Black Art Songs Webinar
Part of the Tichio-Finnie Vocal Master Class Series
Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 7:00pm CDT
Online
This event will be presented as a live stream. Visit https://music.northwestern.edu/live at 7 p.m. CDT to watch the webinar.
The Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University will welcome Dr. Louise Toppin and Dr. Willis Patterson from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance for a virtual discussion on Black art songs. Bienen School Dean Toni-Marie Montgomery will moderate.
Presenters:
Willis Patterson is professor emeritus of voice and former associate dean of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. He is the editor of the Anthology of Art Songs by Black American Composers and the Second Anthology of Art Songs by Black American Composers. He concertized extensively in the U.S. and Europe and appeared as bass soloist with major American orchestras. He served as president of the National Association of Negro Musicians.
Louise Toppin is professor of voice at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. She recently published the anthology Rediscovering Margaret Bonds: Art Songs, Spirituals, Musical Theater and Popular Songs. Dr. Toppin has lectured on the music of African American composers and has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered and in national conventions, including the Society for American Music, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and the American Cultural Association. Toppin has received critical acclaim for her operatic, orchestral, and oratorio performances throughout the world.
Toni-Marie Montgomery, dean of the Bienen School of Music, will serve as moderator for this event. An alumna of the University of Michigan, she worked for Dr. Patterson during her last year at Michigan as a research assistant for his symposium on Black music, which took place in 1985. Dean Montgomery credits Patterson as being her first mentor for administration. Dr. Montgomery was the founding pianist of the Black Music Repertory Ensemble of Columbia College Chicago.
Free Event