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Mary Lou Williams: The First Lady of Jazz Makes Her Mark

September 20, 2023Melanated Moments in Classical Music

Angela and Joshua open Season Seven with an exposé on pianist, musicologist, and The First Lady of Jazz; Mary Lou Williams. This stunning artist’s impact crosses multiple genres from jazz to classical and sacred to bebop.  She navigates compositional shifts seamlessly all while providing the world of classical music with a much-needed approach to archival, analysis, and expansion to welcome those previously left out of the industry.  An undisputed artistic prodigy, Williams’ expansive influence on Black music positions her as one of the 20th century’s most revolutionary musicologists.

Featured Music:

  • “Night Life” – Mary Lou Williams, composer/performer
  • “Sagittarius” and “Aquarius”  from Zodiac Suite – Mary Lou Williams, composer
  • “People in Trouble” and “One” from Mary Lou’s Mass – Mary Lou Williams, composer
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New and Local Classical- Black History Month

Streaming 02/07/25- 02/13/25 o …

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NEW AND LOCAL CLASSICAL- MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY 2025

Streaming 01/17/25- 01/23/25 o …

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LOCAL CLASSICAL – MELANATED MOMENTS SEASON SIX

As we continue celebrating Black Music Month, this week’s playlist will feature music and artists discussed during the latest season of Melanated Moments in Classical Music. All of season six was recently released and featured vibrant discussions about artists such as Scott Joplin, Hazel Scott, Joseph Bologne, and Kenneth Overton, among others.

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LOCAL CLASSICAL – BLACK MUSIC MONTH

In this week’s playlist, we celebrate Black Music Month which takes place in June. It was created by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 to honor and celebrate Black artists’ contributions to music. We’ll be honoring the late Herman Whitfield III, an Indianapolis native who was a gifted pianist and composer. We’ll also hear performances of artists who have been featured in season four of Classical Music Indy’s podcast, Melanated Moments in Classical Music.

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A man poses for photo in front of a wall of pictures.

Poetry: The Composer’s Muse

Poetry: The Composer’s Muse Wo …

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Black and white photo of a man.

Burleigh the Builder

Burleigh the Builder Words by …

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A woman poses looking at her viola.

Castle of Our Skins

Castle of Our Skins Words by O …

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A man (left) and woman (right) sitting in front of laptops and microphones.

LOCAL CLASSICAL – MELANATED MOMENTS

In this week’s Black History Month playlist, we bring you recordings by composers, performers, and artists who have been highlighted in our podcast, Melanated Moments in Classical Music. Melanated Moments is the ward-winning podcast from Classical Music Indy that shines a spotlight on musical works composed by, for, and about Black people.

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Moses Hogan: A Bridge That Can Never Be Built Again

Moses Hogan: A Bridge That Can …

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Black and white photo of a woman sitting and wearing a hat

Margaret Bonds – Mastering The Movement

Margaret Bonds – Mastering The …

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Woman stands behind a microphone, smiling.

#BlackGirlMusic

#BlackGirlMusic Words by Okara …

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LOCAL CLASSICAL – HOST OKARA IMANI

Hey, Starshine! This is Okara Imani, Media Production Fellow for Classical Music Indy, and your guide to The “I” in Classical Music. I’m here to highlight the cultural and social intersections of the classical art form, beyond the Classical Period and beyond the constructs of Euro-centric high society origins.

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Marian Anderson: Validating Her Existence

Marian Anderson: Validating He …

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Ric’key Pageot: Inspiring a Moment to Learn, Acknowledge, and Respect

Ric’key Pageot: Inspiring a Mo …

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Nathaniel Dett: Painting Words in Music

Nathaniel Dett: Painting Words …

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Ignatius Sancho: Composing the Hypocrisy of Colonialism & Convention

Ignatius Sancho: Composing the …

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Laura Karpman: Catch the Fire of Storytelling in Stereo

Laura Karpman: Catch the Fire …

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Instrumental Interrogation

Instrumental Interrogation: Ho …

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NEW CLASSICAL – DR. BILL BANFIELD

This week we bring you the music of Dr. Bill Banfield. Dr. Banfield is an award-winning composer whose symphonies, operas, chamber works have been performed and recorded by major symphonies across the country. Few have a wider, performed professional composing output, that has had public concert performances, reviews, radio, recordings of some 12 symphonies, 7 opera, 9 concerti, chamber, jazz, and popular forms. This alone making Dr. Banfield one of the most performed, recorded composers of his generation. In 2010 and 2016, Dr. Banfield served as a Pulitzer Prize judge in American music.  

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Angela Brown: The Making of a Mentor

Angela Brown: The Making of a …

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The Life of Margaret Garner and These United States

This is not a story to pass on …

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Recognizing the Remarkable: Thomas Wiggins

Recognizing the Remarkable: Th …

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A Basic Guide to Podcasts

Podcasts: A Very Basic Guide f …

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Angela Brown Brings her Unbridled Zeal to a New Podcast.

Angela Brown brings her unbrid …

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Meet New Podcast Host Joshua Thompson

In a new podcast, co-host Josh …

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Local Classical – Angela Brown

We continue our Black History Month programming this week with our featured artist, soprano Angela Brown. Born in Indianapolis, Brown has led a world-renowned career as a vocal soloist. Her highly successful Metropolitan Opera debut in the title role of Aida captured instant attention from international print and broadcast media and catapulted Angela onto the world’s prestigious opera and symphonic stages.

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A Good Morning

Traveling the world as an inte …

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Joshua Thompson: Opening Indy’s Eyes

Born and raised in Indianapoli …

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Classical Revolution: Casual Classical Night

Classical Revolution: Casual C …

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Highlighting our Female Performers

Classical Music Indy employs a diverse range of musicians for our events around Indianapolis. In 2016 we hired 95 musicians. Classical Music Indy has dedicated our blog articles to outstanding women musicians this month. We’ve shared about great women music educators in America and about under-recognized women musicians throughout history. This week, we take a look at a few of Classical Music Indy’s top performers – women who are doing great work here and now in the city of Indianapolis. Read below about these incredibly talented musicians, and hopefully you’ll hear them at one of our events in the near future!

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Black History Month: Musicians to Explore

There’s a subversive joy in be …

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Previous Episode: Singing as Service with Kenneth Overton
Next Episode: Cracking Classical Music’s Cultural Code with Nkeiru Okoye

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Melanated Moments in Classical Music

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From the Blog

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My Music. My Story. Emma Spitzig.

My Music. My Story. Emma Spitz …

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