Composer Julia Perry. Photo source: Experiential Orchestra.
Friday’s (12/15) Violin Channel reports, “The Experiential Orchestra (EXO) and Videmus have come together to host a four-day Julia Perry Centenary Celebration and Festival” in New York City. “The festival will feature performances of Perry’s work by PUBLIQuartet and the Harlem Chamber Players, as well as talks by Videmus director Dr. Louise Toppin [Videmus is a nonprofit devoted to the repertoire of African American, women, and underrepresented composers]. A combined concert sees the Experiential Orchestra and youth ensembles led by EXO Music Director James Blachly perform Perry’s music side by side…. Violinist Curtis Stewart will perform Perry’s Violin Concerto. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, to an educated Black family, Julia Perry studied with Luigi Dallapiccola and Nadia Boulanger. She was well known in America in the mid-twentieth century, and much of her music reflected on the Civil Rights movement … Many of Perry’s compositions are sadly lost, since she held onto the manuscripts in hope of publication rather than donating them to an archive. The Julia Perry Centenary Celebration and Festival will be held from March 13 to March 16, 2024.”
