Edited by Randi Bjornstad
The Eugene Concert Choir has been awarded its first-ever grant from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) in the amount of $10,000, which will be used toward its Black is Beautiful project.
A key component of the project will be to host a four-day artist residency by EXIGENCE, an organization located in Detroit, Mich., which focuses its efforts on achieving racial justice through increased diversity in the arts.
The project will include workshops involving community members, local schools, and the University of Oregon.
EXIGENCE is directed by Eugene Rogers, who will participate in the residency along with vocal performers, educators, conductors, and composers from his organization and also the Sphinx Organization, a nonprofit group dedicated to developing the skills of young Black and Latino musicians.
Activities during the residency will include:
- Voice masterclasses at the University of Oregon by two members of EXIGENCE;
- Workshops at University of Oregon with UO music ensembles and local high school choirs;
- A community forum led by Eugene Rogers and Joel Thompson of EXIGENCE, Andre Dowell of the Sphinx Organization, Eugene Concert Choir founder, artistic director, and conductor Diane Retallack, plus a performance of Glory by EXIGENCE.
The project will end with a concert on May 7, 2023, performed by members of EXIGENCE and the Eugene Concert Choir at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. The program, conducted by Rogers and Retallack, will include classical music by Black composers written about Black lives, including:
- Joel Thompson’s Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, quoting the last words of seven tragically killed African-American men and ending with the words of Eric Garner, “I can’t breathe.”
- Scenes from the Life of a Martyr, a brilliant and moving oratorio on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., written by Black female composer Undine Smith Moore and performed in Carnegie Hall in 1982 but rarely heard since, featuring soloists relating the story of Martin Luther King Jr., during this 60th anniversary year of his “I Have a Dream” speech.
- Glory, an Academy Award-winning song from the film, Selma.
Soloists will be soprano Elaine Alvarez, mezzo Rehanna Thelwell, tenor Demetrious Sampson, and bass and narrator Marques Jerrell Ruff
Black is Beautiful by the Eugene Concert Choir
When: 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 7, 2023
Where: Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center for the Performing Arts, One Eugene Center (7th and Willamette streets), Eugene
Tickets: $10 to $52, available at the Hult Center box office, 541-682-5000, or online at eugeneconcertchoir.org or hultcenter.org
