Upcoming Presentations
Other upcoming lectures and/or performances will be announced on this site. Please check regularly for more information.
Background
My research project, The Art of the Negro Spiritual (ANS), looks into historical and performance aspects of the Negro Spiritual as an art song form. I've developed a Web site where I share parts of my research and that I use to network with others interested in spirituals. The site includes an e-book that has excerpts from the forthcoming book and a survey on the challenges of bringing spiritual art songs to the voice studio.
I have presented lecture-recitals on aspects of my research at sites such as the University of Kansas, Lawrence, where I re-introduced Margaret Bonds' Five Creek-Freedmen Spirituals. I have served as research consultant for organizations including The Kennedy Center Honors and The Washington Chorus.
A selection of past ANS presentations include:
I presented a lecture-recital at The Phenomenon of Singing International Symposium VIII in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The topic, "Interpreting Spiritual Art Songs," was presented during the July 13-19, 2011, symposium program.
The Iowa City chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc., invited me to present a lecture-recital on their soror, Coretta Scott King, on the late Civil Rights Movement leader's little-known musical background and how she used her voice to support the cause. Pianist Casey Rafn performed with me on this 2011 presentation. The paper is online at www.artofthenegrospiritual.com/research/CorettaScottKingLecture041611.pdf.
I talked about and sang spirituals as part of a discussion of gender and slavery for the University of Iowa's Worldcanvass. The program was broadcast online on Friday, October 8, 2010, at www.prx.org/pieces/44348-worldcanvass-taping-the-world.
I conducted a live interview on Iowa Public Radio's The Exchange--hosted by Ben Kieffer--on Monday, April 28, 2008. I included recordings of spirituals performed with pianists Timothy Newton and William Tinker during recent recitals given on the Grinnell College campus, discussed the unique nature of performing spirituals set for concert performance and how I became interested in this American musical form. Listen to interview.
I gave a presentation on the role of the Negro spiritual during the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1950's and 60's. From the introduction of this music by Martin Luther King, to its very effective use by groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), spirituals served to bring together protesters--black and white--and helped them hold steady in the face of angry mobs and threatening officials.
Another presentation focused on "Secret Codes in the Negro Spiritual" at the Grinnell Historical Museum, Grinnell, Iowa. I led a discussion on how songs such as "Go Down Moses" and "Steal Away" were used to communicate among slaves, especially those who travelled the Underground Railroad.
I participated in a panel discussion on ways to collaborate in the preservation of the Negro spiritual. The panel was sponsored by the National Association of Negro Musicians at their 87th annual conference, Norfolk, Virginia, from July 23-27, 2006. See the article about the panel and its participants is on page six of NANM's Reverberations newsletter and a flyer for the conference.
For more information on the Art of the Negro Spiritual, visit the site at www.artofthenegrospiritual.com.
An even older research project is called Afrocentric Voices in Classical Music. That Web site focuses on African American performers and composers and on the vocal music forms they influenced, especially opera, art songs and Negro spirituals composed for concert performance. There are biographies, bibliographies, a chronology, and other information about this music and these musicians. There is also a place for African American Future Voices to register and network.
I have published two articles on the George Gerswhin opera, Porgy and Bess. The first article, "Current Perspectives on Porgy and Bess," published in the May 2011 edition of the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) Journal, consisted of interviews I conducted with vocalists George Shirley, Angela Simpson, Stephen Swanson, Adrienne Webster, and Simon Estes, who discussed their experiences with and opinions of the opera. The second article, "Surveying Current Perceptions of Porgy and Bess," is an analysis of a survey I conducted to gauge the changing opinions of singers, teachers, opera directors, etc. They responded to questions about the opera's controversial subject matter and the impact of the proviso placed by the Gershwin family restricting assignment of singing roles in staged productions to Blacks. The analysis--along with excerpts from the interviews, was published in the October 2011 edition of the IMSLP Journal.
Musical Selections Performed by Randye Jones:
This Little Light of Mine by Hale Smith (with Francis Conlon, piano)
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me by Maria Thompson Corley (with Gregory Thompson, piano)
Vocalise, op. 34, no. 14, by Sergei Rachmaninoff (with Timothy Newton, piano)
Deep River by Harry T. Burleigh (with Timothy Newton, piano)
Calvary by Betty Jackson King (with William Tinker, piano)
Promotional Photos: Olan Mills
Concert Photos: Blaine D'Amico, unknown
Lecture Photos: GAlexJ Photography; Philip Jones
|