LIVE at Piedmont Piano Company
Oakland Symphony
”Deep River”
The Oakland Symphony offers a free community event "Deep River: Harry Burleigh and the Founding of Black Classical Music." This event with film and live music will be presented by Joseph Horowitz, the acclaimed author of Dvořák’s Prophecy, and will feature soprano Shawnette Sulker. You’ll gain insight into Dawson’s masterpiece, the “Negro Folk Symphony,” its history, influences and, until very recently, it’s unjustified neglect. Prepare to be enthralled by one of America’s very greatest symphonies.
FREE Admission
We are offering a limited number of tickets to attend this event in person. Advance reservation is required. COVID-19 SAFETY: All ticket holders must show proof of full vaccination (including a booster, if eligible) and wear a mask while inside the piano store.
OAKLAND SYMPHONY
Oakland Symphony comprises not only the professional orchestra, but also members of Oakland Symphony Chorus and Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the myriad staff, board members, and community volunteers who help keep symphonic music alive here in the East Bay. oaklandsymphony.org
JOSEPH HOROWITZ
Joseph Horowitz is an author, concert producer, and teacher. He is one of the most prominent and widely published writers, mainly dealing with the history of classical music in the United States. As an orchestral administrator and advisor, he has been a pioneering force in the development of thematic programming and new concert formats.
Horowitz’s book, Dvorak’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music (W. W. Norton), proposes a “new paradigm” for the history of American classical music. It was published in November 2021 in tandem with a series of documentary films he has produced for Naxos. In addition, Naxos concurrently released a CD, “Arthur Farwell: America’s Forbidden Composer,” produced by Horowitz in alignment with his new book. The film series, also titled “Dvorak’s Prophecy,” has generated a pair of 45-minute National Public Radio documentaries (on Dvorak as a “lens on the American experience of race” and on Aaron Copland as an exemplar of American populism). josephhorowitz.com | artsjournal.com/uq
SHAWNETTE SULKER
Acclaimed for her “heart-breaking poignancy” and “beautifully tuned soprano” by the San Francisco Chronicle, soprano Shawnette Sulker is a sought-after artist in the United States and abroad. A consummate performer, her recent concert soloist performances have included singing Handel’s Messiah with the Winston-Salem Symphony, Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras with the Oakland Symphony, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Santa Rosa Symphony. Recent operatic roles include Floralba (Messalina by Porta); Die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte); Mary Jane Bowser (workshop of Heggie’s Intelligence); Amore (Orfeo ed Euridice); Pip (Heggie’s Moby Dick).
Ms. Sulker has sung with the San Francisco Opera, Mark Morris Dance Group, American Bach Soloists, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Opera Memphis, Eugene Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Union Avenue Opera, Opera Naples, Pacific Opera Project, Santa Rosa Symphony, Opera San Jose, West Edge Opera, and the Natchez Opera Festival, to name a few. Roles in her repertoire include Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Cunegonde (Candide), Constanze (Abduction from the Seraglio), Musetta (La Bohème), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) and Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi). Some works on Ms. Sulker’s concert repertoire list include Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bach’s Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, Mozart’s Exsultate, Jubilate, Bach’s Mass in B minor, and Scarlatti’s Su le sponde del Tebro. Upcoming engagements include singing Sister Rose in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with Opera Idaho and Cleopratra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare with West Edge Opera, and a recital as part of the A. Jess Shenson Recital Series at Stanford University. shawnettesulker.com