From heartfelt spirituals to big-band compositions by Duke Ellington, anthems of freedom and joy are on tap at today’s Black Heritage Concert at the Cleveland Institute of Music. The 16th-annual show features singers, performers, and orchestra conductors — all local and all African American. “This is our contribution to focusing on the community’s artists,” says CIM rep Susan Schwartz.
Choir director William Woods and chamber orchestra director Dianna Richardson lead the program, which kicks off a full slate of Black History Month celebrations around town over the next month. Expect to hear rousing renditions of Adolphus Hailstork’s “Four Spirituals,” Randall Thompson’s “The Testament of Freedom,” and Ellington’s “It’s Freedom.” “It’s always an inspirational concert,” says Schwartz.
Sun., Jan. 28, 4 p.m.
This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2007.