The Gathering Program

A COLLECTIVE SONIC RING SHOUT

MAY 7, 2022 AT 8PM

APOLLO’S HISTORIC THEATER

The Apollo and American Composers Orchestra Presents

THE GATHERING: A COLLECTIVE SONIC RING SHOUT Saturday May 7, 2022 - 8pm

Co-Curated with National Black Theatre In Partnership with Gateways Music Festival and Harlem Chamber Players Creative Concept and Direction by Jonathan McCrory The Gathering: A Collective Sonic Ring Shout is generously supported by Art for Justice, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Linda and Stuart Nelson, Anonymous, JP Morgan Chase, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and The New York Community Trust.

Steinway is the official piano sponsor of The Gathering.

Apollo 2021-2022 Season Sponsors:

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APOLLO’S ARTISTIC STATEMENT: THE GATHERING After having closed our doors for nearly two years, it is both an honor and a joy to welcome you back to the Apollo. Tonight’s gathering of composers, musicians, choirs, and community allows us to embrace our standing as both a temple and hallowed hall, and imagine a moment of healing and transformation. Over the past two years as the global community navigated the pandemic; the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others due to police violence, it has served as stark reminders of what at times has felt like dual pandemics. When we began to conceive of The Gathering with our partners at American Composers Orchestra and National Black Theater over three years ago, it was spurred by the initial impulse to present the haunting ode and remembrance of Joel Thompson’s work Seven Last Words of the Unarmed. At the center of the creation of this evening was also the need to draw in our community on the deepest level. When we began thinking about this work, little did we know how our world would shift.

And in fact this work–this Gathering– is needed now more than ever.

But tonight is more than a one night only concert. For the past few months, leading up to today we have worked in collaboration with Donna Walker-Kuhne and our community partners to provide a number of programs focused on mental health, the legacy of Black artists in classical music and the tradition of the ring shout. Hundreds of people joined us online and in person to explore the issues raised in these works you will see tonight. What we hope to offer this evening is at the heart of what the Apollo has always stood for - hope, courage, connection, and self-expression even in the darkest of times. We lift up those who have charted the path before us, honor the lives of those we have lost, and carry the torch into a brighter tomorrow. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Kamilah Forbes Apollo Executive Producer

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ARTISTIC STATEMENT: AMERICAN COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA The Gathering—a collaboration between the American Composers Orchestra, the Apollo, and the National Black Theatre—is a space to collectively breathe, to grieve, to share, to remember, to honor, transcend, rejoice, and move forward.

Tonight we present the New York premiere of Joel Thompson’s Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, a work that memorializes the final words/correspondences of seven Black men killed by law enforcement or authority figures. This powerful, multi-movement composition for chorus and orchestra confronts us with the starkest truths of human nature. We hope that each work on the program helps to further illuminate the challenges that Seven Last Words lays before us, both as individuals and as a community.

The evening is infused with Black artistry, with three pairs of compositions calling and responding to each other: Jason Michael Webb’s newly commissioned I Am Loved (and Other Healing Affirmations) honors the souls of Seven Last Words’ departed, Courtney Bryan’s Sanctum uses the medium of recorded sound to bring street protest into the concert hall, and Toshi Reagon responds with the orchestral premiere of My Name, A Reflection of Home. The New York premiere of Carlos Simon’s Amen! for orchestra brings joy into the house, and Nona Hendryx reciprocates in the orchestral premiere of Grace, Heaven and Benediction (We Will Rise).

The evening is framed by the deeper narrative of the Ring Shout, which the Apollo’s Executive Producer Kamilah Forbes called “a journey of the spirit.” Abby Dobson’s performance of Say Her Name, poetic contributions from Mahogany L. Browne, and projections by Katherine Freer round out the creative arc, all brought into alignment by NBT’s Executive Artistic Director Jonathan McCrory.

Tonight ACO embarks on our first-ever partnership with the Gateways Festival and the Harlem Chamber Players, under the direction of Maestro Chelsea Tipton, II and Choirmaster Gregory Hopkins. We are so proud to share the stage with them as we gather together, here, tonight—performers and audience—in a collective sonic ring shout.

Derek Bermel, Artistic Director Melissa Ngan, President and CEO American Composers Orchestra

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ARTISTIC STATEMENT: NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE “Where there is Love there is no fear” - Dr. Barbara Ann Teer “We’re gonna regain our strength and reclaim our power right now this hour!”

- NBT Liberators Chants. Rituals. Restoration. Liberation! These are the seminal ingredients of the work of the National Black Theatre. A recipe forged by our ancestors, and fortified by the founding vision of Dr. Barbara Ann Teer and NBT’s original company of Liberators. Tonight, NBT is proud to bring our unique approach to the co-curation of this stirring evening alongside our partners at the Apollo and the American Composers Orchestra.

Over the past two years, words can’t begin to capture the disquieting amount of times we have had to collectively navigate unthinkable loss, trauma, grief and violence. This evening was conceived and curated as a balm to help transform our collective grief into grace and our wounds into wisdom, as a catalyst for our collective healing and restoration.

We invite you to learn more about the work of NBT as we embark on our 54th season entitled Healing Our Way Forward; a season dedicated to humanizing and healing Black communities through the power of unapologetic Black storytelling.

But for now, in this hour we have with each other and every minute and second after, let us be reminded that our grief is a reminder that love is present; that joy is always ours for the choosing and that tonight we gather in the name of all that came before us as we breathe in the truth and exhale new pathways forward.

Thank you for joining us for this ritual.

Always with love, Sade Lythcott Chief Executive Officer National Black Theater

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THE APOLLO AND AMERICAN COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA PRESENT

THE GATHERING: A COLLECTIVE SONIC RING SHOUT Saturday, May 7, 2022 Co-Curated with National Black Theatre Creative Concept and Direction by Jonathan McCrory In partnership with Gateways Music Festival and Harlem Chamber Players Conducted by Chelsea Tipton, II Choirmaster Gregory Hopkins Featuring the work of: Courtney Bryan Abby Dobson Nona Hendryx Toshi Reagon Joel Thompson Carlos Simon Jason Michael Webb With: American Composers Orchestra Choirs: Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir, Broadway Inspirational Voices, Convent Avenue Baptist Church Choir and Sing Harlem Choir With poetry by: Mahogany L. Browne Video Projections Katherine Freer Associate Director: Josiah Davis Stage Management: Canara Price Belynda M’Baye

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STATEMENT FROM DIRECTOR, JONATHAN MCCRORY In this sacred space you are welcomed wholly. You are welcomed to share your holes and tattered pieces. You are welcome to holistically receive a sound, a message, a word strung together by symphonic dissonance and harmony. In this gathering we welcome the response. In this gathering we find collective liberation. This evening draws on a technology that is old and ancient, that traveled within individuals stolen and sold into indentured servitude. These architects of liberation carried with them a technology, a Ringshout, that would remind their spiritual, physical, emotional and mental selves how to access liberation in the midst of a peculiar institution, slavery. This ring shout was their elixir, giving them an antidote.

Now in 2022 that institution has morphed and changed still with the same goal to oppress/control and as we live, breathe and navigate a pandemic let this sonic journey of seven works be a gift, a salve, a disruptor. An evening inspired by the work of the Seven Last Words of the Unarmed by Joel Thompson, with an open heart we welcome you to receive a sonic sound forged out of a promissory note not to only name our grief yet celebrate our joy. Drawing in additional technology by architects of liberation such as Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Gullah Geechee Culture Heritage Commission and so much more to help shape the bowl. This evening is meant to allow for brokenness to usher in new possibilities within everything we do! Find grace in this journey and with an open ear know it was crafted just for you.

This is a love note. Welcome to the Gathering.

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PROGRAM Virtual Host: Mahogany L. Browne

Say Her Name Abby Dobson Seven Last Words of the Unarmed New York Premiere Joel Thompson I Am Loved (and Other Healing Affirmations) World Premiere Jason Michael Webb Intermission

Sanctum Courtney Bryan In Memory of Herman Whitfield III, a gifted composer and pianist who died in police custody last week while suffering a mental health crisis.

My Name A Reflection of Home World Premiere Arrangement Toshi Reagon Orchestra Arrangements by Juliette Jones Featured dancer: Maleek Washington AMEN! New York Premiere of Orchestral Version Carlos Simon The commission of a new orchestration of Carlos Simon’s AMEN! is supported in part by American Composers Orchestra’s 2021-22 Commission Club.

Heaven, Grace, We Rise World Premiere Arrangement Nona Hendryx Accompanist: Etienne Stadwijk The musical expressions and lyrical incantations of Grace, Heaven and Benediction (We Will Rise) are chanted magical words and melodies to cast a spiritual spell I hope will inspire the hearts and minds gathered to feel and release emotions unexpressed during our time of loss. We will rise♥ -Nona Hendryx 8

THE GATHERING CREATIVE TEAM (ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

MAHOGANY L. BROWNE

COURTNEY BRYAN

ABBY DOBSON

NONA HENDRYX

GREGORY HOPKINS

TOSHI REAGON

CARLOS SIMON

CHELSEA TIPTON, II

JOEL THOMPSON

JASON MICHAEL WEBB 9

THE GATHERING BIOGRAPHIES:

MAHOGANY L. BROWNE

Mahogany L. Browne is the Executive Director of JustMedia, a media literacy initiative designed to support the groundwork of criminal justice leaders and community members. This position is informed by her career as a writer, organizer, & educator. Browne has received fellowships from Agnes Gund, Air Serenbe, Cave Canem, Poets House, Mellon Research & Rauschenberg. She is the author of recent works: Chlorine Sky, Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice, Woke Baby, & Black Girl Magic. As the founder of the diverse lit initiative, Woke Baby Book Fair. Browne’s latest project is a poetry collection responding to the impact of mass incarceration on women and children: I Remember Death

By Its Proximity to What I Love (Haymarket Books). She is the first-ever poet-in-residence at the Lincoln Center and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

COURTNEY BRYAN

Courtney Bryan is “a pianist and composer of panoramic interests” (New York Times). Her music is in conversation with various musical genres, including jazz and other types of experimental music, as well as traditional gospel, spirituals, and hymns. Bryan has academic degrees from Oberlin Conservatory (BM), Rutgers University (MM), and Columbia University (DMA) with advisor George Lewis, and completed postdoctoral studies in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. Bryan is the Albert and Linda Mintz Professor of Music at Newcomb College in the School of Liberal Arts, Tulane University and a Creative Partner with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

She was the 2018 music recipient of the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, a 2019 Bard College Freehand Fellow, a 2019-20 recipient of the Samuel Barber Rome Prize in Music Composition, a 2020 United States Artists Fellow, and is currently a recipient of a 2020-21 Civitella Ranieri Fellowship. www. courtneybryan.com

ABBY DOBSON

A Sonic Conceptualist Performing Artist and Composer, Activist and Scholar, Abby Dobson is Artist-in-Residence with the African American Policy Forum (AAPF). Abby Dobson has performed at theApollo Theater, Blue Note Jazz Club, Hammer Museum & The Tonight ShowT (Jay Leno). Her debut CD, Sleeping Beauty: You Are the One You Have Been Waiting On received rave reviews. Featured on Talib Kweli’s album Gravitas on “State of Grace”, Abby was nominated for a 2014 BET Hip Hop Award for Best Impact Song. She was a 2017 Create Change Fellow with The Laundromat Project and performs with Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter. Abby is a Soprano with the Resistance Revival Chorus (RRC), a women’s ensemble born out of the Women’s March in 2017. Abby’s song “#Say HerName”, inspired by AAPF’s campaign of the same name, is featured on RRC’s album, This Joy on Righteous Babe Records (2020). “#SayHerName” was also featured on Ava DuVernay’s hit series Queen Sugar on OWN. Abby also performs with Burnt Sugar, an improvisational ensemble founded by Greg Tate. Abby Dobson is currently working on Love in Times of War, an album slated for release in 2023. www.abbydobsonsings.com

KATHERINE FREER

Katherine Freer is a multimedia artist, filmmaker, organizer, and educator. Her artistic practice lives at the intersection of story, technology, and civic engagement. Frequent collaborators include Ping Chong, Ty Defoe, Kamilah Forbes, Steve Broadnax III, Lux Haac, Porsche McGovern, Liza Jessie Peterson, Talvin Wilks, and Tamilla Woodard. She is a proud member of Wingspace Theatrical Design, United Scenic Artists Local 829 and a core collaborator in All My Relations Collective. Learn more:katherinefreer.com

NONA HENDRYX

Revolutionary art-rock, new-wave goddess Nona Hendryx is a vocalist, songwriter, musician and multimedia artists. Tackling social issues, love and politics, Hendryx’s career spans decades of sound

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THE GATHERING BIOGRAPHIES and style evolution. Longtime Nona Hendryx fans know her as one of the groundbreaking group Labelle and their No.1 worldwide hit “Lady Marmalade (Voulez Vous Coucher Avec Moi C’est Soir?”

The songwriter, Hendryx, came into her own as a solo artist post Labelle on Rock infused albums.

Her album Mutatis Mutandis (changing those things which need to be changed), Hendryx lends the necessary gravitas to a striking rendition of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” with a smoky vocal tessitura somewhere between funk and the end of the stratosphere. Nona is an Ambassador for Artistry in Music for Berklee College in Boston Conservatory and BerkleeNYC. She curated and performed in a production she created for The Metropolitan Museum, Nona Hendryx and Disciples of Sun Ra in the Temple of Dendur. Nona is composing music for the revival of Blue a play with music, and has written two compositions for The Roundabout Theater‘s production and the Broadway debut of Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress. Both plays were directed by Charles R. Wright and received a grant from Jazz South Arts to compose music for a new play Young Nerds of Color by Melinda Lopez, directed by Dawn Meredith Simmons at Boston’s Central Square Theater. Nona is passionate about Music, Visual Art and Technology and continues to be a prolific artist.

DR. GREGORY HOPKINS

Dr. Gregory Hopkins, celebrated tenor and Artistic Director of Harlem Opera Theater, is a native of Philadelphia. He holds degrees from Temple University and the Curtis Institute of Music, and is the winner of top prizes in the Busseto “Verdi” competition and the Mantova International vocal competition, both in Italy. Mr. Hopkins is a featured artist on three recordings: Kurt Weill’s “Blue Monday” (Concordia); a recording of spirituals entitled “Amazing Grace” (Naxos Records), which he also conducted, it as nominated for a Grammy; and “Lost in the Stars” by Kurt Weill with the St. Luke’s Symphony (Music Masters). Hopkins has won prizes in competitions including: The Verdi Prize in Busetto, Italy; Outstanding Tenor Awards, Mantova, Italy; The Dealy Award and The Opera Index Grant. As a singer, pianist, organist, Choral conductor, teacher and clinician, Hopkins has traveled throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and The Middle East, with recent performances including The Cervantes Festival (Mexico), Orvieto Festival (Italy) and Umbria Festival (France). Hopkins seres The National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses as Director of Performance Ministries; The Hampton University Minister’s Conference as Recital Co-Coordinator,; and Gospel Music Workshop of America as Vocal Consultant to the Men’s Department. He has been honored twice to prepare and present musicals for the National Baptist Convention, and was musical director for the NAACP’s Centennial Celebration. At Arkansas Baptist College’s EC Morris Institute he is Choral Clinician. For the Million Man March he was selected by Minister Farakahn to sing immediately following the address. As an educator, he has served on the faculties of: Community College of Philadelphia; Morgan State University; Westminster Choir College and NY Seminary of the East. He has recently retired from Howard University in DC, where he was an assistant professor of classical voice.

JONATHAN MCCRORY

Jonathan McCrory is a two-time Obie Award-winning, Harlem-based artist who has served as Executive Artistic Director at National Black Theatre since 2012, under the leadership of CEO Sade Lythcott. He has directed numerous professional productions and concerts which include: How the Light Gets In (New York Musical Theatre Festival), Klook and Iron John (National Alliance for Musical Theatre), Dead and Breathing, HandsUp, Hope Speaks, Blacken the Bubble, Asking for More, Last Laugh and Enter Your Sleep. He has worked at Experimental Theatre Wing in Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU) with Emergence: A Communion and evoking him: Baldwin, and at the State University of New York (SUNY) Purchase directing Exit Strategy and A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Greatest of the Great Lakes. He has been acknowledged as an exceptional leader through Crain’s New York Business’ 2020 Notable LGBTQ Leaders and Executives. In 2013, he was awarded the Emerging Producer Award by the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and the Torch Bearer Award by theatrical legend Woodie King, Jr. He is a founding member of the collaborative producing organizations Harlem9, Black Theatre Commons, The Jubilee, Next Generation National Network, and The Movement Theatre Company. McCrory sits 11

THE GATHERING BIOGRAPHIES: on the National Advisory Committee for Howlround.com and was a member of the original cohort for ArtEquity. A Washington, D.C., native, McCrory attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

TOSHI REAGON

Toshi Reagon is a multi-talented and versatile singer, composer, musician, with a profound ear for sonic Americana—from folk to funk, from blues to rock. She has collaborated with many artists including Lizz Wright, Meshell Ndegeocello, Lenny Kravitz, Jason Moran, Alicia Hall Moran, Climbing PoeTree and Nona Hendryx. As a composer for dance and theater works, she has worked with Michelle Dorrance, Katori Hall, Urban Bush Women and The Jane Comfort Dance Co., among others. Toshi collaborated with tap dancer Michelle Dorrance and Dorrance Dance to create the Bessie Award-winning The Blues Project and is a composer and performer in Meshell Ndegeocello’s Can I Get A Witness: The Gospel of James Baldwin. One of her most significant collaborators is her mother, Bernice Johnson Reagon. Together, they created two operas with director Robert Wilson, The Temptation of St. Anthony and Zinnias, The Life of Clementine Hunter. Inspired by the visionary and prescient story telling of Octavia E. Butler, Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon created the opera Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower, which premiered in 2017 at NYUAD Arts Center in Abu Dhabi and to date, has been performed on four continents. She founded WORD*ROCK*&SWORD: A Festival Exploration of Women’s Lives, community festival that takes place throughout New York City every September since 2011. Through her company Wise Reagon Arts she curates and produces several events a year with the intention of creating congregational spaces. Her many recordings include The Righteous Ones, TOSHI, Have You Heard, There and Back Again and SPIRITLAND. Her latest record Beautiful World will be released soon. www.toshireagon.com

CARLOS SIMON

Carlos Simon’s latest album, MY ANCESTOR’S GIFT, was released on the Navona Records label in April 2018. Described as an “overall driving force” (Review Graveyard) and featured on Apple Music’s “Albums to Watch”, MY ANCESTOR’S GIFT incorporates spoken word and historic recordings to craft a multifaceted program of musical works that are inspired as much by the past as they are the present. As a part of the Sundance Institute, Simon was named as a Sundance Composer Fellow in 2018, which was held at the historic Skywalker Ranch. His string quartet, Elegy, honoring the lives of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner was recently performed at the Kennedy Center for the Mason Bates JFK Jukebox Series. With support from the US Embassy in Tokyo and US/Japan Foundation, Simon traveled with the Asia/America New Music Institute (AANMI) on a two-week tour of Japan in 2018 performing concerts in some of the most sacred temples and concert spaces in Japan including Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Simon earned his doctorate degree at the University of Michigan, where he studied with Michael Daugherty and Evan Chambers. He has also received degrees from Georgia State University and Morehouse College. Additionally, he studied in Baden, Austria at the Hollywood Music Workshop with Conrad Pope and at New York University’s Film Scoring Summer Workshop.

CHELSEA TIPTON, II

American conductor Chelsea Tipton, II has won over audiences and critics alike with his vibrant musicality, accessibility, versatility and extraordinary commitment to Arts education. Tipton is now celebrating his thirteenth season as Music Director of the Symphony of Southeast Texas in Beaumont.

He is also the Principal Pops Conductor of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has recognized Tipton with their first annual Aspire Award in October of 2013. This award identifies accomplished professional musicians who are African American or Latino who also demonstrate a tremendous commitment to community and inclusiveness. The Neches River Festival

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THE GATHERING BIOGRAPHIES in Beaumont also honored Tipton with the Citizen of the Year April of 2014 and in October of 2014 he was honored to receive the Community Spotlight Award from Capital One Bank for community leadership. As a sought after guest conductor, Tipton has appeared with major orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Houston, Indianapolis, Nashville, Memphis, San Antonio, and New Jersey Symphonies, the Brooklyn, Louisiana and Rochester Philharmonics and the Boston Pops. In 2011, Tipton was part of an extensive European tour with pop artist Sting that took him to 15 countries, working with 19 different European orchestras including the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, and the Dohnanyi Symphony Orchestra. Tipton made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the Sphinx Competition Showcase gala concert culminating a ten-city tour with the Sphinx orchestra.

JOEL THOMPSON

Joel Thompson is an Atlanta-based composer, conductor, and educator, best known for the choral work, Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, which was premiered November 2015 by the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club and Dr. Eugene Rogers and won the 2018 American Prize for Choral Composition. His music has been performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, Atlanta Master Chorale, Los Angeles Master Chorale, EXIGENCE, and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. Currently a doctoral student at the Yale School of Music, Thompson has written a new opera, The Snowy Day, based on the book by Ezra Jack Keats, will premiere December 2021 at the Houston Grand Opera.

MALEEK WASHINGTON

Maleek Washington is the featured dancer in Toshi Reagon’s performance in tonight’s program.

From the Bronx, New York, Makeek is a alumni of the Boston Conservatory, where he studied on full scholarship, he began his dance training at Harlem School of The Arts, Broadway Dance Center and LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. He has danced with CityDance Ensemble (Washington DC), Montreal’s SpringBoard Danse (working with Jose Navas & RUBBERBAND), and Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M for four seasons, before becoming the first African-American male to perform in Sleep No More. He has also performed for Sia, Phish, and Rihanna (for an immersive experience for her AntidiaRy Campaign) and ASAP Rocky. Maleek was part of NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live and performed with Camille A. Brown and Dancers in the 2018 Ted Talk Conference in Vancouver. Maleek has been a member of Camille A. Brown and dancers for 5 seasons having the opportunity to work on shows like the Grammy winning Porgy and Bess of the Metropolitian Opera as an assistant choreographer, Spike Lee’s Mont Blanc Commerical as assistant choreographer, and Camille’s Alvin Ailey piece entitled City of Rain. Most recently Washington was the assistant choreographer to Camille A. Brown at the Metropolitan Opera for her directorial debut for Fire Shut up In My Bones.

JASON MICHAEL WEBB

Jason Michael Webb is a director, composer, lyricist, musical director, producer and arranger. From conducting orchestras in Broadway pits to writing and arranging music for a President’s inauguration, Jason has dedicated his life to using music to heal, uplift and encourage. He has served as Musical Director of the six-time Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle, for whom Mr. Webb co-wrote and produced four albums for The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, leading to two Stellar Award nominations and a Dove Award win. His arrangement of BTC’s “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” was featured at the 2013 inauguration of President Barack Obama. His writing can also be heard on the hit TV series Empire (Fox), Netflix film Juanita, recording projects and original musicals, including the new South African musical “WiLDFLOWER” (currently in development with National Black Theater/Apollo). Mr. Webb received a 2019 Special Tony Award for his “outstanding arrangements” in Tarell Alvin McCraney’s breathtaking acapella play Choir Boy (MTC). Mr. Webb served as Execu-

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THE GATHERING BIOGRAPHIES: tive Music Producer of Respect (MGM), the 2021 film about the life of Aretha Franklin starring Jennifer Hudson. Mr. Webb’s directorial debut, a 2021 film of the iconic Jason Robert Brown musical, The Last Five Years, was lauded by the The New York Times as “inspiring”, “robust”, and “impressively freed by its physical and creative limitations”. He also served as Musical Director of the 2016 Broadway Revival of The Color Purple. Upcoming projects include “MJ: The Musical” (Broadway) (Musical Director/Co-Arranger/Co-Orchestrator), Disney’s upcoming revival of AIDA (Music Supervisor/Arranger), and the eagerly anticipated Beauty and the Beast live-action prequel series at Disney+ (Musical Director/Arranger).

Community Partners The Apollo, American Composers Orchestra, and National Black Theatre would like to thank Donna Walker-Kuhne and our community partners who have joined us on our journey of discussions and presentations about important social justice issues surrounding The Gathering.

1199, Bread and Roses Abyssinian Baptist Church ACLU Black Alumni Council of Columbia University Broadway Inspirational Voices The Center for Black Literature Columbia University Spirituality, Mind and Body Institute Convent Avenue Baptist Church Cultural Innovation Group CUNY School of Medicine at the City College of New York Dance Theatre of Harlem Experience Harlem

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Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce The Greene Space Harlem Advocates for Seniors Harlem Arts Alliance Harlem Fine Arts Show Manhattan Community Board 10 March on Washington Film Festival NYC Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene RhythmAndSoulRadio.com Sing Harlem WBAI WNYC WQXR

THE GATHERING

ABOUT AMERICAN COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA

Founded in 1977, American Composers Orchestra (ACO) is dedicated to the creation, celebration, performance, and promotion of orchestral music by American composers.

With commitment to diversity, disruption and discovery, ACO produces concerts, middle school through college composer education programs, and composer advancement programs to foster a community of creators, audience, performers, collaborators, and funders. ACO identifies and develops talent, performs established composers, champions those who are lesser-known, and increases regional, national, and international awareness of the infinite variety of American orchestral music, reflecting gender, racial, ethnic, geographic, stylistic, and age diversity. To date, ACO has performed music by 800 American composers, including over 350 world premieres and newly commissioned works. ACO offers an array of programs for emerging composers including its own annual EarShot New Music Readings in New York City, which has served over 230 composers since its inception in 1991, and national EarShot Readings, which since 2008 expanded mentorship to 110 composers through partnerships with orchestras across the country, and in collaboration with the League of American Orchestras, New Music USA and American Composers Forum. Readings composers have gone on to win every major composition award, including the Pulitzer, Grammy, Grawemeyer, American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Rome Prizes. ACO has received numerous awards for its work, including those from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and from BMI recognizing the orchestra’s outstanding contribution to American music. ASCAP has awarded ACO its annual prize for adventurous programming 35 times, singling out ACO as “the orchestra that has done the most for new American music in the United States.” ACO received the inaugural MetLife Award for Excellence in Audience Engagement, and a proclamation from the New York City Council. Read more: www.americancomposers.org

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AMERICAN COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA BOARD AND STAFF BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sameera Troesch, Chair Jonathan Bailey Holland, Vice Chair Frederick Wertheim, Immediate Past-Chair Melissa Ngan, President & CEO Derek Bermel, Artistic Director Michael Fehrman, Treasurer

Marilyn Go, Secretary Astrid Baumgardner Jane Cavalier Philip Glass Augusta Gross Benjamin Hildner Tess Mateo Annette McEvoy

Samir Nikocevic Geoffroy van Raemdonck Michael J. Russell Deborah Sherman Karen Slack Toyin Spellman-Diaz Melinda Wagner

ADMINISTRATION Melissa Ngan, President & CEO Derek Bermel, Artistic Director Steven Behr, Operations & Production Manager Aiden K. Feltkamp, Emerging Composers & Diversity Director

Kevin James, Director of Education Lyndsay Werking, Director of Development Sydney Cusic, Development Associate Jensen Artists, Public Relations Consultant

AMERICAN COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA DONOR LISTING American Composers Orchestra regrets that space limitations prevent us from including our full list of donors, however, we remain grateful to the many organizations and individuals who support our programs.

FRANCIS THORNE FUND FOR YOUNG AND EMERGING COMPOSERS $100,000 OR MORE Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust The Edward T. Cone Foundation Peter and Mary Heller

Ellen and James S. Marcus Mr. and Mrs. Edward Thomas Mr. and Mrs. Paul Underwood

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORTERS Aaron Copland Fund for Music Alice M. Ditson Fund Amphion Foundation ASCAP Foundation BMI Foundation BMI Inc Cheswatyr Foundation Communities Foundation of Texas Edward T. Cone Foundation Deutsche Bank Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation

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Francis B. Goelet Charitable Trust Fromm Music Foundation Hearst Foundation Inc. Howard Gilman Foundation Jephson Educational Trusts League of American Orchestras Mellon Foundation Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas) National Endowment for the Arts New Music USA New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

New York State Council on the Arts Pacific Harmony Foundation Rexford Fund Rockefeller Brothers Fund Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP Steven R. Gerber Trust U.S Small Business Administration Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation

AMERICAN COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA DONOR LISTING INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS

FRANCIS THORNE SOCIETY $25,000 OR MORE Anonymous Ellen and James S. Marcus

LEADERSHIP CIRCLE $10,000-$24,999

BENEFACTOR $5,000–$9,999

Melanie and John Clarke Marilyn D. Go and Richard Dolan Tess Mateo and Gary Brewster Samir Nikocevic and Charles Taylor Susan and Elihu Rose Michael J. Russell and Christina F. Russell Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting Frederick Wertheim and Angelo Chan

Astrid and John Baumgardner Benjamin Hildner Linda and Stuart Nelson David and Krystyna Newman Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation Sameera and Christian Troesch

PATRON $1,000–$4,999 Anonymous Jane Cavalier NancyBell Coe Dan Coleman Lois Conway Dennis Russell Davies Scott Dunn Danny Elfman Michael Fehrman and Andrea Luciano Lor and Michael Gehret Philip Glass

Eugenie Cowan Havemeyer Matthew D. Hoffman and Donald R. Crawshaw Yolanda F. Johnson John J. Kerr, Jr. & Nora Wren Kerr Duncan and Nancy MacMillan Yvonne Marcuse Annette McEvoy and Harold Bronheim Alfred P. Moore Melissa Ngan Yimin Ngan

Melanie and David Niemiec Elmar Oliveira and Sandra Robbins Dennis Powers Sara Eisner Richter and Michael Richter Jesse Rosen Geoffroy van Raemdonck Robert D. Taisey Mr. and Mrs. Edward Thomas Jeffrey and Terilynn Walsh Mr. and Mrs. Albert K. Webster Maria Watson and David Reid

DONOR $500–$999 Derek Bermel and Andreia Pinto Correia Thomas and Kamala Buckner Diane Britz Lotti Ralph S. and Elizabeth A. R. Brown Bruce Bush and Judith Johnston Anthony B. Creamer III Norma Cirincione Laura Conwesser Pamela Drexel Stephan Farber Lynda Gould Jonathan Bailey Holland

Susan Jolles Peter Kroll Jesun Paik Inmo and Michael Parloff Alexandra and Frederick Peters Jennifer and John Scribner Anne-Marie Soulliere & Lindsey C.Y. Kiang Paul Sperry Judith R. and Michael E. Thoyer Melinda Wagner and James Saporito Lyndsay Werking and Peter Yip Edward Yim and Erick Neher

ACO COMMISSION CLUB 2021-2022 IN SUPPORT OF CARLOS SIMON’S AMEN! Pamela Drexel Anthony Fogg Thomas J. Griffin* Diane Williams and Wolfgang Neumann * indicates a sponsor for an ACO student memberships as of April 20, 2022

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THE GATHERING

ABOUT NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE

National Black Theatre (NBT), the nation’s first revenue-generating Black arts complex, was founded in 1968 by the late visionary artist Dr. Barbara Ann Teer. NBT is the longest-running Black theatre in New York City, one of the oldest theatres founded and consistently operated by a woman of color in the nation, and most recently included in the permanent collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. NBT’s core mission is to produce transformational theatre that helps to shift the inaccuracies around African Americans’ cultural identity by telling authentic stories of Black lifes. As an alternative learning environment, NBT uses theatre arts as a means to educate, enrich, entertain, empower and inform the national conscience around current social issues impacting our communities. Under the leadership of Sade Lythcott, CEO, and Jonathan McCrory, executive artistic director, NBT helps re-shape a more inclusive American theatre field by providing an artistically rigorous and culturally sensitive space for artists of color to experiment, develop and present new work. Working with trailblazing artists from Nona Hendrix to Jeremy O. Harris, and helping to launch the careers, most recently, of artists such as Dominique Morisseau, Radha Blank, Mfoniso Udofia, Saheem Ali, Lee Edward Colston II, and Ebony Noelle Golden, and incubating Obie Award-winning companies like The Movement Theatre Company and Harlem9’s 48Hours in Harlem, NBT’s cultural production remains unparalleled. Located in the heart of Harlem, NBT welcomes more than 90,000 visitors annually; has produced 300+ original works; won an Obie award and 56 Audelco Awards; received a CEBA Award of Merit; and has been nominated for multiple Drama Desk awards. NBT is supported by grants from Booth Ferris Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, New York Community Trust, Shubert Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, William Randolph Hearst Foundation, City Council of New York, City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and private donations. Visit nationalblacktheatre.org or follow NBT on Facebook (@ NationalBlackTheatre) and Twitter/Instagram (@NatBlackTheatre).

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NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE BOARD AND STAFF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michael F. Lythcott, Board Chair Linara Davidson, Treasurer Velma Banks, Secretary David Alan Grier Robert S. Harvey Van Jones Zoë Kravitz Cleo Wade Michelle Wilson NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE STAFF

Sade Lythcott, Chief Executive Officer Jonathan McCrory, Executive Artistic Director Barrie Koegel, Chief Operating Officer Abisola Pat Faison, Director Of Finance Nabii Faison, Director Of Entrepreneurial Arts Program Ashley Antwi, Development Manager Maya Davis, Creative Producing Manager Denzel Faison, Operations Manager Belynda M’Baye, Soul Series L.A.B & Special Projects Program Manager Byron McCray Miller, Marketing Director Ava Novak, TAP Artistic Assistant Mandesia Sibiya, Executive Assistant National Black Theatre (NBT) is honored to receive continual investment from our esteemed supporters in NBT’s mission and commitment to being a cultural and creative hub for collective healing and the radical imagination of Black artistry. We would like to recognize the generosity and support of the foundations and government agencies that help make the 2021-2022 season possible. Axe-Houghton Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, Ford Foundation, The Garth Family Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, Open Society Foundations, Richenthal Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, William Randolph Hearst Foundation.

This Program is Supported, In Part, By Public Funds From The New York City Department Of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with The City Council. National Black Theatre is also supported by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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THE GATHERING

ABOUT THE APOLLO

The legendary Apollo Theater—the soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, the Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world. With music at its core, the Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival. The nonprofit Apollo Theater is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals and large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend the Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations. Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at the Apollo are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R., D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben Ari; and the Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. For more information about the Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.

Apollo Theater 253 West 125th Street New York, NY 10027

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APOLLO THEATER BOARD OF DIRECTORS Charles E. Phillips, Chairman Richard D. Parsons, Chairman Emeritus Ronald O. Perelman, Vice Chairman Patricia M. Zollar, Vice Chairman Willie E. Woods, Treasurer Daisey M. Holmes, Secretary

Nikki A. Bethel

Carolyn Minick Mason

Howard Schiffman

Tina R. Davis

Racquel Oden

Bronson van Wyck

Derek Jones

Karen L. Pavlin

Dawanna Williams

Kwanzaa Jones

Verdun Perry

Pharrell Williams

Robert K. Kraft

JoAnn H. Price

Nat Zilkha

Directors Emeritus Quincy Jones Leslie M. Uggams

APOLLO THEATER STAFF EXECUTIVE STAFF Jonelle Procope, President & Chief Executive Officer Aldo Scrofani, Chief Operating Officer Kamilah Forbes, Executive Producer Donna Lieberman, Chief Development Officer

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT Jing He, Chief of Staff

PERFORMING ARTS & COMMUNITY PROGRAMS Laura Greer, Senior Producer Leatrice Ellzy, Senior Director of Programming L. Adé Williams, Director of Community Programs Brad San Martin, Director of Digital Archives Kelley Girod, Director of New Works Charisse Williams, Associate Director, Program Management Dwight Jordan, Associate Director of Programming Marion J. Caffey, Amateur Night Producer Kathy Jordan Sharpton, Amateur Night Coordinator Billy Mitchell, Director of Historic Tours/Apollo Ambassador Ann Cruz, Interim Program Assistant Alisa Payne, Digital Producer Diondra Setorie, Associate Digital Producer

EDUCATION PROGRAMS Shirley Taylor, Senior Director of Education David King, Director of Education Debbie Ardemendo, Associate Director of School Programming Jason Steer, Associate Director, Career & Workforce Development Shenica Odom, Associate Director, Apollo Theater Academy Princess Belton, Education Manager Yanira Gonzalez, Manager of Apollo Theater Academy Christie Santiago, Manager of School Programs Lindsay Bernardez, School Programs Coordinator Brianna Johnson, Education Assistant

OFFICE OF THE COO/HR Billie McDowell, Director of Administration & HR Noele Phillips, Administrative Assistant

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APOLLO THEATER STAFF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Fatima Jones, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications Kristen Hill, Director of Marketing Kersten Stevens, Director of Digital Strategy Syron Townsend, Social Media Manager Joy Gregory, Web and Digital Marketing Manager Sydney Edwards, Public Relations Manager Robert Minell, Graphic Designer Chelsea Warren, Marketing Associate LaMonda Scott, CRM & Analytics Associate Maya Brown, Marketing & Communications Assistant DEVELOPMENT Sarah Rodriguez, Director of Development Kathleen Hyppolite, Director of Special Events Quay Whitlock, Director of Major Gifts Corrine Gordon, Sr Manager, Special Events & Database Desrene Walton, Sr Manager, Individual Giving Rebecca Ianetta, Database Coordinator Matthew Greco, Development Assistant FINANCE Kelly McKaig, Senior Director of Finance Devan Jairam, Director of Finance Carlos Rivera, Accounting Manager Shakeen Johnson, Accounting Assistant INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Lewis Bent, Director of Information Technology Elijah Timmons, Help Desk Technician THEATER OPERATIONS Meredith Rinn, Director of Facility Sales Christian Doviw, House Manager Regina Corchado-Brown, Manager of Theater Operations

Deborah Berrios, Assistant Manager of Theater Operations Shenequa Brown, Office Manager Naima Moore-Turner, Theater Operations Administrator Monet Morris, Events Coordinator Kirby Crane, Administrative Assistant, Theater Operations PRODUCTION Cheles Rhynes, Senior Director of Production Jeff Aldrich, Production Supervisor Frank Cortez, Production Supervisor Rebecca Cutino, Production Supervisor MAINTENANCE Juan Guillen, Senior Manger of Maintenance Chad Battle, Event Services Manager Samuel Carrington, Events Services Eduardo Quimis, Maintenance Shatema Amante, Housekeeping Fanny Aucacama, Housekeeping Carmen Jimenez, Housekeeping SECURITY Walter Steele, Associate Director of Security Shaniqua Youmans, Security Administrator Edward White, Security BOX OFFICE Keshave Sattaur, Box Office Treasurer Kevin Dozier, Assistant Box Office Treasurer Elizabeth Baez, Historic Tour & Group Sales Coordinator Gregory Turner, Ticket Seller

THANK YOU TO THE APOLLO’S GENEROUS SUPPORTERS America’s Cultural Treasures, a Sponsored Project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Laura and Frank Baker BNY Mellon Citi Ford Foundation

Mellody Hobson and George Lucas Leonard Lauder Ronald S. Lauder The New York City Council The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

Accenture The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Art for Justice Fund, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Connie and Steve Ballmer Bloomberg Philanthropies Coca-Cola North America The Howard Gilman Foundation

JLGreene Arts Access Fund in The New York Community Trust JPMorgan Chase & Co. Loida N. Lewis The Office of the Manhattan Borough President Silicon Valley Community Foundation The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust

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THANK YOU TO THE APOLLO’S GENEROUS SUPPORTERS ConEdison, Inc. Tiffany M. Hall Daisey M. Holmes Derek Jones National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts Paramount Rockefeller Brothers Fund Warner Brothers Discovery Ronald Williams Nathaniel Zilkha

Bristol Myers Squibb Nina and Frank Cooper Cravath Swaine & Moore The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc. Josef Goodman LaJwanne Louis Mertz Gilmore Foundation Aela Donald Morgan Amelia and Bayo Ogunlesi The Pinkerton Foundation Christine and Stephen A. Schwarzman Tawana Tibbs and Bruce S. Gordon Bronson van Wyck Willie E. Woods

The Black Seed Fund Rick Blatstein Blueprint Capital Advisors The Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation DeNora Getachew GRAMMY Museum Foundation Harold & Carole Pump Foundation The Hyde & Watson Foundation Lowenstein Sandler LLP Microsoft, Inc. Sarah Min and Matt Pincus The Neuberger Berman Foundation Minerva Phifer Karen C. Phillips Paula Price The Shubert Foundation Richard Soloway Sandye Taylor Tracey and Richard Travis Angela Vallot Verizon Foundation Warner Music Group Gregg Wolpert

Arnhold Foundation Inc. Dorria Ball Akira L. Bell Chateau GC LLC Dale Cochran W. Don Cornwell The Cowles Charitable Trust Diana Elghanayan Lesley D. Goldwasser The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Inc. Marienne Hill-Treadway Kwanza Jones Kirkland & Ellis LLP Joshua Kogan Jill Lafer Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc. Rhonda Mims Linda Mirels National Black MBA Association Racquel Oden Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison New York City Council: The Office of Bill Perkins Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP Barbara Scott The Steven G. Madison Family Trust Kathleen Tait Nina M. Wells Julie Wenah Lauren W. Wilson

The Arthur & Patricia Hill Foundation Sabrina Burris Garland Core Fidelity Charitable Aaron Holiday IBM New York City Council: The Office of Mark Levine Shirley G. McAlpine Nion McEvoy Audrey and Danny Meyer Marki Ponder Dana Pump Joanne Rosen The Samuels Family Foundation Kimberly Sorce Ari Strulson Theatre Development Fund Pamela Thomas-Graham

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Artwork by Shirin Barghi Shirin Barghi is an Iranian journalist, audio producer and documentary filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. She currently works as a Senior Producer for BRIC TV, where she covers issues of social justice, immigration, inequality and more. Her #lastwords project was the inspiration for Joel Thompson’s composition Seven Last Words of the Unarmed.