Rehearsing for Symphony Beats, from left: Monica Washington on keyboard, Kalamazoo Symphony Music Director Julian Kuerti, and Jessica “Jess” Ivey. Photo by Jeri Love.
In Tuesday’s (3/3) Kalamazoo Now (Michigan), Jeri Love writes, “Symphonic Beats returns to the stage of Kalamazoo Central High School on Friday, March 6, featuring a genre-melding collaboration between hip-hop and spoken-word artists, backed by the DC Quintet and a cohort of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (KSO). The masterminds behind the program are developer and co-curators Dr. Kandace ‘DC’ Lavender, an educator and emcee, singer/songwriter Yolanda Lavender & Soul Artistry, and KSO Music Director Julian Kuerti. Last year’s inaugural show focused on the elements of hip-hop. This year, the program will pay tribute to both the artistic and social justice history of the genre and the women who broke through its early gender barriers … At the first staging rehearsal March 2, which was held at Northglade Montessori Magnet School more than 20 performers, musicians, and the technical staff from KSO and the Kalamazoo Public Schools [met] … The performers are between the ages of 7 and 60. Like many artists, they also have ‘day jobs’ that range from leading programs for nonprofit organizations to directing institutes at Western Michigan University…. Liz Youker, KSO’s vice president of artist operations and education … said, ‘Working together, amongst all the organizations involved, we’re all learning and growing. And I think that’s the purpose of collaborating.’ ”
