Melanated Moments in Classical Music

Featuring some of the world's most talented and innovative Black composers and musicians from seasons 4 through 7, Melanated Moments in Classical Music wraps up its comprehensive recap.  Joshua and Angela discuss the themes and trends that emerged in these seasons and reflect on Melanated Moments'  impact on the classical music world.  Both retrospective episodes encourage reflection on...

Join us for a recap of the first three seasons of the Melanated Moments in Classical Music podcast, featuring some of the world's most influential Black composers and musicians.  From William Grant Still to Rosephanye Powell , these artists have made significant contributions to the world of classical music, and their work continues to inspire and amaze.  Whether you're a longtime fan of...

Joshua and Angela examine the remarkable oratorio The Ordering of Moses by African-American composer Robert Nathaniel Dett . This powerful and moving work tells the biblical story of Moses leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and is considered one of the most important works of African-American classical music. Scored for chorus, orchestra, and soloists, Dett's oratorio features a v...

Pianist, music sociologist, and occasional trumpeter, Joshua Thompson , is an active change agent in the classical music world. Learn more about our host’s passionate advocacy for diversity and inclusion, his work to promote social justice through music, and his unique perspective on the role of music in society.  Listen in as Angela teases out how Joshua got to where he is today and where he migh...

The international impact of pianist/composer, Oswald Russell , wows Joshua and Angela as they discuss his beginnings in Jamaica and a globe-trotting classical music career that followed.   Oswald serves as an example of the highest level of musicality, life-long learning, and global citizenship. Featured Music: "Papillons" - Oswald Russell Joseph Talleda, piano Three Jamaican Dances : No...

Angela and Joshua welcome opera superstar, arts administrator, and 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence winner, Karen Slack , to the Melanated Moments in Classical Music family.  Bringing her dynamic, down to earth vibe and perspective, Slack details her beginnings in music and an illustrious career that keeps her in demand with leading artists and stages the world over. Equally devoted to music educat...

Joshua and Angela discuss the foresight and impact of composer, musicologist, arranger, and premier torchbearer of Negro spirituals, William Levi Dawson .  A protege of Booker T. Washington, the life and works of Dawson score an accurate narrative of Black people during the Great Migration. His symphony illustrates the cultural links that were lost and then found as a result of the colonial world’...

In this episode, Angela and Joshua introduce our listening audience to 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, composer, and lyricist, Nkeiru Okoye . As one of the most sought after composers and creative minds of the 21st century, Okoye provides an exuberant account into her musical influences, training, and invaluable approach to scoring Black history as a way to engage, educate, and entertain audiences of the...

Angela and Joshua open Season Seven with an exposé on pianist, musicologist, and The First Lady of Jazz; Mary Lou Williams . This stunning artist’s impact crosses multiple genres from jazz to classical and sacred to bebop.  She navigates compositional shifts seamlessly all while providing the world of classical music with a much-needed approach to archival, analysis, and expansion to welcome those...

Season Six wraps with a high-energy conversation with Grammy Award-winning baritone Kenneth Overton . Known for his rich and booming voice, Overton is booked and busy across the U.S. and around the world, yet still finds time to intentionally dedicate part of his career to the mentorship of the next generation of young Black vocalists in classical music. Featured Music: "Sometimes I Feel Like...

Joshua and Angela delve into the many facets of Paul Robeson, the man behind the voice that made him a household name on stage and screen. An academic scholar, bass-baritone concert artist, and stage and film actor, Robeson was as well-known for his artistic prowess as he was for his outspoken commitment to disrupting the hypocritical political strategies of the American government in the 1940s. F...

  Dr. Portia Maultsby , ethnomusicologist and curator of the inaugural exhibition of the National Museum of African American Music , talks with Angela and Joshua about her influential work on throughlines between classical and popular Black music. An esteemed professor emeritus at Indiana University, her work is regarded as an integral component of research and study in ethnomusicology. She is the...

British-born composer, opera singer, and teacher Amanda Ira Aldridge is the topic of conversation for Joshua and Angela on this episode. A promising operatic contralto, Aldridge studied and performed the vocal works of compatriot Samuel Coleridge Taylor. A severe case of laryngitis ended her singing career but provided the catalyst for her to mold and teach vocal legends Roland Hayes, Paul Robeson...

Angela and Joshua welcome Maestro Marlon Daniel , a dynamic up-and-coming conductor and one of the leading scholars on the life of Joseph Bologne. Daniel discusses the life of the mixed-race aristocrat who single-handedly put French classical music of the 18th century on the map and helps our audience reframe and properly reposition the virtuosic composer and violinist as the leading influencer of...

This week’s episode features Hazel Scott, a child prodigy, piano virtuoso, and one of the most outspoken civil rights activists of the mid-20th century in the entertainment industry. Whether playing the classics on the nose or employing her fiery fingers to fuse jazz and classical music, Hazel Scott was as unapologetic in her talents as she was in her commitment to changing the way Black actors we...

In this episode, Angela and Joshua welcome Portia Dunkley, founder of the New Canon Chamber Collective . Sharing her all too familiar experience of young Black classical musicians being few and far between in the industry, Dunkley found her passion and motivation to create and cultivate an ensemble that identifies, elevates, and celebrates the contributions of the African diaspora within the genre...

Season Six debuts with a feature of Scott Joplin, the King of Ragtime. Bridging the gap between the Reconstruction era and the early 20th century, Scott Joplin and his ragtime music became a genre-defining cultural phenomenon. In this episode, our co-hosts trace Joplin’s musical cultivation, which led him to position ragtime as an extension of the romantic stylings of classical music, as evidenced...

Angela and Joshua cap Season Five with Terri Allen, Executive Director of the Coalition for African-Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA) . From humble origins to a nationally respected model, Terri details the 20-year journey of CAAPA's intentional strategies for leveling the playing field in the world of classical music. CAAPA's dedication to providing scholarships for burgeoning Bl...

Joshua and Angela discuss the life and times of Europe's most renowned virtuoso violinist of the 18th and 19th centuries, George Bridgetower. In the age of the global slave trade, competing empires, and revolution, Bridgetower exemplified the refinement, sophistication, and mastery of the classical era while rubbing elbows with the European elite.  Featured Music: "Henry, A Ballade,&quot...

Angela and Joshua welcome dramatic soprano and Artistic Director of the Fort Worth Opera, Afton Battle. Known for her tenacity, vision, and unapologetic commitment to programming operatic works that are a true reflection of the communities they serve, Ms. Battle outlines the importance of intentionality in a field that continues to push Black and brown artists to the margins. Featured Music: &quot...

Joshua and Angela welcome clarinetist and co-founder of The Harlem Chamber Players, Liz Player . Detailing her return to music from a career in computer science, Liz Player traces the origins of The Harlem Chamber Players and the organization's evolution from programming mostly Mozart to performances filled with melanated masterpieces, most notably from composer Dr. Adolphus Hailstork . Featu...

Joshua and Angela sit down with Musical America's Composer of the Year, Jessie Montgomery . Violinist, educator, and one of the 21st-century's premier composers, Montgomery sheds light on her musical upbringing and her social awakening as a composer of color in a field that is still all too reticent to uplift and highlight the contributions in classical music from the African diaspora. ...

Angela and Joshua introduce listeners to extraordinary baritone Robert McFerrin Sr. Tracing McFerrin's performance journey from Broadway to The Metropolitan Opera to Hollywood, Joshua and Angela discuss McFerrin's vocal prowess, his ability to take advantage of the evolving entertainment industry, and the influential vocal model he set that generations of successful vocalists have follow...

Joshua and Angela share the rich musical and cultural legacy of composer, pianist, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Kennedy Center Honors Inductee Tania León . A self-professed ‘citizen of the world,' Leon defies classification while elevating the significant contributions from her Afro-Cuban, Nigerian, Chinese, and French heritage. Featured Music: "Prelude No. 1: Sorpressa" "Alegre&...

Angela and Joshua interview Adam Eccleston , internationally renowned flutist and Chair of All Classical Portland’s "Recording Inclusivity Initiative (RII)." Drawing upon his Caribbean heritage and desire to program and perform works by composers of African descent, Eccleston details the origins and process of the RII, a collection of never-before recorded compositions from the African d...