Event

Don't Be Weary, Traveler: A Choral Tribute to America's Black Composers (2/26)

"The audience was already on its feet, with a standing ovation for the Seattle Choral Company."
Seattle Times

"The Seattle Choral Company's performance ... reached a clear, sweet purity of tone. It became a moving experience."
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

February is Black History Month in the United States. As a tribute, we will showcase the music of trailblazing African American composers, with a particular focus on their choral works.

This concert will feature the choral music of:

Scott Joplin
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Harry Thacker Burleigh
R. Nathaniel Dett
William Grant Still
Jester Hairston
Adolphus Hailstork
Moses Hogan

With special guests, The Sound of the Northwest, directed by Juan Huey-Ray.

EXPLORE African American contributions to America's musical identity.

EXPERIENCE the spiritual, and how it went from slave song to art song in America.

DISCOVER the music of America's often "invisible" classical composers, who span three centuries and come from the continents of Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Expand your awareness as we unveil and acknowledge their creative output within the rich tapestry of classical music.

Q: Which composer of African descent wrote an oratorio that was once as popular in England as Handel's Messiah?
A: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The work was Hiawatha's Wedding Feast.

Q: Which African American composer was hired as a church director by J.P. Morgan and later sang at Morgan's funeral?
A: Harry Thacker Burleigh

Q: What renowned American composer wrote an opera in 1911 that was not performed until 1971?
A: Scott Joplin. The opera was titled Treemonisha.