Throughout the month of February, African-Americans have been honored for their many contributions to society. As Black History Month draws to a close, what better time to recognize the impact that African-Americans have had on the performing arts? Check out the materials below from some of music and theater's finest composers, musicians, and playwrights. Unless otherwise noted, all materials can be found in the performing arts library on the 11th floor.
Music
Advanced improvisation, by David N. Baker. Baker is a symphonic jazz composer who has made significant contributions to the world of jazz music.
Black piano: a treasury of works for solo piano by black composers. Includes pieces such as "The Gentle Waltz" by Oscar Peterson, "Come Sunday" by Duke Ellington, and "Valse-suite: op. 71" by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
Complete piano rags and Collected piano works, both by Scott Joplin. Joplin is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of Ragtime music and is the composer of the well-known piece "The Entertainer."
Sonata (in one movement): for violin and piano, by George Walker. In 1996, Walker became the first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize in music.
Stabat Mater: for contralto and string quartet or string orchestra, by Julia Perry. Perry's work also shows up in Art songs and spirituals by African-Amerian women composers, edited by Vivian Taylor.
Theater
Fences, by August Wilson. Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama examines race relations and family relationships.
The Fire this time: African-American plays for the 21st century, edited by Harry Elam Jr. and Robert Alexander. Includes plays by writers such as Suzan Lori-Parks, Lynn Nottage, and Brian Freeman.
Five plays, by Langston Hughes. Hughes is commonly recognized for his poetry, but he also wrote several plays, including "Soul Gone Home" and "Tambourines to Glory." This item available in the Chicago campus main library.
A Raisin in the sun, by Lorraine Hansberry. Hansberry's most famous play is based partly on her own family's experience with racially segregated housing laws during Hansberry's childhood in Chicago.
Feel free to stop by the PAL to check out these materials!
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