CAAPA’s Melanated Mission: Bringing Color to the Classics
Angela and Joshua cap Season Five with Terri Allen, Executive Director of the Coalition for African-Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA). From humble origins to a nationally respected model, Terri details the 20-year journey of CAAPA’s intentional strategies for leveling the playing field in the world of classical music. CAAPA’s dedication to providing scholarships for burgeoning Black classical musicians and unwavering commitment to arts education at all talent levels exemplify the power of programming to create opportunities for real change in the performing arts.
Featured Music:
“Porgy and Bess,” feat. soprano Angela Brown and baritone Kenneth Overton
“Habanera,” from Carmen, feat. mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges
LOCAL CLASSICAL – BLACK MUSIC MONTH
In this week’s playlist, we celebrate Black Music Month which takes place in June. It was created by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 to honor and celebrate Black artists’ contributions to music. We’ll be honoring the late Herman Whitfield III, an Indianapolis native who was a gifted pianist and composer. We’ll also hear performances of artists who have been featured in season four of Classical Music Indy’s podcast, Melanated Moments in Classical Music.
LOCAL CLASSICAL – MELANATED MOMENTS
In this week’s Black History Month playlist, we bring you recordings by composers, performers, and artists who have been highlighted in our podcast, Melanated Moments in Classical Music. Melanated Moments is the ward-winning podcast from Classical Music Indy that shines a spotlight on musical works composed by, for, and about Black people.
Ric’key Pageot: Inspiring a Moment to Learn, Acknowledge, and Respect
Ric’key Pageot: Inspiring a Mo …
LOCAL CLASSICAL – MARK ORTWEIN
In this week’s Local Classical channel, we’ll be highlighting local Indianapolis musician, Mark Ortwein. Mark is a bassoonist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, but his talents don’t stop at bassoon since he is also a sought-after instrumental doubler. Over the last 20 years, Mark has performed in many different musical projects including professional recordings, musical theater, chamber ensembles, jazz, and R&B groups, as well as many orchestral performances, including being a member of the Saxophone section for the Cincinnati Pops under Erich Kunzel.
Ignatius Sancho: Composing the Hypocrisy of Colonialism & Convention
Ignatius Sancho: Composing the …
NEW CLASSICAL – DR. BILL BANFIELD
This week we bring you the music of Dr. Bill Banfield. Dr. Banfield is an award-winning composer whose symphonies, operas, chamber works have been performed and recorded by major symphonies across the country. Few have a wider, performed professional composing output, that has had public concert performances, reviews, radio, recordings of some 12 symphonies, 7 opera, 9 concerti, chamber, jazz, and popular forms. This alone making Dr. Banfield one of the most performed, recorded composers of his generation. In 2010 and 2016, Dr. Banfield served as a Pulitzer Prize judge in American music.
Local Classical – Classical Pairings
To celebrate the release of Classical Pairings Season Two, we will be streaming a collection of works by the many artists that were featured throughout our weekly host challenges.
#AmplifyMelanatedVoices
Classical Music Indy stands with our Black community. We are here to listen, learn, and lend our support. We believe that classical music is powerful; that it evokes a range of human emotions and creative expression.
Angela Brown Brings her Unbridled Zeal to a New Podcast.
Angela Brown brings her unbrid …
Local Classical – Angela Brown
We continue our Black History Month programming this week with our featured artist, soprano Angela Brown. Born in Indianapolis, Brown has led a world-renowned career as a vocal soloist. Her highly successful Metropolitan Opera debut in the title role of Aida captured instant attention from international print and broadcast media and catapulted Angela onto the world’s prestigious opera and symphonic stages.
Highlighting our Female Performers
Classical Music Indy employs a diverse range of musicians for our events around Indianapolis. In 2016 we hired 95 musicians. Classical Music Indy has dedicated our blog articles to outstanding women musicians this month. We’ve shared about great women music educators in America and about under-recognized women musicians throughout history. This week, we take a look at a few of Classical Music Indy’s top performers – women who are doing great work here and now in the city of Indianapolis. Read below about these incredibly talented musicians, and hopefully you’ll hear them at one of our events in the near future!
