Poster Composer Shawn E. Okpebholo
Composer Shawn E. Okpebholo
Photo courtesy of the artist
Performance Today®

Shawn E. Okpebholo: Two Black Churches

In 2020, composer Shawn E. Okpebholo published a piece that reflects on two acts of racial violence, events separated by more than fifty years. The music serves as a tribute to the resilience and perseverance of the African American community in the face of adversity. On today's show, we'll hear "Two Black Churches" by Shawn E. Okpebholo.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Ulysses Kay: Three Inventions
Monica Gaylord, piano
Album: Piano Music of Black Composers
Music & Arts 737

Robert Manno: Petite Voyage en Nostalgie for Flute, Harp, and String Orchestra
Eva Ding, flute | Jacqueline Kerrod, harp | Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra | Robert Manno, conductor
Catskill Mountain Foundation, Doctorow Center for the Arts, Hunter, NY

Michael Abels: Delights and Dances
Chicago Sinfonietta | Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
Album: Delights and Dances
Cedille 90000 141

Shawn E. Okpebholo: Two Black Churches
Will Liverman, baritone | Paul Sanchez, piano
Album: Dreams of a New Day: Songs by Black Composers
Cedille

Hour 2

Andre Previn: Tango Song and Dance: Movement 2
Augustin Hadelich, violin | Joyce Yang, piano
Album: Franck - Kurtag - Previn - Schumann: Augustin Hadelich - Joyce Yang
Avie 2347

Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16: Movement 1 Allegro
Joyce Yang, piano | The Nashville Symphony | Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
The Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, TN

Yuan-Chen Li: A Railroad to Dreams (World Premiere)
Imani Winds
Chamber Music Northwest, Alberta Rose Theatre, Portland, OR

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: Movements 2-4
Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine | Theodore Kuchar, conductor
Eastman School of Music and WXXI Classical, Kodak Hall at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY

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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.

Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.

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