Program 19

New commission- TBA (20:00-30:00)
Robert Nathaniel Dett: The Ordering of Moses (50:00)

The riots in our city in 2001 were the largest urban disorders in the United States since the Los Angeles riots of 1992 and were the reaction to the fatal shooting of an unarmed 19-year-old black male by a police officer. Our concert home is located in what was the epicenter for the race-related civil unrest. City Hall (two blocks from the hall) was vandalized and thousands of protesters converged on Police headquarters. Damage sustained by immediate area business properties was estimated at $3.6 million. However, not one of music hall’s windows was broken; not one flower pot was overturned. This iconic structure and the arts organizations it houses were given the same respect, value and protection as the nearby churches.

One of the most important examples of our early championing of new music was the premiere of R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses in 1937 during the days of racial segregation and the reprise of the work in 1956 as the Civil Rights movement began to take hold. By all accounts, the performances were successes as noted in the press and critical reviews of the day.

In a world that continues to be beset with uncertainty, conflict and dissention, the annual festival continues to ask, “What can I do?” There continues to be a need to bring people together to make music not noise, to energize a community and address its social needs. Given its history with the work, the orchestra and chorus plan to reintroduce The Ordering of Moses to Festival audiences. It is particularly fitting that this work be performed at the Spring for Music Festival as Carnegie Hall was also an early champion of Nathaniel Dett’s talents. His 40-voice Hampton Singers performed at Carnegie Hall in 1914 and he conducted Tchaikovsky’s The Legend in Carnegie Hall in 1928.

2013 marks the 70th Anniversary of Nathaniel Dett’s death. The Festival and orchestra hope to bring this important work and composer to the national stage with the broad attention that will come with participation in the Spring for Music festival.