I TOO SING AMERICA
Poetry of great African-American poets set to music by American composers of many races
Concerts presented in 2001 and 2002
by Theodore Wiprud/New Music Presentation,
African-American Art Song Alliance, & Videmus

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PROGRAM NOTE

I Too Sing America is a program of vocal music and spoken word given during the week of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, in tribute to Dr. King's vision of an inclusive society of mutual respect. This year's concert also marked the centenary of the birth of Langston Hughes. The program has been broadcast on WQXR-FM New York; brought workshops to the Harlem School of the Arts; and received media sponorship from The New York Amsterdam News.

I Too Sing America affirms that American culture is one world with many voices, that the works of leading African-American poets are beacons to many, and that artists of all races and backgrounds can and should respond in their own ways.

2002 PROGRAM

Dreamer (World Premiere)
Music by Erik Santos
Based on text by Langston Hughes

Songs of the Season
Music by Margaret Bonds
Based on text by Langston Hughes

Jersey Songs
Music by Ulysses Kay
Based on text by Donald Dorr

Songs of Love and Justice
Music by Adolphus Hailstork
Based on text by Martin Luther King, Jr.

American Journal (New York Premiere)
Music by Theodore Wiprud
Based on text by Robert Hayden

Performed by:
Louise Toppin, soprano
Darryl Taylor, tenor
Andre Solomon-Glover, baritone
Corigliano Quartet
Patricia Terry-Ross, harp
Erik Santos, piano
Jeanne Golan, piano
Robert Jason Jackson, spoken word

2001 PROGRAM

Nightsongs
Music by H. Leslie Adams
Based on text by Langston Hughes, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Clarissa Scott Delany, James Weldon Johnson, & Leslie Morgan Collins

Beyond the Rim of Day
Music by Hale Smith
Based on text by Langston Hughes

Song of the Seasons
Music & poetry by Valerie Capers

Epilogue, 1965 (World Premiere)
Music by Daniel Bernard Roumain
Based on "Eulogy for Malcolm X" by Ossie Davis

Climbing: Seven Songs on Eight Poems
Music by Tom Cipullo
Based on text by Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Robert Hayden

A Georgia Song (New York Premiere)
Music by Theodore Wiprud
Based on text by Maya Angelou

Performed by:
Louise Toppin, soprano
Darryl Taylor, tenor
Timothy Holley, cello
Timothy Ries, soprano saxophone
Jeanette Blakeney, mezzo-soprano
Tom Cipullo, piano
Maria Corley, piano
Jeanne Golan, piano
Daniel Bernard Roumain, violin
George Shirley, narrator

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