Monday 22 May, 7.00 pm to 8.00 pm
The Dusk-Eyed Queen: Music by Women from Africa and the African Diaspora explores the African and African diasporic experience through the works of some of the most exciting composers of the past two centuries. The programme’s diverse women composers fête the cultures of Africa and its diaspora, painting vivid portraits of their communities while provoking a long overdue re-assessment of the classical canon.
Programme
Margaret Bonds
Troubled Water
Errollyn Wallen
I wouldn’t normally say
Chiquinha Gonzaga
Heloisa
Meditação
Camilla
Nahla Mattar
Egyptian Miniatures (selected movements)
Nkeiru Okoye
From African Sketches:
Dancing Barefoot in the Rain
Dusk
Valerie Capers
Canción de Havana
Ella Scats the Little Lamb
Billie’s Song
Cool-trane
Florence Price
Fantasie Nègre no. 1 in E-minor
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About the Performer
Liberian-Norwegian pianist Kamilla Arku draws on her diverse background as inspiration for her work as a performer and educator. She has recently performed for the Royal Opera House and the Intercultural Music Initiative, as well as collaborated with choreographer Claudia Schreier for Works & Process at the Guggenheim. In the upcoming season, she looks forward to recitals in the US, UK and Liberia, as well as working with a collective of Black female musicians and filmmakers for the First Step project.
Kamilla is also the founder and Director of charity Music for Liberia, a charity supporting young people in Liberia through music-based fundraising. She is a graduate of Yale University and the Royal Northern College of Music, and is currently a PhD student in Musicology at New York University.
‘‘Kamilla Arku plunges to the depths of the piano’s keyboard, and into its interior, conjuring an atmospheric soundscape” -The Stage UK
“Her artistry provides a space to breathe and take in the world around us. Note by note, Kamilla combines her heritage and classical training, to create her own beautiful expression.” – Culture is Free
Photo credit: Agne Kucinskaite
