Black History Month Concerts
Join us in Rosen Concert Hall or via livestream for concerts on Feb. 6, 13, and 20!
During Black History Month 2022, the Hayes School of Music and the Department of English present the second annual series of programs celebrating the works of African-American composers, this year with an emphasis on North Carolina composers. Each concert is live streamed and will be given by Appalachian State music faculty on the first three Sundays of the month. Members of the music faculty will perform works ranging from 1890s ragtime to the works of living composers. Members of the English department will be performing readings from the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement to contemporary voices. For our first concert, we welcome Jamie Parson, J.D., App State’s Interim Chief Diversity Officer, who will offer remarks about our new tradition of celebrating Black History Month.
Did you know that some of the all-time greats of jazz were born in the Old North State? John Coltrane grew up in High Point, Thelonius Monk in Rocky Mount, Billy Taylor in Greenville and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson in Winston-Salem - each musician a towering figure in jazz, each musician a vital force in American music composition.
We invite you to listen to this remarkable collection of music and poetry this month of February. Concerts celebrating Black History Month at the Hayes School of Music means music of many styles, an array of composers and a kaleidoscope of musical colors. We hope that you will find musical and poetic gems that you can enjoy for years to come!
In 1976, during the presidency of Gerald Ford, America officially designated the month of February as "Black History Month." The practice of celebrating the achievements of African-Americans in February has been a part of almost every presidential administration since then. The idea of such celebrations goes back to earlier efforts to bring attention to the achievements of Black Americans, especially efforts by the historian Carter Woodson, who co-founded the Association for Negro Life and History in 1915.
Interview with Jamie Parson, Interim Chief Diversity Officer
Concert dates:
Sunday, February 6, 2022, 4:00 pm EST - Concert Program and Artist Biographies
Sunday, February 13, 2022, 4:00 pm EST - Concert Program
Sunday, February 20, 2022, 6:00 pm EST - Concert Program
Composers:
- Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)
- John Coltrane (1926-1967)
- Lou Donaldson (b. 1926)
- Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)
- Sir Roland Hanna (1932-2002)
- Scott Joplin (c. 1868-1917)
- Thelonius Monk (1917-1982)
- Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941)
- Brian Raphael Nabors (b. 1991)
- William Grant Still (1895-1978)
- Billy Taylor (1921-2010)
- Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004)
- Florence Price (1887-1953)
- Evan Williams (b. 1988)
- Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981)
Poets:
- Jayne Cortez (1934-2012)
- Rita Dove (b. 1952)
- Kelly Ellis (b. 1964)
- Langston Hughes (1901-1967)
- Haki R. Madhubuti (b. 1942)
- Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)