Good morning and happy October,

We’ve been hard at work and so much has happened since our last Sunday Salon mailing. Please check out the following:

• Sunday Salon has become Presenting AfroClassical Composers, an official non-profit organization with its own web site. https://afroclassicalcomposers.org/
• Presenting… entered fiscal sponsorship w Fulcrum Arts out of Pasadena in August of this year. This allows the organization to accept tax deductible donations and government/municipal and private grants. Presenting AfroClassical Composers: Donate

• There’ve been many important developments in AfroClassical composers and professionals, including the August death of my high school classmate, Oakland Symphony Orchestra conductor Michael Morgan. Read more below.
• We’re now planning the inaugural 2022 Season of Presenting… including exciting live performances with guest experts from complimenting disciplines for interdisciplinary community discussions.
• Please consider and donate generously so that live performances by a diverse set of performers can be supported financially. Your generous support can be matched in grants. Join the $100, $1K, $5K club or donate the amount that fits your commitment to this organization and its mission. Generous funding will allow us to document on video, performances and discussions for archives and for further dissemination to those who are unable to attend in person. Presenting AfroClassical Composers: Donate

Since 2018, Sunday Salon was held each 3d Sunday to celebrate, acknowledge, hear and appreciate the compositions of AfroClassical composers, living, legacy, male and female. During the pandemic, live gatherings ended while we organized as a non-profit to serve a larger community through live performance throughout SoCal including community discussion with interdisciplinary experts and practitioners. Visit the website.

After a thorough, careful and rigorous search and application process, a fiscal sponsorship agreement was signed with Fulcrum Arts out of Pasadena, through its Emerge Program. Fulcrum is an accredited fiscal sponsor that has been in operation since 1964 https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/pasadena-arts-council,952540759/. They will provide accounting, tax reporting and back-office functions so that Presenting... can focus on creative, funding and logistical matters.

1. African American Conductor Michael Morgan is a graduate of McKinley High School in Washington, D.C. He went on to study with Leonard Bernstein, George Solti, Seiji Ozawa and Daniel Barenboim. Mr. Morgan was associate conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (among other prestigious conducting positions) before his 30-year tenure as Music Director and conductor of the Oakland Symphony in California.
   
   I remember Michael as a high school student. He was a year or 2 behind me in the music major program where we studied history of Western Music- starting with the music of ancient civilizations around the globe, theory and harmonic analysis; while participating in performing ensembles. Some of us thought, “poor Michael, he doesn’t play an instrument.” The implication was that he wasn’t quite a real musician if he couldn’t demonstrate it on an instrument. Well, he showed us! He was always around, listening and commenting with insight and enthusiasm. He had many friends in our D.C. Youth Orchestra and later guest conducted our orchestra’s reunion concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. On Aug 20,2021 he died of illness related to kidney infection after a transplant. As featured guest at the annual Association of California Symphony Orchestras(ACSO) meeting in 2021, Michael spoke of his vision of diversity and inclusion for his orchestra and those around the world.
   
   
2. Female, Cuban-born composer Tania Leon was awarded the Pulitzer Award for Composition in 2020, a first for a female composer of African descent. Her exciting music can be heard on Youtube recordings and is available on other commercial recordings.
   
   
3. As The Metropolitan Opera in NYC celebrated the return of live, in person performance this year, the opera Fire Shut Up Inside My Bones by African American Composer (and trumpeter) Terrance Blanchard, was the featured performance.
   
   It is the first opera performed at the Met to be composed by a black composer. Blanchard’s film scoring credits include Cadillac Records, Malcom X and a host of Spike Lee movies including Red Tails…
   
   Blanchard has been widely interviewed about the opening and the opera that is based on a memoir of sexual identity, struggles and development by NY Times columnist Charles M. Blow.

There are more important developments on regional and national levels, beyond those listed above.

Now is the time that as artistic director, I am selecting compositions to be performed, contracting performers; securing venues; gathering & managing information for printed programs; discussing with/inviting, scheduling and contracting experts/practitioners in complimenting disciplines for the community discussion and establishing marketing, outreach channels. There are also the tasks of securing the printed music, securing rehearsal spaces, contracting tech professionals for lighting/sound and recording, as well as myriad behind-the-scene tasks required to have a successful performance. As you can imagine, that requires much work, assistance and funding.

I believe it is import for all of SoCal’s diverse economic, ethnic, education and age demographics to see and hear first-hand, live examples of AfroClassical composers’ works performed by musicians who reflect our local diversities. The world of Classical music is enriched by music of a diverse set of talented composers and performers.

Your financial support of Presenting… helps create awareness and support  a more diverse reality of compositions and performers being presented to the public.  Please donate generously.  Financial support will help us apply and qualify for grants from foundations and government agencies, funded from all our tax payer contributions. Budgeting and funding to support video recordings of Presenting… enables us to reach audiences beyond the SoCal region. Please click here to contribute/donate. Your donations will help fund and define the range of works we present. We will use your contact information to notify you of the performance details as they develop.