Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Forfar Dispatch: Scotland's Tayside Symphony Orchestra in 'Afro-American Symphony' of William Grant Still, Sept. 24

[Africa: Piano Music of William Grant Still; Denver Oldham, piano; Koch 3 7084 2H1 (1991)]

The Tayside Symphony in Scotland will include the Afro-American Symphony of William Grant Still in a special choral and instrumental concert on September 24, 2011:

Forfar Dispatch
Wednesday 22 June 2011
TAYSIDE Symphony Orchestra is hoping to resurrect the TSO Chorus of 2000 for a special concert in the Reid Hall, Forfar later this year. They are calling on local singers to come forward with the view to forming the chorus which will perform Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and a selection of vocal pieces by Eric Whitacre on Saturday, September 24.”

“Applications and enquiries should be made to the two musical directors – Mary Veal (choral director)...or Ron Walker (orchestra)...” “Ron explained: 'We had a TSO Chorus for the millennium when we had 1100 people in the Caird Hall, Dundee. Since then a lot of people have asked if we would do it again so we are appealing for singers to come forward to enable us to plan for the concert.

“'The evening will also include a performance by the orchestra of Gershwin’s Cuban Overture and the Afro-American Symphony by William Grant Still. He was the first native American to have his music played in the Carnegie Hall in New York.'

“It is hoped around 100 singers will come forward to make up the TSO Chorus, with the millennium group attracting singers from all over Angus, Fife and Aberdeenshire. Rehearsals will start on Tuesday, August 16 in St Margaret’s Church, Forfar at 7.30 pm, running for six weeks in the run-up to the concert.” [William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, where a complete Works Lists by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma is featured.]

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