Release date: Jan. 21, 2005

Emory Event Explores Role of Race in Music

Contact:
Sally Corbett, Performing Arts at Emory: 404-727-6678, sally.corbett@emory.edu
Deb Hammacher, University Media Relations: 404-727-0644, deb.hammacher@emory.edu

Leading composers, scholars, performers and critics will gather at Emory University March 3-5 for an interdisciplinary discussion that aims to reshape our understanding of American music. The three-day series of panels and concerts will celebrate the life and work of William Levi Dawson, one of the most prolific African-American composers and music educators of the early 20th century. Emory will present "In Celebration of William L. Dawson: An Exploration of African-American Music and Identity at the Dawn of the 21st Century" on the Emory campus and at the Emory Conference Center Hotel (1615 Clifton Road, Atlanta). Concerts will take place in Emory's Schwartz Center for Performing Arts and Glenn Memorial Auditorium.

Dawson founded the Tuskegee Institute of Music in 1930 and led its choir in the next 25 years to international renown. His most famous work, the "Negro Folk Symphony," had its world premiere in 1934 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, under the direction of Leopold Stokowski. Dawson's arrangements of spirituals now represent a part of the canon for choral societies throughout the world. The grand finale of the Dawson Celebration will be a choral concert featuring the Tuskegee University Golden Voices Choir along with the Clark Atlanta University Philharmonic Choir, the Emory Concert Choir, the Glenn Chancel Choir and the Atlanta Sacred Chorale.

Emory's special collections and archives are home to Dawson's personal archive, and the Woodruff Library currently marks the official opening of the archive to scholars with an exhibition drawn from those materials. "'To Work His Wonders on the Scene': The Life and Times of William Levi Dawson," now open, runs through June 30 in Schatten Gallery of Emory's Woodruff Library, 540 Asbury Circle. A complementary exhibition in the Schatten Corridor Gallery focuses on "Music of Social Change."

"Dawson's legacy extends beyond the musical arts," says Dwight Andrews, principle architect of the Dawson celebration and professor of music at Emory. "To appreciate the full impact of his legacy you have to understand his relationships with writers, performers and visual artists such as Ralph Ellison and Aaron Douglas. This celebration will honor Dawson and will give us the chance to examine the relationship between African-American identity and culture through the lens of his life and work. Equally significant, this gathering of artists, scholars and performers will present a dynamic exchange of ideas confronting art and culture today."

"In Celebration of William L. Dawson" will bring together scholars, cultural critics, artists and composers who will explore:
• the role of race and ethnicity in the creation of music and other art forms;
• the intersection between concert and vernacular traditions;
• the cross-fertilization of artistic genres; and
• the impact of new modes of music creation and dissemination.

Participants represent a wide array of generation, genre and discipline, from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Walker to contemporary artists Meshell Ndegeocello and Geri Allen. Scholars such as Robin D.G. Kelley and Farah Jasmine Griffin, filmmaker and MacArthur fellow Louis Massiah, and essayist Thulani Davis represent a sampling of the voices to be heard. The three concerts will encompass chamber music, a new horizons concert by Ndegeocello and the chorale concert grand finale. The finale will include the performance of unpublished works found in the William L. Dawson papers in Emory's special collections.

All three concerts are open to the public and the choral and chamber music concerts are free. The conference registration is $90 for pre-registration by Feb. 20 for the full three days and $120 after that date. Single day registration is $50 per day for the public and $20 for students. Lunch is included with the registration.

For the complete celebration schedule and registration forms, go to: www.music.emory.edu. For more information, call 404-712-8926 or e-mail smitholivia@bellsouth.net. For additional concert information or tickets to the Ndegeocello performance, call the Arts at Emory box office at 404-727-5050 or go online to www.arts.emory.edu.

The celebration is made possible in part by funding from BellSouth Corp. and the National Endowment for the Arts, among additional sponsors.

Calendar listings:
Through June 30
"'To Work His Wonders on the Scene': The Life and Times of William Levi Dawson." Exhibition drawn from the personal archive of the late pioneering African-American composer William L. Dawson. Schatten Gallery, Woodruff Library, 540 Asbury Circle, Emory. Hours are 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; noon-9 p.m. Sun. Free. 404-727-6861

March 3-5
"In Celebration of William L. Dawson: An Exploration of African-American Music and Identity at the Dawn of the 21st Century"

Thursday, March 3
• 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Symposium panels (Emory Conference Center Hotel, 1615 Clifton Rd., Atlanta) and reception at the exhibition "'To Work His Wonders on the Scene': The Life and Times William Levi Dawson" (Schatten Gallery of Woodruff Library)
• 8 p.m. Free.
Chamber Music Concert. Emerson Concert Hall, Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, 1700 N. Decatur Rd., Emory
Program: "Sonata in A Major" by William L. Dawson, performed by David Yarbrough, violin, William Ransom, piano; "Indígena" for chamber ensemble by Tania León, conducted by León; "Goddess Variations" by Anthony Davis, performed by Davis; "Poem" for soprano and chamber ensemble by George Walker, performed by Pamela Dillard, mezzo-soprano; "Romance for Saxophone and Chamber Ensemble" by William Grant Still, arranged by Scott Stewart, performed by Otis Murphy, saxophone; "Of Mounts and Mountains" by Geri Allen, performed Allen; "Boogie Woogie Concertante" for chamber ensemble by T.J. Anderson, performed by Donal Fox on piano.

Friday, March 4
• 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Symposium panels. Emory Conference Center Hotel, 1615 Clifton Rd., Atlanta.
• 8 p.m. Tickets required.
New Horizons Concert: Meshell Ndegeocello. Emerson Concert Hall, Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, 1700 N. Decatur Rd., Emory. For ticket prices and reservations: 404-727-5050 or www.arts.emory.edu.

Saturday, March 5• 9 a.m. -1:30
Symposium panel and lunch. Emory Conference Center Hotel, 1615 Clifton Rd., Atlanta.
• 7 p.m. Free

Grand Finale Concert: Dawson's Choral Works. Glenn Memorial Auditorium, 1652 N. Decatur Rd., Emory.
The concert will feature the Tuskegee University Golden Voices Choir, directed by Wayne A. Barr; the Clark Atlanta University Philharmonic Choir, directed by Glynn E. Halsey; the Emory Concert Choir, directed by Eric Nelson; the Glenn Chancel Choir, directed by Steven Darsey; and the Atlanta Sacred Chorale, directed by Eric Nelson.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For more than a decade Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, a comprehensive metropolitan health care system.

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