by Crystal Wu & Catherine Zachary
First Fridays is a concert series created by Arts Everywhere and the Department of Music in the fall of 2019. The series has featured pop-up performances by different student and chamber ensembles on the first Friday of each month in the rotunda of Hill Hall, as well as in different spaces across campus on other select Fridays. These informal concerts have allowed students, faculty, staff, and community members to come and go as they listened to live music of all genres and configurations.
This semester, in an effort to keep the community safe and healthy, First Fridays will look a little different. Instead of live, in-person concerts, Arts Everywhere and the Department of Music sought proposals for virtual, pre-recorded 15-30 minute programs featuring music by underrepresented voices (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women, etc.).
After reviewing the wonderful proposals that were submitted for our First Fridays concerts this fall, we are pleased to announce the winners below! Students researched and chose pieces by underrepresented artists who were meaningful to them and will present the pieces along with program notes about the musical works, composers, poets, and historical context.
Please join us on Facebook on the first Friday of each month to learn, listen, and celebrate the music of underrepresented composers!
September 4 at 1 pm
Grace He, piano
Melody Zhuo, piano
PROGRAM
“Honeysuckle” from Grandmother’s Garden, Op. 97 by Amy Beach
“Ji-Dong-Nuo” by Chen Yi
“Desdemona and Salomé” from Femmes de Légende by Mélanie Bonis
Learn more about Grace and Melody’s program here.
October 2 at 1 pm
Sanya Shah, soprano
Lauren Ragsdale, mezzo soprano
PROGRAM
“Night” by Florence Price
“In the Springtime” by Betty Jackson King
“I’m a Poor Lil’ Orphan in this World” by Julia Perry
“Songs to the Dark Virgin” by Florence Price
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“Sympathy” by Florence Price
“Calvary” by Betty Jackson King
“Hold Fast to Dreams” by Florence Price
Learn more about Sanya and Lauren’s program here.
November 6 at 1 pm
Gum Box Ensemble
Tomer Goldhagen, trumpet
Jace Bean, guitar
Isaac Talbert, oboe
Daniel Asanov, drums and composer/arranger
Grant Holland, keys/trumpet
Harrington Shaw guitar/bass
George Wasson, alto saxophone
PROGRAM
“Caged Bird” by Daniel Asanov, Text by Maya Angelou
“The Mask” by Daniel Asanov, Text by Maya Angelou
“Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” by J. Rosamund Johnson & James Weldon Johnson