CELEBRATING DOROTHY MAYNOR IN HARLEM (2/25/2011)

                               The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem

                                             Langston Hughes Auditorium in the Schomburg Center

A couple of years ago, I directed a seminar "Women as innovators and activists in music."  One of the musicians the seminar focused on was Dorothy Maynor.  Ms. Maynor had an outstanding life and career in a number of areas. She was an acclaimed soprano, the first African-America to sit of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Opera (though her race precluded her from singing with them when she was the height of her career).  Her greatest legacy was the founding of the Harlem School of the Arts.  Beginning with twelve piano students, under her direction it grew to over one thousand students.  It was her firm belief that if children experienced beauty, no matter what their personal circumstances, they, and their world, would be the better for it.  The concert on February 25 was a tribute to her. 

I went to the concert thinking I was going to hear concert versions of Kurt Weill's Lost in the Stars and George Gershwin's Blue Monday, but what I experienced was just as gratifying.  The concert began with some introductory remarks.  Personal tributes to Dorothy Maynor were sprinkled throughout the concert. 

The evidence of her legacy was immediately established when the string chamber orchestra of the Harlem School of the Arts performed a movement from a Vivaldi Concerto and then a quintet from the orchestra performed a movement from a Haydn quintet.  Although there were intonation issues in the Vivaldi, the spirit of the performance was outstanding as were the two soloists.  The Haydn performance was quite impressive.  

Bass-baritone Roy Coleman sang the song "Lost in the stars" from the musical. His rich, expressive voice conveyed the message of the song quite effectively. The aria that became known as Ms. Maynor's "signature aria," "Depuis le jour" from Gustave Charpentier's opera Louise was sung by Jasmine Thomas, a winner of the 2010 Harlem Opera Theater Vocal Competition.  Ms. Thomas performed this very expressive aria quite well and was joined by tenor Phumzile Sojola (a current member of the vocal trio "Three Mo' Tenors") to complete the scene.  Ms. Maynor's own performance of this work is fortunately available on YouTube:

Dorothy Maynor singing "Depuis le jour"

Jasmine Thomas and Phumzile Sojola performed  two spirituals arranged by R. Nathaniel Dett for Ms. Maynor.  The trio of singers then performed excerpts from Blue Monday. Considered to be one of the first examples of "symphonic jazz" and an important precursor to Rhapsody in Blue and, much later, Porgy and Bess, Blue Monday (1922) is an immature work that is at its best when Gershwin is not trying to fuse classical and jazz elements (as in the "aria" "I got the blue Monday blues").  It was noted that when the work was premiered, white performers sang in blackface.  Black performers were still very limited in their opportunities to perform on Broadway.  The use of blackface performers was highly criticized by some as the tradition of minstrel show performances with which blackface performers (both white and black!) were on the way out. It was a real treat to hear a work that would prove to be so seminal in Gershwin's career.

To close out the concert, students from the Harlem School of the Arts, this time the Jazz Band, came on stage to regale the audience with four works that demonstrated their versatility with diverse jazz styles.  The eight performers each had a chance to "shine" and also show their collaborative skills.  Beginning with a "traditional" (straight ahead) performance based on "All the things you are" by Jerome Kern, the ensemble moved on to the "modern" jazz sound of Dizzie Gillespie's "A night in Tunisia."  Latin jazz was recreated via the ensemble's take on "1 Note Samba" by Antonio Carlos Jobim and the group closed out with "Chameleon" by Herbie Hancock, which featured  brilliant solo by drummer Dominique Gervais.  All of the performers equipped themselves wonderfully but the overwhelming favorite of the audience was nine-year-old Matthew Whitaker, a blind pianist who not only "tore up" the keyboard at times but showed great sensitivity in supporting and encouraging the others.  

From all accounts, Dorothy Maynor had a core of steel enveloped by plush velvet.  Her vision for her community continues to inspire it and lead it into the future.  It was truly an honor to experience this event.