{"id":2230,"date":"2022-04-11T23:05:39","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T03:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/?p=2230"},"modified":"2022-04-11T23:47:56","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T03:47:56","slug":"the-brevard-project-a-call-to-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/2022\/04\/the-brevard-project-a-call-to-action.html","title":{"rendered":"The Brevard Project — A Call to Action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I frame my book Dvorak\u2019s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music<\/em> <\/a><\/strong>as a call to action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It ends: \u201cIf American classical music — our performers and institutions of performance, our conservatories, our agencies of philanthropy — can awaken to the moment at hand, classical music in America may yet acquire a vital future, at last buoyed and directed by a proper past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m talking about counteracting a condition of \u201cpastlessness\u201d \u2013 a failure to explore American cultural roots, a need to pursue a more inclusive American musical narrative. It\u2019s all in my book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For as long as I can remember, American orchestras have been chastised about a failure to innovate. The response, by and large, has focused on fund-raising, marketing, and board development. But the challenge at hand is not about selling tickets. It\u2019s about re-thinking artistic practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there may at last be a critical mass of like-minded individuals and institutions ready to take the plunge. I am referring to the \u201cBrevard Project<\/a><\/strong>\u201d \u2013 \u201cReimagining the Future of Orchestral  Programming” — debuting this July at the wonderful Brevard Music Festival<\/strong>.<\/a> The sponsoring organizations, in addition to Brevard itself, are ArtsJournal, Bard College\u2019s training orchestra The Orchestra Now, the Blair School of Music (Vanderbilt University), the Chicago Sinfonietta, the South Dakota Symphony<\/strong>,<\/a> and the University of Michigan School of Music. When you factor in what\u2019s already happening at these places, it\u2019s an auspicious list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Project faculty is also exceptional. Some of the names, in addition to myself, are Leon Botstein, Lorenzo Candelaria, Mark Clague, Lara Downes, JoAnn Falletta, Delta David Gier, Blake-Anthony Johnson, Doug McLennan, Jesse Rosen, George Shirley, and Larry Tamburri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dates are July 11 to 16. Conductors, artistic administrators, executive directors, community engagement specialists, conservatory students, and board members are all welcome to apply. The fee, including tuition, housing, and meals, is $600.  For information, click here<\/strong>.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concurrently, Brevard is hosting a \u201cDvorak\u2019s Prophecy\u201d festival. The dates are July 8 to 15. There will be four concerts and numerous ancillary events.  The repertoire includes William Levi Dawson\u2019s Negro Folk Symphony<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, the world premiere of Dawson\u2019s \u201cLargo\u201d for violin and piano, a rare opportunity to hear Arthur Farwell\u2019s magnificent Hako<\/em><\/strong> Quartet<\/strong><\/a>, novelties by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Margaret Bonds, etc., etc. The performers include the legendary George Shirley.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brevard itself is an idyllic retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains, not far from Asheville. Temperate weather. No bugs.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I frame my book Dvorak\u2019s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music as a call to action. It ends: \u201cIf American classical music — our performers and institutions of performance, our conservatories, our agencies of philanthropy — can awaken to the moment at hand, classical music in America may yet acquire a vital future, at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2230","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2QLHN-zY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2230"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2237,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230\/revisions\/2237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}