U of A-Hosted 2023 Black Music Symposium, 'Lest Our Feet Stray,' Starts Tomorrow

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The U of A Department of Music will host its highly anticipated 10th annual Black Music Symposium Feb. 1-5, which is dedicated to educating and exploring the music contributions of Black Americans.

"This year's theme, 'Lest Our Feet Stray,' aims to invoke a spirit of remembrance of Black music genres that were integral to the survival of Black Americans during slavery, the Jim Crow South and the Civil Rights Movement," said Grammy Award-winning educator Jeffrey Allen Murdock, who is the symposium's organizer.

"Throughout the week, the symposium will feature lectures that support the theme by exploring the ways in which gospel music and Black Art Song are related to the experiences of Black musicians, as well as social movements," said Murdock, who is also the U of A's director of choral activities, an associate professor of music and conductor of the university's renowned Inspirational Chorale.

"We're so excited to share this series of events with the community and to welcome all to experience this amazing celebration of Black music, history, culture and contributions," he added. 

Evening concerts will include an organ recital by world-renowned organist Nathaniel Gumbs, director of Chapel Music at Yale University. The week will also feature performances by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Vesper Choir, tenor Albert R. Lee of Yale University and mezzo-soprano Alexis Davis-Hazell from the University of Alabama.

The 10th annual symposium, founded by Eddy Jones, will conclude with a community workshop and concert with Grammy-winning gospel artist Kurt Carr.

All events are open to the public. Lecture, concert and Kurt Carr Workshop participation ticket packages are available; please register online.  

SYMPOSIUM EVENTS

Wednesday, Feb. 1 - CANCELED due to inclement weather

• 7 p.m. - Free Public Opening Concert at Central United Methodist Church in Fayetteville with Nathaniel Gumbs, director of chapel music at Yale University - Canceled due to inclement weather
• 8:30 p.m. - Open Mic Night with Emorja Roberson at a location to be determined - Canceled due to inclement weather

Thursday, Feb. 2 - CANCELED due to inclement weather

• 10-11 a.m. - Vendor exhibits in the west hall of Faulkner Performing Arts Center (FPAC) - Canceled due to inclement weather
• 10-11 a.m. - Lecture "Pearls on Silk: Julia Perry and Irene Britton Smith, a Study of Elegance" given by Alexis Davis-Hazell - Canceled due to inclement weather
• 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Lecture "Organ Music of Black Composers" given by Nathaniel Gumbs at the FPAC - Canceled due to inclement weather
• 12:30-1:30 p.m. - Lecture "From Simple to Complex: The Vocal Accompaniments of Selected African-American Female Composers" given by Rosalyn Wright Floyd at the FPAC - Canceled due to inclement weather
• 3:30-5 p.m. - Performance class with Albert Lee and Alexis Davis-Hazell with U of A voice students at the FPAC - Canceled due to inclement weather
• 7:30 p.m. - Recital of music by Black composers with Albert R. Lee, Alexis Davis-Hazell and collaborative pianist Rosalyn Wright Floyd at the FPAC. Tickets available online. - Canceled due to inclement weather

Friday, Feb. 3

• 10-10:45 a.m. - Vendor exhibits in the west hall of the FPAC
• 10:45-11:40 a.m. - Lecture "Ultrasonic Tastemakers: A Critical Gastromusicology" given by Alisha Lola Jones at the FPAC - Canceled due to inclement weather
• 11:50 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. - Lecture "The State of Gospel Music" given by Emorja Roberson at the FPAC - Canceled due to inclement weather
• 5:30-7 p.m. - Workshop with the Eddie Wade Jones Workshop Chorus with Kurt Carr at the FPAC
• 7:30 p.m. - Concert featuring the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff Vesper Choir and U of A Inspirational Chorale at the FPAC. Tickets available online. - Canceled due to inclement weather

Saturday, Feb. 4

• 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Workshop with Kurt Carr at the FPAC
• 2-4 p.m. - Workshop with Kurt Carr at the FPAC
• 7:30 p.m. - Concert featuring Kurt Carr and the Eddie Wade Jones Workshop Chorus at the FPAC. Tickets available online.

Sunday, Feb. 5

• 10 a.m. - Closing worship service featuring the U of A Inspirational Chorale, the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff Vesper Choir and guest preacher Rev. Janae Pitts Murdock, senior pastor of Light of the World Christian Church (Indianapolis, Indiana), at the St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Fayetteville
• 12:30 p.m. - Inspirational Chorale Alumni Brunch at Hembree Alumni House

For more information, please contact Murdock at jeffreym@uark.edu or the Department of Music at 479-575-4701.