast for later release in which The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director Evans Mirageas moderates an engaging and open conversation with Mr. Shirley and four young vocalists who will have the opportunity to ask frank questions about building and advancing a career as a Black artist in the professional world of opera.
Friday, April 14, 2023, 7:30 p.m., Music Hall
Mr. Shirley will perform “Deep River” and “Oh, Freedom,” during the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s annual Classical Roots concert, conducted by John Morris Russell. From its inception as a summer concert series in neighborhood churches in 2001, Classical Roots has grown into a vibrant spring celebration of the African American musical experience.
At its heart is the Classical Roots Community Choir that performs in numerous concerts and collaborations throughout the year. This year’s concert will also feature gospel music trailblazer Donald Lawrence.
This will be the first collaboration among all four of these Cincinnati music organizations. Mr. Shirley will also participate in coaching sessions at CCM and at several Cincinnati Public Schools.
ABOUT JOSEPH HOROWITZ
Joseph Horowitz was a New York Times music critic before becoming executive director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra. The is today the author of 11 books, mostly on music, a concert producer, and a cultural historian. As an orchestral administrator and advisor, he has been a pioneering force in the development of thematic programming and new concert formats. He has taught at SUNY Purchase, Colorado College, the Eastman School, the Manhattan School of Music, the New England Conservatory, the Mannes College of Music, and the Institute for Studies in American Music at Brooklyn College. Horowitz is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, New York University, and Columbia University, as well as a Certificate of Appreciation from the Czech Parliament.” In 2015 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by DePauw University.
