Gateways Music Festival: A Feast for the Ears and the Eyes
“Hats Off” to the Gateways Festival for a rather enjoyable and enlightening Saturday, April 23rd, in the East Village of Manhattan. First the agenda was the documentary “The Caged Bird: The Life and Music of Florence B. Price.” Following the screening at the Rose Auditorium at the Cooper Union, I heard a lecture about Price’s music by Professor Cory Hunter. The evening was capped off by a wonderful Chamber Music Concert at the original Cooper Union building in the Great Hall.
For fans of classical music, supporters of accomplished women, and anyone taking pride in the work of creative African-Americans, this was a joyful, inspirational and educational trio of events. I applaud the Gateways Festival for making this happen — my only wish was if the festival could have been longer with more offerings.
Documentary The Caged Bird: The Life and Music of Florence B. Price.”
I had not heard of Florence Price prior to the film announcement in the schedule. After watching the documentary and listening to some of her works on YouTube, I must say it’s a crime that her work is not better known. Not only was she an incredibly talented and ambitious woman, a superb and advanced student at the New England Conservatory and a prodigious composer and teacher. She’d written music that was sung by the legendary Marian Anderson and performed by world-class orchestras.
The film, just under an hour, featured many segments of her music which was beautiful, at times heartbreakingly so. Viewers get to see many photographs of Price, along with her handwritten sheet music and many other artifacts. The poignant missing element is that there was no film footage of Price nor any recordings of her voice — if we only had that! But otherwise the film makes a strong case for Price’s place in the pantheon of American composers.
Dr. Cory Hunter lecture
After the film, Dr. Cory Hunter of the Eastman School of Music spoke about Price. She brought out more specifics regarding her music and her musical roots. It was a lively discussion that brought the prodigious composer’s music alive even more. Professor Hunter encouraged audience participation and spoke to us in an engaging manner. Kudos!
The Chamber Music Concert
Following a short break, I walked half a block over to the old Cooper Union building to watch a lovely Chamber Music Concert. The audience was treated to solo musicians, duets, a string quartet and a brass quintet.
I was pleased to see that the audience members spanned a wide range of ages. Too often at classical music performances we see that the majority of the audience is older, and, not enough young people choosing to engage with classical music in a live setting. There was camaraderie all around.
Not only were the musicians (except for one) African-American, but they played many pieces composed by artists from the community. The works were rendered skillfully and with emotion — many should absolutely become part of the well-known classical music canon.
To start off the program, oboist Titus Underwood played beautiful, haunting pieces with pianist Sakura Myers. They were followed by the highly energetic violinist Joshua Henderson, accompanied on piano by David Berry.
Following them, we were treated to pieces played by the all female musicians of the Marian Anderson String Quartet. They were my personal favorites of the evening and their interplay was so moving and dynamic.
Next we heard a contemporary piano piece, composed by Brian Raphael Nabors, and, played by Joseph Williams. It was a challenging but rousing piece that ran the gamut of emotions.
Wrapping up the evening was violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins and the Gateways Brass Collective, a five-man group whose final number was the jazz classic “Manteca” by Dizzy Gillespie. This showed that, yes, classical music and jazz can and do overlap. In fact, I hope we see much more of that.
More Than a Lingering Melody
As I headed out of my immersive experience, I reflected on the programming and the experience we all shared. It was represented in just one of the small but lovely moments that I noticed during the concert. During a break in the program, one of the musicians who had performed earlier stopped by to greet a woman seated in the audience. The woman beamed and waved her hand around a few young adults and told the performer, “I brought my students to see this!”
As a teacher, I know we educators like to talk about “teachable moments.” This programming effort of live music performance supported by a film and a lecture was quite enjoyable and inspirational and as such a joyous demonstration of such a moment.
The classical world at large should take note. We need more musical performances and festivals like Gateways, in order to entertain, educate and inspire people of all ages. But this kind of programming is especially important for young musicians. They deserve role models and musical opportunities, as do serious musicians, especially African-American classical musicians.
See our other reviews on the Gateways Music Festival.