Thursday, January 13, 2011

'QuakeRelief' Jan. 16: Music of Julio Racine, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, William Grant Still & Others

Delray Beach, Florida
Sunday January 16, 2011 at 3:00 pm - QuakeRelief

"Music at St Paul's will present a multi-media benefit concert. The St Paul's Choir, under the direction of Dr Keith Paulson-Thorp, music director for the church, will be joined by musicians from throughout South Florida who have donated their time and talents to help raise funds to address the needs of the Haitian people, who have been ravaged by earthquakes, hurricanes and cholera. This concert is free and open to the public, with a free-will offering taken to assist with the efforts of Episcopal Relief and Development and the South Florida Haiti Project.

*** Press Release ***
"Music At St. Paul's Presents Benefit Concert For Haitian Relief
Sunday, January 16th at 3:00 p.m.
Music at St. Paul’s will present a multi-media benefit concert on Sunday, January 16, at 3:00 PM in historic St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 188 S. Swinton Avenue in the heart of Delray Beach. The St. Paul’s Choir under the direction of Dr. Keith Paulson-Thorp, music director for the church, will be joined by musicians from throughout South Florida who have donated their time and talents to help raise funds to address the needs of the Haitian people, who have been ravaged by earthquake, hurricanes and cholera. The concert is free and open to the public, but a free-will offering will be taken to assist with the efforts of Episcopal Relief and Development and the South Florida Haiti Project.

The concert will present music by, for or about Haitians, and will include a wide spectrum of music, including works by Joseph de Bologne, better known as the Chevalier de Saint Georges, an 18th century musician and son of a Caribbean slave who garnered an enviable reputation as a violinist and composer in Paris. An excerpt from William Grant Still’s Troubled Island, based on the story of the Haitian Revolution, and the first opera by a black composer ever staged by a major American opera company, will be heard. Works by Ludovic Lamothe, Werner Jaegerhuber and Julio Racine will represent the tradition of classical art music in Haiti, and the St. Paul’s choir will perform two works by Sydney Guillaume, a Haitian-born composer who came to Miami as a child and studied at the University of Miami, and who is currently scoring films in Hollywood.

Vocalists for the concert will include sopranos Margaret Schmitt, cantorial soloist at Temple Sinai in Delray Beach, and Adriana Samargia, music director for St. Ann’s Catholic Church, West Palm Beach, and bass-baritone Allen Webber, professor at Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth. Violinist Gareth Johnson, violists David Pedraza and Laurice Buckton, cellist Elena Alamilla, and flutist Robert Billington will also perform. The concert will close with the music of jazz pianist Luc Beauliere and his trio. Beauliere, a rising star in the jazz world, is a graduate of Palm Beach State College and student at the University of Miami. [Julio Racine, Ludovic Lamothe, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges and William Grant Still are profiled at AfriClassical.com]

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