African American Museum, Dallas to Present The Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra Of Houston On Saturday, March 11, at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters

(Featured image: South Dallas Children’s Choir.)*

With a mission to showcase Black artists and composers, the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra will pay homage to all-time most GRAMMY-winning music, TV and film mogul Quincy Jones and include a performance by the South Dallas Children’s Choir

The African American Museum, Dallas (AAM) will present The Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra of Houston Concert on Saturday, March 11, 2023, at 5 p.m. at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters’ Bruton Theater, located at 1309 Canton St. in Dallas. The orchestra’s seventh Dallas appearance pays homage to world-renowned musical performer, producer, arranger and composer Quincy Jones who holds the record for the all-time most GRAMMY wins. In addition, the South Dallas Children’s Choir – a program extension of the African American Museum, Dallas – will perform a selection of ballads. Also, Evelyn Foster Hamilton, a longtime dedicated community leader in music and retired educator, will be honored. Sponsored by the African American Museum, the event benefits the Museum’s youth programs. Tickets are $15 and $25 with a limited number of $75 VIP tickets available at the Museum and Ticketmaster.com.

Considered “one of the greatest minds in music and television history,” Quincy Jones has garnered a record 80 GRAMMY nominations and 28 GRAMMY wins throughout his illustrious 70-year career in the entertainment industry. Jones – who turns 90 on March 14 – has undoubtedly shaped pop culture having produced and composed for legendary musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion and Aretha Franklin. He also produced “The Color Purple” film and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” television series. The concert will feature selections from Jones’ famous productions and TV theme songs. Honorary co-chairs are church musicians Raymond Carroll and Murphy Wright. The event chair is Dr. Vivian Bradley Johnson, senior vice president of clinical services for Parkland Health.

One of the nation’s oldest contemporary majority African-American community orchestras, the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra (SJCO) was formed in 1983 under the umbrella of the nonprofit Community Music Center of Houston (CMCH). Founder and Music Director Anne Lundy says its three purposes are to give African American instrumentalists opportunities to perform together; to explore and perform music written by Black composers; and to be an example to the Black community that orchestras can include people that look like them. Since its inception, the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra has performed mainstream works such as Handel’s Messiah as well as significant, lesser-known music by Black composers.

The South Dallas Children’s Choir — who will perform beloved songs Lift Every Voice and We Shall Overcome along with a Quincy Jones selection – was established as a result of the Museum’s long-running, award-winning Summer Camp. Choir members range in ages from 8 to 15 and are from varying racial, economic and religious backgrounds. The Children’s Choir is dedicated to the philosophy that through the learning and performance of excellent choral literature, the lives of the choir members, as well as the lives of their families and the community, will be enriched artistically and personally. The Choir has performed at the Fair Park Blues and Jazz Festival, the opening of the 2015 State Fair of Texas, The University of Notre Dame Choir and the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Candle Lighting Ceremony.

Major sponsors of the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra are the North Texas Cluster Links (Dallas Texas Chapter, Fort Worth Chapter, Mid-Cities Chapter, Plano North Metroplex Chapter, Trinity Chapter and Greater Denton County Chapter); Big Thought; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated; Alpha Xi Omega; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Dallas Alumnae Chapter; The Bradley-Johnson Foundation; ClearChoice; Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star; Grambling University Alumni Association – Metro DFW Chapter; and McShan Florist.

WFAA is the media partner. The event is also presented in part by the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.

For more information, go to aamdallas.org or call214-565-9026.

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About the African American Museum, Dallas. The African American Museum, Dallas was founded in 1974 as a part of Bishop College. The Museum has operated independently since 1979. For more than 40 years, the African American Museum has stood as a cultural beacon in Dallas and the Southwestern United States. Located in Dallas’ historic Fair Park, the African American Museum is the only museum in the Southwestern United States devoted to the collection, preservation and display of African American artistic, cultural and historical materials that relate to the African American experience. The African American Museum incorporates a wide variety of visual art forms and historical documents that portray the African American experience in the United States, Southwest, and Dallas. The Museum has a small, but rich collection of African art, African American fine art and one of the largest African American folk-art collections in the United States. Learn more at aamdallas.org.

*Courtesy photo.

(This Philanthropy Lifestyles eBuzz courtesy the African American Museum, Dallas.)