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Part 1 Classically Black
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Sudler Hall
Yale University
Program
Impromptu in G-flat Major, Op. 90, No. 3…………. …….Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Genet Tekeste, piano
Concertino, Op. 26 ………………………………Carl Maria von Weber (1786 – 1826)
Nicole Jackson, clarinet
Litanei ………………………………………………………Franz Schubert (1707-1828)
Ride On, King Jesus!...........................................Henry “Harry” T. Burleigh (1866-1949)
Dashon Burton, baritone
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor ("Moonlight"), Op. 27 No. 2: Mvt.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1712-1773)
1. Adagio Sostenuto
Breanna Fields, piano
‘Interlude’ on Marimba……………………………………………arr. Brian Jarawa Gray
Brian Jarawa Gray, marimba
Per Slava…………………………………………………..Krzysztof Penderecki (1933- )
Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child……………………………Traditional Spiritual
Patrice Jackson, cello
Autumn Leaves……………………………………………… Joseph Kosma (1905-1969)
arr. Julian Reid
Julian Reid, piano
Hush, Hush, Somebody Callin’ Mah Name………………………...Traditional Spiritual
Balm In Gilead…………………………………………... arr. H.T. Burleigh/Clemmons
Francois S. Clemmons, tenor
Naomi Woo, piano
About The Performers
Dashon Burton, YSM ’10, baritone, enjoys many different kinds of singing, and has been a student of many disciplines. Raised in New York City, he settled into his current love for music while in high school in Williamsport, PA. Dashon began his professional studies at Case Western Reserve University as a Music Education major before he transferred to the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance. After leaving Northeast Ohio, he moved out to the Midwest, where he joined the professional men’s vocal ensemble Cantus in 2005. Based in Minneapolis, he traveled with Cantus all around the country (as well as stops in Canada and Cameroon) giving concerts, educational clinics, and lectures about ensemble singing. Dashon is working on a graduate degree at the Yale School of Music. In his spare time, he enjoys composing and arranging, finding the perfect homemade bread recipe, and being an eternal student of bossa nova guitar.
Francois S. Clemmons, tenor, was born April 23, 1945 in Birmingham, Alabama and moved with his family to Youngstown, Ohio at an early age.
His first songs were the Spirituals of pre-Civil War America, which he heard his mother sing at home while she was working. He branched out to sing for different community groups, and for a while, was even the lead singer of a rock 'n' roll group called The 'Jokers'. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree at Oberlin College (Ohio) and his Master of Fine Arts at Carnegie-Mellon University (Pennsylvania). During graduation exercises in 1996 at Middlebury College in Vermont, he was given the honorary degree of Doctor of Arts. In 1968 he won the regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions in Pittsburgh, and went on the Cleveland, Ohio where he won a position in the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Studio. He sang there for seven seasons performing over seventy roles with various companies such as: The New York City Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, Opera Ebony, Opera South, Toledo Opera, and Washington Civic Opera. In addition, he has sung with numerous orchestras.
Dr. Clemmons has shown his versatility by creating and performing the role of the friendly police officer, 'Officer Clemmons' on the Emmy and Peabody Award winning television program, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. He has performed the role of 'Sportin' Life' from George Gershwin's 'Porgy & Bess over 200 times. His recording of the role on London Records with the Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Lorin Maazel won a Grammy Award in 1973. He is the founder of the world-famous 'Harlem Spiritual Ensemble..
Dr. Clemmons premiered his original stage work, 'My Name Is Hayes,' based on the life of America's first Black Classical Artist, tenor, Roland Hayes, in 1997. Since then, he has brought his unique vocal gifts throughout America, Europe, and Asia where he has toured extensively, presenting choral workshops, master classes, and special concerts celebrating the holidays and honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Clemmons is now preparing his autobiography: A Song In My Soul , a children’s story, ButterCup And the Majic Cane, and a volume of Poetry entitled ‘A Place Of My Own’ to be published soon. He is currently the Alexander Twilight Artist-In-Residence at Middlebury College.
Breanna Fields, DC ’11, piano, is currently a Junior in Davenport College, majoring in Ethics, Politics & Economics (EP&E). Within the field of political philosophy, she is interested in studying questions concerning social equality in the modern American Democracy. This past year, Breanna had the honor of receiving the Herbert B. Luria (Class of 1927) Scholarship for the 2008-2009 academic year. She has aspirations to eventually attend law school, although she is not exactly sure when. She has spent the last two summers in New York City exploring legal careers interning at a corporate law firm one summer and HBO this past summer. At Yale, Breanna has been a part of the Ballroom Dance Team, Yale Black Women’s Coalition (of which she is currently Co-President), Yale Pre-Law Society, T.I.E.S Tutoring Program, and this year she is a Peer Liaison for the Afro-American Cultural Center. Outside of class, she enjoys spending time with friends and watching immense amounts of television. Her favorite composers are Beethoven, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff.
Brian Jarawa Gray, marimba, is a music performer, master percussionist, and music educator for over 35 years. As a performer, Brian has appeared on over 20 new music and jazz recordings He has taught and facilitated numerous percussion and music workshops at Yale, Wesleyan, Southern and Fairfield University. Brian was a member of the music group Deja Vu Noir, along with Yale graduates Dr. Rev. Dwight Andrews, Jay Hoggard, Phearon Aklaff and Nat Adderly Jr. Brian is currently a member of a new music group Telepathy.
Nicole Jackson, JE ‘11 clarinet, a resident of East Hartford, CT, I was first introduced to the clarinet in the 4th grade. In the 7th grade, she received a scholarship to study private lessons with Dr. Richard Shillea at the Hartt School of Music’s Community Division, where she has enjoyed playing in the Concert Ensemble, Greater Hartford Youth Wind Ensemble, the Connecticut Youth Symphony, and the Honors Woodwind Quintet. Formal music scholarship training included the Performance Certificate Program at the Hartt School of Music (2005 graduate) and the Juilliard Pre-College Program (2007 graduate). During the summers, Nicole has studied at the Luzerne Music Center in Lake Luzerne, NY (2004-05) and the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute in Washington, DC (2006-07). Competitions included 3rd and 1st prizes in the woodwinds division of the Musical Club of Hartford competition, 3rd prize in the Stamford Symphony Instrumental Scholarship Competition, and 1st prize in the Connecticut Youth Symphony Open Concerto competition. She must acknowledge the teachers that have had the greatest influence on her life: Kenneth Alger, Dr. Richard Shillea, Dr. D’Addio, Mr. Glaser, and her mentors at the Luzerne Music Center.
An anthropology major and pre-medical student in the Class of 2011, Nicole plays several times per year with the Yale Symphony Orchestra, and is involved in the community-service organization Share the Music. She also enjoys dancing with Konjo! African Dance Troupe, learning about various cultures, and tutoring children.
Patrice Jackson ’03 MM, cello, began higher education at 17 when she entered a graduate program at the Yale School of Music before she entered a bachelor’s program at Julliard, three years after receiving her master’s in music! She is carving a name for herself as a gifted and charismatic young soloist. The Detroit News described her as a “big-toned, boldly projected soloist…” and the Hartford Courant stated that Ms. Jackson “…wowed the audience with effortless facility, playful phrasing and a sense of spontaneity that one hears usually only from the highest caliber of musicians.”
A native of St. Louis, Patrice began piano lessons at three with her mother and cello at eight with her father. She made her debut at thirteen with the Belleville Philharmonic Orchestra performing the Elgar Cello Concerto. In 2002, Ms. Jackson won the Senior Laureate Division of the Sphinx Competition. Since then, she has performed with the Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, New Jersey, Milwaukee, Omaha, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Grand Rapids, Nashville, Hartford, Chautauqua, Colorado and Mississippi Symphonies, as well as the Philadelphia Orchestra. In June of 2002, she made her international orchestral and recital debut in South Africa. Highlights of the 2008-2009 season include performances with the Chicago Sinfonietta, and Lima Symphony.
In addition to her accomplishment at Sphinx, Patrice has also won numerous other competitions and awards, including the Alton Symphony Orhcestra Merie Stillwell Solo Competition, University City Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, Laclede String Quartet Solo Competition, and Laclede String Quartet Chamber Music Competition to name a few. She spent several summers studying chamber and solo repertoire at the prestigious Quartet Program, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival and Banff Center for the Arts in master classes with world-renowned Brazilian Cellist, Aldo Parisot. Ms. Jackson has also studied chamber music with Claude Frank and the Tokyo String Quartet at the Yale School of Music, as well as the Juilliard String Quartet at the Juilliard School. Ms. Jackson was the recipient of the 2002 Yale University Aldo Parisot Prize awarded to a “gifted cellist who shows promise for a concert career.”
Ms. Jackson has studied cello with Janos Starker, Aldo Parisot, Joel Krosnick, and Bonnie Hampton. She is the newest member of the world renowned management, Columbia Artists Management. Patrice Jackson performs on an Alberto Blanchi cello generously donated by Franklin and Tresa McCallie of Kirkwood, Missouri and Doris Taylor Cope of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Julian Davis Reid, MC ’13, piano, has been playing the piano for 14 years. He has played classical, religious, and jazz music, but he primarily considers himself a jazz pianist. He studied at the Merit School of Music in Chicago under the instruction of Ann Birman, for classical, and Steve Million, for jazz. He has traveled to New York to play with Merit’s Latin Jazz Band, has won Merit’s Concerto Competition (2004), has had master classes with Emmanuel Ax and Brian Lynch, and was in the Ravinia Jazz Scholars program, where he was able to perform on the Ravinia stage, in Chicago, this past year. Julian has also had the privilege of playing at the Symphony Center for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is looking forward to honing his jazz skills on campus and in the greater New Haven/New York area and hopes to always incorporate music in his life.
Genet Hagos Tekeste, CC ’10, piano, is a History major from Amarillo, TX. She has received the Yale Department of English Bloch Essay Prize and the annual Afro-American Accolade for Outstanding Academic Achievement. Starting violin at the age of four and piano at the age of seven, Genet has played in various festivals and competitions. At Yale, she has played violin in the Yale Symphony Orchestra, most notably in its spring 2008 Carnegie Hall chamber group performance and its summer 2008 Italy tour. One of fifteen Yale University Church (UCY) student deacons, she helps lead worship services and allocate offering money to local community service organizations such as Fellowship Place, a New Haven mentally ill community center. Genet is also a member of the Eritrean and Ethiopian Student Alliance at Yale (EESAY) and a former intern with the Yale Office of the Secretary and the New Haven Oral History Project. She speaks Tigrinya, an Eritrean language, and intermediate Italian. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, listening to music, and hanging out with her friends.
Special Thanks to:
The Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale
Dean Pamela Y. George
Kevin Olusola ‘10
Tyco Copy
Yale Black Women’s Coalition
Yale College Dean’s Office
Part 1 Classically Black
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Sudler Hall
Yale University
Program
Impromptu in G-flat Major, Op. 90, No. 3…………. …….Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Genet Tekeste, piano
Concertino, Op. 26 ………………………………Carl Maria von Weber (1786 – 1826)
Nicole Jackson, clarinet
Litanei ………………………………………………………Franz Schubert (1707-1828)
Ride On, King Jesus!...........................................Henry “Harry” T. Burleigh (1866-1949)
Dashon Burton, baritone
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor ("Moonlight"), Op. 27 No. 2: Mvt.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1712-1773)
1. Adagio Sostenuto
Breanna Fields, piano
‘Interlude’ on Marimba……………………………………………arr. Brian Jarawa Gray
Brian Jarawa Gray, marimba
Per Slava…………………………………………………..Krzysztof Penderecki (1933- )
Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child……………………………Traditional Spiritual
Patrice Jackson, cello
Autumn Leaves……………………………………………… Joseph Kosma (1905-1969)
arr. Julian Reid
Julian Reid, piano
Hush, Hush, Somebody Callin’ Mah Name………………………...Traditional Spiritual
Balm In Gilead…………………………………………... arr. H.T. Burleigh/Clemmons
Francois S. Clemmons, tenor
Naomi Woo, piano
About The Performers
Dashon Burton, YSM ’10, baritone, enjoys many different kinds of singing, and has been a student of many disciplines. Raised in New York City, he settled into his current love for music while in high school in Williamsport, PA. Dashon began his professional studies at Case Western Reserve University as a Music Education major before he transferred to the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance. After leaving Northeast Ohio, he moved out to the Midwest, where he joined the professional men’s vocal ensemble Cantus in 2005. Based in Minneapolis, he traveled with Cantus all around the country (as well as stops in Canada and Cameroon) giving concerts, educational clinics, and lectures about ensemble singing. Dashon is working on a graduate degree at the Yale School of Music. In his spare time, he enjoys composing and arranging, finding the perfect homemade bread recipe, and being an eternal student of bossa nova guitar.
Francois S. Clemmons, tenor, was born April 23, 1945 in Birmingham, Alabama and moved with his family to Youngstown, Ohio at an early age.
His first songs were the Spirituals of pre-Civil War America, which he heard his mother sing at home while she was working. He branched out to sing for different community groups, and for a while, was even the lead singer of a rock 'n' roll group called The 'Jokers'. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree at Oberlin College (Ohio) and his Master of Fine Arts at Carnegie-Mellon University (Pennsylvania). During graduation exercises in 1996 at Middlebury College in Vermont, he was given the honorary degree of Doctor of Arts. In 1968 he won the regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions in Pittsburgh, and went on the Cleveland, Ohio where he won a position in the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Studio. He sang there for seven seasons performing over seventy roles with various companies such as: The New York City Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, Opera Ebony, Opera South, Toledo Opera, and Washington Civic Opera. In addition, he has sung with numerous orchestras.
Dr. Clemmons has shown his versatility by creating and performing the role of the friendly police officer, 'Officer Clemmons' on the Emmy and Peabody Award winning television program, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. He has performed the role of 'Sportin' Life' from George Gershwin's 'Porgy & Bess over 200 times. His recording of the role on London Records with the Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Lorin Maazel won a Grammy Award in 1973. He is the founder of the world-famous 'Harlem Spiritual Ensemble..
Dr. Clemmons premiered his original stage work, 'My Name Is Hayes,' based on the life of America's first Black Classical Artist, tenor, Roland Hayes, in 1997. Since then, he has brought his unique vocal gifts throughout America, Europe, and Asia where he has toured extensively, presenting choral workshops, master classes, and special concerts celebrating the holidays and honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Clemmons is now preparing his autobiography: A Song In My Soul , a children’s story, ButterCup And the Majic Cane, and a volume of Poetry entitled ‘A Place Of My Own’ to be published soon. He is currently the Alexander Twilight Artist-In-Residence at Middlebury College.
Breanna Fields, DC ’11, piano, is currently a Junior in Davenport College, majoring in Ethics, Politics & Economics (EP&E). Within the field of political philosophy, she is interested in studying questions concerning social equality in the modern American Democracy. This past year, Breanna had the honor of receiving the Herbert B. Luria (Class of 1927) Scholarship for the 2008-2009 academic year. She has aspirations to eventually attend law school, although she is not exactly sure when. She has spent the last two summers in New York City exploring legal careers interning at a corporate law firm one summer and HBO this past summer. At Yale, Breanna has been a part of the Ballroom Dance Team, Yale Black Women’s Coalition (of which she is currently Co-President), Yale Pre-Law Society, T.I.E.S Tutoring Program, and this year she is a Peer Liaison for the Afro-American Cultural Center. Outside of class, she enjoys spending time with friends and watching immense amounts of television. Her favorite composers are Beethoven, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff.
Brian Jarawa Gray, marimba, is a music performer, master percussionist, and music educator for over 35 years. As a performer, Brian has appeared on over 20 new music and jazz recordings He has taught and facilitated numerous percussion and music workshops at Yale, Wesleyan, Southern and Fairfield University. Brian was a member of the music group Deja Vu Noir, along with Yale graduates Dr. Rev. Dwight Andrews, Jay Hoggard, Phearon Aklaff and Nat Adderly Jr. Brian is currently a member of a new music group Telepathy.
Nicole Jackson, JE ‘11 clarinet, a resident of East Hartford, CT, I was first introduced to the clarinet in the 4th grade. In the 7th grade, she received a scholarship to study private lessons with Dr. Richard Shillea at the Hartt School of Music’s Community Division, where she has enjoyed playing in the Concert Ensemble, Greater Hartford Youth Wind Ensemble, the Connecticut Youth Symphony, and the Honors Woodwind Quintet. Formal music scholarship training included the Performance Certificate Program at the Hartt School of Music (2005 graduate) and the Juilliard Pre-College Program (2007 graduate). During the summers, Nicole has studied at the Luzerne Music Center in Lake Luzerne, NY (2004-05) and the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute in Washington, DC (2006-07). Competitions included 3rd and 1st prizes in the woodwinds division of the Musical Club of Hartford competition, 3rd prize in the Stamford Symphony Instrumental Scholarship Competition, and 1st prize in the Connecticut Youth Symphony Open Concerto competition. She must acknowledge the teachers that have had the greatest influence on her life: Kenneth Alger, Dr. Richard Shillea, Dr. D’Addio, Mr. Glaser, and her mentors at the Luzerne Music Center.
An anthropology major and pre-medical student in the Class of 2011, Nicole plays several times per year with the Yale Symphony Orchestra, and is involved in the community-service organization Share the Music. She also enjoys dancing with Konjo! African Dance Troupe, learning about various cultures, and tutoring children.
Patrice Jackson ’03 MM, cello, began higher education at 17 when she entered a graduate program at the Yale School of Music before she entered a bachelor’s program at Julliard, three years after receiving her master’s in music! She is carving a name for herself as a gifted and charismatic young soloist. The Detroit News described her as a “big-toned, boldly projected soloist…” and the Hartford Courant stated that Ms. Jackson “…wowed the audience with effortless facility, playful phrasing and a sense of spontaneity that one hears usually only from the highest caliber of musicians.”
A native of St. Louis, Patrice began piano lessons at three with her mother and cello at eight with her father. She made her debut at thirteen with the Belleville Philharmonic Orchestra performing the Elgar Cello Concerto. In 2002, Ms. Jackson won the Senior Laureate Division of the Sphinx Competition. Since then, she has performed with the Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, New Jersey, Milwaukee, Omaha, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Grand Rapids, Nashville, Hartford, Chautauqua, Colorado and Mississippi Symphonies, as well as the Philadelphia Orchestra. In June of 2002, she made her international orchestral and recital debut in South Africa. Highlights of the 2008-2009 season include performances with the Chicago Sinfonietta, and Lima Symphony.
In addition to her accomplishment at Sphinx, Patrice has also won numerous other competitions and awards, including the Alton Symphony Orhcestra Merie Stillwell Solo Competition, University City Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, Laclede String Quartet Solo Competition, and Laclede String Quartet Chamber Music Competition to name a few. She spent several summers studying chamber and solo repertoire at the prestigious Quartet Program, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival and Banff Center for the Arts in master classes with world-renowned Brazilian Cellist, Aldo Parisot. Ms. Jackson has also studied chamber music with Claude Frank and the Tokyo String Quartet at the Yale School of Music, as well as the Juilliard String Quartet at the Juilliard School. Ms. Jackson was the recipient of the 2002 Yale University Aldo Parisot Prize awarded to a “gifted cellist who shows promise for a concert career.”
Ms. Jackson has studied cello with Janos Starker, Aldo Parisot, Joel Krosnick, and Bonnie Hampton. She is the newest member of the world renowned management, Columbia Artists Management. Patrice Jackson performs on an Alberto Blanchi cello generously donated by Franklin and Tresa McCallie of Kirkwood, Missouri and Doris Taylor Cope of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Julian Davis Reid, MC ’13, piano, has been playing the piano for 14 years. He has played classical, religious, and jazz music, but he primarily considers himself a jazz pianist. He studied at the Merit School of Music in Chicago under the instruction of Ann Birman, for classical, and Steve Million, for jazz. He has traveled to New York to play with Merit’s Latin Jazz Band, has won Merit’s Concerto Competition (2004), has had master classes with Emmanuel Ax and Brian Lynch, and was in the Ravinia Jazz Scholars program, where he was able to perform on the Ravinia stage, in Chicago, this past year. Julian has also had the privilege of playing at the Symphony Center for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is looking forward to honing his jazz skills on campus and in the greater New Haven/New York area and hopes to always incorporate music in his life.
Genet Hagos Tekeste, CC ’10, piano, is a History major from Amarillo, TX. She has received the Yale Department of English Bloch Essay Prize and the annual Afro-American Accolade for Outstanding Academic Achievement. Starting violin at the age of four and piano at the age of seven, Genet has played in various festivals and competitions. At Yale, she has played violin in the Yale Symphony Orchestra, most notably in its spring 2008 Carnegie Hall chamber group performance and its summer 2008 Italy tour. One of fifteen Yale University Church (UCY) student deacons, she helps lead worship services and allocate offering money to local community service organizations such as Fellowship Place, a New Haven mentally ill community center. Genet is also a member of the Eritrean and Ethiopian Student Alliance at Yale (EESAY) and a former intern with the Yale Office of the Secretary and the New Haven Oral History Project. She speaks Tigrinya, an Eritrean language, and intermediate Italian. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, listening to music, and hanging out with her friends.
Special Thanks to:
The Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale
Dean Pamela Y. George
Kevin Olusola ‘10
Tyco Copy
Yale Black Women’s Coalition
Yale College Dean’s Office
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