Thursday, May 22, 2008

Dallas Symphony Orchestra to put on African American Festival

By Pietro Elina of North Dallas Gazette

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra announced plans for the 15th Annual 2008 African American Festival last Monday. The African American Festival began in 1993 when founder, the late Lynn Flynt Shaw, decided to institute a celebration that would promote African Americans and their contributions to the classical community. Ericka Flood, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Director of Community Engagement assures us that this year’s African American festival will be a repeat success of the past 15 years success.

“The festival is homage to African Americans and their historical contributions to classical symphony. The festival allows for an exciting time of integration where Dallas and the African American community broaden their classical audiences,” Ms. Flood explains. Unexpectedly, this year’s Festival will feature collaborations with Flint, Michigan’s renowned black composer Jonathan Bailey Holland, and our own community’s Dallas Black Dance Theater, who will perform Holland’s original, “Primary Movements”.

”Oh, we are just excited to be able to support our neighbors at the Dallas Black Dance Theatre,” says Flood. Proceeds from the African American Festival will be benefiting the Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Summer Enrichment Program and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Young Strings Program.

The Young Strings Program is a unique, nationally recognized program, which promotes musical talent in young African American and Hispanic string players. The student’s talent is developed through free lessons and loan instruments and the guidance of volunteer teachers and professionals associated with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The Young Strings participants receive personal mentoring, performance opportunities, chamber music instruction, concert tickets and support for summer studies at prestigious camps and institutions. The program's instrument loan bank provides students with quality instruments if they cannot afford one. On its debut, in 1992, the Young Strings Program served nine students, today; the Young Strings have grown larger than one hundred fifty students from kindergarten through graduate study. The Young Strings is a nationally accredited program has gained recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, the President’s Committee on the Arts and on the Humanities, and the Texas Commission on Arts.

The Third Annual Young Strings Alumni Recital will be held in January of 2009. This recital will showcase the phenomenal talent of our alumni, and give DSO patrons a chance to hear how Young Strings Alumni are currently doing and where the program has taken them. This is a free performance, but donations toward the Young Strings Alumni Support Fund are graciously accepted. Auditions for the Young Strings program are held once a year in January. For information about the process, email c.jabr@dalsym.com. If you need further information about the program or the audition process, please call the Dallas Symphony's Young Strings Coordinator at 214-871-4083.

The 2008 African American Festival is scheduled for Friday, June 20, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. There are plenty of family friendly activities at the DSO Kids Corner (for ages 4-11) between 6:00 and 7:30 p.m. Arts and crafts, games, an Organ Tour, and an Instrument Petting Zoo are just a few of the available activities. Admission is only $10 and will fund the enrichment of your community through programs like Dallas Black Dance Theatre and the Young Strings. You may order tickets for the 2008 African American Festival by visiting www.DallasSymphony.com, or by calling 214-692-0203.

Pegasus News content partner - North Dallas Gazette

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