Programs
From Song Came Symphony: The Symphonic Influence of Harry T. Burleigh
The Harry T. Burleigh Society and Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra’s second collaboration took place at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. This event showcased the symphonic influence of Harry T. Burleigh, featuring performances by the Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra, violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins, mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford, and baritone Lawrence Craig, with a pre-concert lecture by Price scholar A. Kori Hill.
While Burleigh’s work is increasingly credited as influencing some of the spiritual-inspired thematic material for the “New World Symphony” and “American String Quartet” of Dvorak, he also influenced other composers of the 20th century. The program includes William Grant Still's "And They Lynched Him on a Tree,” spirituals by William Levi Dawson and Burleigh himself, and the New York City premiere of Florence Price’s Violin Concerto 2.
Reviews:
Marginalized Composers Take Center Stage at the Schomburg Center
