Damien Geter’s An African American Requiem
East-Coast Premiere
Monday, May 23, 2022 | 7:00 pm
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
Scott Tucker, conductor
Nolan Williams, Jr., guest conductor
BUY TICKETS
Portland composer Damien Geter’s bold, thought-provoking musical response to violence against African Americans in the United States receives its east-coast premiere at the Kennedy Center. Commissioned by the Portland based Resonance Ensemble, Geter’s An African American Requiem infuses the traditional Latin requiem with spirituals, modern declarations relating to racial violence against African Americans, as well as a setting of Ida B. Wells’s speech “Lynching is Color Line Murder” and the famous last words of Eric Garner, “I can’t breathe.”
The program will open with DC composer Nolan Williams, Jr.’s Spirituals Suite for Choir and Orchestra.
THE PROGRAM
Nolan Williams, Jr.: Spirituals Suite for Choir and Orchestra (excerpts)
Movement 1. City Called Heaven
Movement 2. Done Made My Vow
Damien Geter: An African American Requiem (East-coast premiere)
FEATURED PERFORMERS
Scott Tucker, conductor
Nolan Williams, Jr., guest conductor
Jacqueline Echols, soprano
Karmesha Peake, mezzo-soprano
Norman Shankle, tenor
Kenneth Overton, baritone
S. Renee Mitchell, poet and narrator
Choral Arts Symphonic Chorus
Scott Tucker, Artistic Director
Resonance Ensemble
Katherine FitzGibbon, Artistic Director
NEWorks Voices of America
NEWorks Philharmonic Orchestra
Nolan Williams, Jr., Artistic Director
PERFORMANCE TIMING
First Half: 15 minutes | Intermission: 10 minutes | Second Half: 85 minutes
Concert art courtesy of Resonance Ensemble and Oregon Symphony.
ALL attendees, regardless of age, must have a ticket including children who will sit in a lap.
To keep everyone safe, masks are required for attendees.
Visit ChoralArts.org/Health for details and updates on COVID protocols.
By purchasing tickets you accept the risk of attending a live performance.
This performance is generously supported by:
The National Endowment for the Arts
Karen L. Florini and Neil R. Ericsson
Anne B. Keiser and Douglas M. Lapp
Barbara and Charles Rossotti
Katie and Dick Snowdon
To learn more about supporting our season journey, email JoinUs@ChoralArts.org.
The Choral Arts society of Washington gratefully acknowledges its season sponsors:
All programs, artists, dates, times, and content are subject to change.
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