[Afro-American Symphony; William Grant Still; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Karl Kruger, conductor; Bridge 9086 (1999)] AfriClassical has received this E-mail comment on yesterday's post on the Danbury Community Orchestra's performance of the opening movement of William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony: “I am Nancy Sudik, the executive director of the Danbury Music Centre. I also played horn in the William Grant Still "Afro-American Symphony" last Sunday. I want to thank you for... Read Full Story

[Symphony No. 1 (Afro-American); William Grant Still; Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Järvi, Conductor; Chandos 9154 (1993)] Jan Stribula, Contributing Writer for the Danbury, Connecticut News-Times, writes on May 9 about a performance of the Danbury Community Orchestra under its musical director and conductor Stephen Michael Smith. Here is an excerpt: “Soloist Thoensen didn't let his reed dry up as he was playing his English horn again in the opening movement for "Afro-American Symphony... Read Full Story

[Senku: Piano Music by Composers of African Descent; William Chapman Nyaho, piano; Musicians Showcase 1091] From the May eNewsletter of the Myrtle Hart Society, MyrtleHart.org: Nyaho's CD is Overpowering! For some of us, the name of William Chapman Nyaho came to attention only recently, but this has been a major and most happy discovery. He had begun his musical studies in his native Ghana, to be followed with degree work at Oxford University and the Conservatore de Musique in Geneva... Read Full Story

Danielle Belen Nesmith, the first-place Laureate of the 2008 Sphinx Competition presented by Chase will be featured on Performance Today. Her performance of Mother and Child from William Grant Still's Suite for Violin will be broadcast on Friday, May 9. As a Sphinx Laureate, Danielle will perform with major orchestras around the country during the upcoming year, including the Boston Pops, Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Florida Orchestra. A native of California, Danielle is a recent graduate... Read Full Story

From the May eNewsletter of the Myrtle Hart Society, MyrtleHart.org: On Friday, his MySpace page said that he was "deciphering Coleridge-Taylor's piano music." Twenty-four-year-old French Beninese Francis Paraïso began his piano studies at age 12 at the 'Conservatoire National de Région d'Angers'. Three years later, he began to compose for his instrument. In 2001, he obtained his final degrees in piano, chamber music, music theory and musical analysis. He obtained the same degrees in... Read Full Story

AfriClassical recently posted "U.S. Debut of Nigerian Pianist Sodi Braide's CD: WHPK-FM Chicago May 13". Sodi Braide has sent an E-mail to us and the radio host, Sergio Mims: "Thank you indeed for this and thank you, Sergio, for broadcasting my cd. I thought you might like to know of two upcoming performances scheduled in the US: I shall be performing in the Impulse Artists Series in Houston, Texas from September 12th to 17th (including chamber and outreach programmes, with a solo recital... Read Full Story

New York, NY, 30 April, 2008- Oxford University Press is pleased to announce the release of the third volume in this unique collection dedicated to the piano music of the African Diaspora. The series is available in five separate volumes for easier accessibility. Included alongside well-known works are pieces which are hard to find, out of print, or have never been published. The collection is graded - Volume 1: Early-intermediate; Volume 2: Intermediate; Volume 3: Early-Advanced; Volumes... Read Full Story

The NPR Podcast Directory lists two Classical Music Podcasts. We recently subscribed to both. One is “Aspen Public Radio: Classical Music From Aspen”, from 1 PM – 3 PM (MDT) weekdays: “Host Nikki Boxer invites listeners to join her every weekday for music at midday. Providing an interesting cross-section of styles, genres and musical periods, Classical Music from Aspen features everything from popular favorites to rarely-heard gems by obscure composers. Through a unique collaboration... Read Full Story

African Culture Meets Western Classical Music The Classic in Black Radio Show Program on Offener Kanal Berlin 97,2 Mhz presents a special radio show, within the XXIII. Black International Cinema Berlin Festival 2008 in Cinema Movimiento 8-12 May (Berlin/Kreuzberg); a program accompanied with music. Date: Tuesday 6 May 2008 at 8 PM (Live). The Classic in Black Show Program is also available Live Stream on the Offener Kanal Website: http://www.okb.de Look under the section Radio live stream... Read Full Story

[Sodi Braide: Franck, œuvres pour piano; Lyrinx\Talents LYR 249 (2006)] AfriClassical was delighted to receive this message from Sergio Mims, an African American host of a classical music radio program in Chicago and online: “HELLO! This is Sergio again at WHPK-FM in Chicago (88.5) and live stream on-line http://www.WHPK.org and I just wanted to let you know that I will be playing selections from Sodi Braide's César Franck solo piano CD on Tuesday May 13th. I will be playing the Prelude... Read Full Story