With a latest GRAMMY Award win for Classical Vocal Solo, soprano Karen Slack is on a tour with a brand new recital program titled African Queens. She’ll be on the College of Toronto in Toronto’s Walter Corridor on March 20, 2025, joined by pianist Kevin Miller.
Slack’s GRAMMY win for her debut album Past the Years: Unpublished Songs of Florence Value on Azica Data represents the primary time the Greatest Classical Vocal Album prize has gone to an album of music completely by a Black composer.
The Toronto efficiency is introduced as a part of the John R. Stratton Customer in Music Recital collection. The African Queens tour takes Slack from Washington D.C. to New York Metropolis, and at last Toronto from March 9 to March 20.
Karen Slack performs Idolatry by William Grant Nonetheless:
Soprano Karen Slack
A local of Philadelphia, Slack is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. She has devoted a lot of her musical apply to the work of residing composers, together with a give attention to Black artists.
Slack made premiere digital performances with Houston Grand Opera, Madison Opera, and Minnesota Opera throughout the pandemic. She has carried out on the phases of main opera corporations throughout North America, in Australia and Europe, and made her New York Philharmonic debut in Could 2024.
Karen holds a college place on the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and has been named Lyric Limitless Artist-in-Residence at Lyric Opera of Chicago for the 2024-2025 season.
African Queens
African Queens celebrates the historical past of seven African queens, whose tales are not often instructed exterior their homelands. The Queens they have a good time embody Nandi, Queen Mom of the Zulu Nation; Amanirenas, Kingdom of Kush (Nubia, or modern-day northern Sudan/southern Egypt); Ufua (Akhilomen) of Uromi in Esanland (southern a part of Nigeria); Nzingha, Queen of Ambundu/Kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba (Angola); Queen of Sheba (antiquity biblical); Aminatu Zaria (Nigeria); and Nanny of the Maroons, Jamaica (born to the Asante/current day Ghana).
This system consists of latest artwork songs written by main modern Black composers, together with the members of the composer collective Blacknificent Seven: Jessie Montgomery, Damien Geter, Carlos Simon, Joel Thompson, Dave Ragland, Jasmine Barnes and Shawn Okpebholo, together with Will Liverman.
Every tune tells the story of a distinct queen. The efficiency incorporates texts by Du’Bois Akeen, Lorene Cary, Jay St. Flono, Alicia Haymer, Tsitsi Ella Jaji, and Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton, that are interspersed with the songs, and join the tales.
Slack conceived of the mission throughout the pandemic, internet hosting a Composers Roundtable on her YouTube present which was moderated by composer Terence Blanchard. The world premiere occurred in August 2024 on the Ravinia Pageant, and has subsequently been carried out on the Aspen Music Pageant and Associates of Chamber Music Denver, in addition to Music Academy of the West.
A lot of the tune cycle was co-commissioned for Slack by a group of organizations that embody the Ravinia Music Pageant, Boston Symphony Orchestra for the Tanglewood Studying Institute, Washington Performing Arts, and the Newport Classical Music Pageant, amongst others.
Karen can also be engaged on an orchestral model of African Queens for future performances.
- The March 20 Toronto efficiency is freed from cost; extra data [HERE].
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Anya Wassenberg is a Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an skilled freelance author, blogger and writing teacher.