Chamber Concert
SPIRITUALS, RAGS & STRINGS

Wednesday, May 9, 2012
6:30 pm
Dweck Center Brooklyn Public Library Central Branch
10 Grand Army Plaza
FREE

In 1892, H.T. Burleigh became one of the first African-American students admitted into the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. The spirituals he sang inspired the Conservatory’s visiting director, Antonín Dvořák, to write several masterpieces based on American themes, and to envision a rich and unique future for American music.

Now, the Brooklyn Phil Chamber Players team up with poet Tyehimba Jess in a concert that imagines these artists’ lives and stories, spinning out the legacy of this first link between African-American music and the symphonic tradition.

The Brooklyn Philharmonic is honored to partner with the Brooklyn Public Library to present these performances.

Family Workshop
EMCEE ME

Saturday, June 2, 2012
10 am
Restoration Plaza Community Room 1368
1368 Fulton Street
FREE

The Brooklyn Phil Chamber Players and Readnex Poetry Squad team up for a workshop that introduces a new generation to the social power and cultural legacy of hip-hop and spoken word poetry. Participants will learn how to express themselves through this rich medium, and discover its extraordinary impact.

Children must be accompanied by an adult age 18 or older.

Full Orchestra Concert
YASIIN BEY (MOS DEF), LENA HORNE AND THE BED-STUY TRADITION

Saturday, June 9, 2012
8 pm
Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza
1368 Fulton Street
FREE

A profound and authentic lover of language, renowned Bed-Stuy artist Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) is one of the most influential hip-hop stars of all time. He joins Artistic Director Alan Pierson and the Brooklyn Philharmonic in bringing together the aggressive energy and charged lyrics of American hip-hop, the classic ballads of legendary Bed-Stuy singer and activist Lena Horne, and the revolutionary music of Beethoven, remixed anew by emerging artists living and working in East Brooklyn today (more info about the Brooklyn Philharmonic Beethoven Remix Project is here).

Concert is presented in partnership with Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation.

Featuring:
Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), rapper
Leslie Uggams, voice
String players from the Noel Pointer Foundation
Alan Pierson and Linda Twine, conductors
Brooklyn Philharmonic

Program:
Beethoven Symphony no. 3, Finale
Two Beethoven remixes, arr. Andrew Norman
Lena Horne Tribute
Cole Porter, From this Moment On written for Out of This World (1951)
Fats Waller and Andy Razaf, Honeysuckle Rose (1928)
Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, Lady is a Tramp from Babes in Arms (1937)
Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, Stormy Weather (1933)
Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) arr. Derek Bermel, Life in Marvelous Times (2008) and other songs

(c) 2011 – 2012 Brooklyn Philharmonic