Black History Month Concerts 2024
Boone Campus program: Sunday, February 18, 2024, 4:00 pm, Rosen Concert Hall, Boone Campus
Hickory Campus program: Thursday, February 29, 2024, 5:30 pm, Hickory Campus Atrium (5:00 Refreshments)
Visit the links above for each concert's pieces and performers! Each has a different selection of music and poetry. Both programs are free to attend, and no ticket is required. We hope to see you there!
Fouth Annual Black History Month Concert Series
The Hayes School of Music and the Department of English present the fourth annual series of programs celebrating Black History Month! The Appalachian Treble Choir and Gospel Choir will be performing, together with various solos and chamber music combinations featuring Hayes School of Music faculty.
Our musical celebration includes works by familiar composers Nathanial Dett, Margaret Bonds, Scott Joplin, and William Grant Still as well as less familiar works by Justin Holland and Anthony Barfield. Of particular interest this year is the inclusion of jazz greats Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton and Miles Davis.
Two Appalachian State University composers, Prof. Todd Wright and MM Violin Performance student Clement Okon, will have pieces performed in the concert series.
Members of App State's English faculty will read poems by Melania Luisa Marte, Yusef Komunyakaa, Langston Hughes, and Carl Philips .
First Concert on App State's Hickory Campus
In collaboration with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Student Affairs, one of our Black History Month concerts will be presented in the Atrium of App State's Hickory Campus, marking the first Hayes School of Music concert at the Hickory Campus!
The Hickory concert will be held on Thursday, February 29 at 5:30pm. This milestone will be celebrated with refreshments preceding the concert (5:00-5:30). Lamont Sellers, Director of Intercultural Student Affairs, will provide the opening remarks.
About Black History Month
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.
We hope that you will join us for this remarkable collection of music and poetry this month of February and encourage you to cultivate your own informed, curious, and enlivened connection with the composers, poets, and their respective traditions.