The Score | Charlotte Listens

North Carolina’s Charlotte Symphony presented two “Listen Up, Charlotte!” free community events in April, featuring music and storytelling designed to address issues of discrimination and inequality. The events—held at First Baptist Church-West and at Providence Day School in partnership with the Levine Museum of the New South and A Sign of the Times of the Carolinas—were a follow-up to the orchestra’s September 2016 “One Charlotte: A Performance for Peace” that took place after the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. Dr. Brenda Tindal, staff historian at the Levine Museum, wove in personal stories of the local African-American experience, and music ranged from Bach to Bill Withers. Tyrone Jefferson led A Sign of the Times of the Carolinas ensembles in music from the African diaspora, including jazz, Latin, R&B, and funk. Charlotte Symphony President and CEO Mary A. Deissler said she hoped the experience would “help our community to first start listening to each other, and then start talking.”