“The Colour of Music Festival announces the Nashville, TN début of Colour of Music Festival ‘Petit’ November 6-9, 2019 at multiple noted venues throughout downtown Nashville, a five-day festival featuring black classical artists and scholars from France, Britain, Colombia, the Caribbean, and the United States performing organ, piano, vocal, chamber and orchestral works showcasing the impact and historical significance of black classical composers and performers on American and world culture.” – The Tennessee Tribune

“Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes was designed to show the triumph of Enlightenment order over the exotic ‘other.’ Can hip-hop dance make it feel less toxic?” – The New York Times

“For more than two decades, Imani Winds, founded by the composer and flutist Valerie Coleman, has been unfolding different perspectives in its concerts, juxtaposing Bach with John Coltrane, playing Stravinsky and Jason Moran, riding a lonely path as one of the few ensembles made up of musicians of color in a very white field. But in the classical music world, being a woman is even harder than being black — so, at least, thought Florence Price and Margaret Bonds, two major 20th-century composers who happened to be both.” – The Washington Post

“Jason Ikeem Rodgers, founder and music director for Atlanta’s Orchestra Noir, has captivated audiences with his fusion of classical music and contemporary genres like hip-hop and R&B. … ‘For the past 20 to 30 years, the symphony has been dying,’ he said. ‘I think hip-hop and R&B within the symphony is a great way to revive an old art.'” – Qcitymetro (Charlotte)

“A conductor has started a youth orchestra on Chicago’s South Side to serve many young musicians of color who had to commute long distances to take part in music programs downtown or in the city’s northern suburbs. Charles Dickerson formed the South Side Chicago Youth Orchestra in July.” – WLS (Chicago)

“More than 60 years after Marian Anderson broke the color barrier at the Metropolitan Opera, black singers still face unique obstacles in building their careers within the industry. … Still, [Porgy and Bess, with which the Met is opening this season], provides a rare opportunity for black artists because the Gershwin estate requires that they be cast in all the singing roles. The AP sat down with five of [Porgy‘s cast members] during rehearsals to talk about challenges they’ve faced.” – Yahoo! (AP)

Says artistic and music director Jeffrey Brillhart, “No single concert is going to change the world. But I think if audiences can be sensitized to the humanity rather than to labels, if they can be sensitized to our commonalities, then people will walk out of a concert and may change their opinion about who to vote for, or it may cause people to do more more research. I have to believe that is happening.” (5th and 9th paragraphs; see also listings lower on page for Singing City Choir, Two Cellists in a Parking Lot, and Black Violin) – The Philadelphia Inquirer

“The Lakota Music Project [is] a collaborative program developed with the [South Dakota Symphony Orchestra] and musicians of the tribe. The goal is to create cultural cooperation and break down barriers, enabling audiences to learn more about traditional art — of the Lakota, and of a symphony orchestra.” – The Washington Post

“[Opera North] has won awards before, but the one it received last December represented a first for any opera company. City of Sanctuary, an independent national movement working on solidarity with refugees and asylum seekers, made it a Theatre of Sanctuary – something the company is enormously proud of, and which came as a result of its regular work with refugees over several years.” – The Stage

“I dont want to call it a conspiracy, because I dont think its done on purpose, but there is this falling away of women artists and artists of color that needs to stop and be corrected, says composer Laura Karpman. History may have forgotten many of them, she says, but women and people of color have always composed music.” – Los Angeles Times

“A prolific conductor of film, television, and video game scores, Anthony Parnther may be one of Southern California’s best kept musical secrets. An American conductor of West Indian and Samoan descent, Parnther was recently appointed music director of the San Bernardino Symphony. … He is a leading authority on orchestral works by minority and women composers and has, to date, restored and performed works by Florence Price, Zenobia Powell Perry, William Grant Still, and Duke Ellington, among others.” – San Francisco Classical Voice

“Ben Barson and Giselxanath Rodriguez, part of the Afro Yaqui Music colective, talk about artivism — what it means, what it can look like — in relation to building a jazz opera with various communities around the world.” – HowlRound

“While the ‘greatest hits’ of the canon are by men – due, largely, to women traditionally not having the same opportunities – the future need not follow the same pattern. ‘It sounds so simple, but program it or commission it. With one in three Australian composers being women, there’s an abundance of repertoire to choose from,’ insists [Sydney-based composer Holly] Harrison.” – The Guardian

“Iterations of the Harlem Cultural Festival were held in 1967 and 1968, but the 1969 events were the apex. Atop the rocks and down in the grassy field, they were showing up to watch a roll call of black popular music luminaries move through tight sets covering beloved repertoires. … And the crowds responded — looking on reverentially, dancing with one another around the edges of the park.” – The New York Times