Acknowledgements

Grateful appreciation to all the experts and scholars who gave of their energy and support to make

this event a success.

Dalhousie University

Lucy Hayes-Davis, Music Dr. Jennifer Bain, Music Rob McClure, Theatre

Dr. Afua Cooper, James R. Johnston Chair Dr. Jacqueline Warwick, Music

Dr. Steven Baur, Music

From the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College

Mignon Dunn Dr. Tania Leon

Dr. Bruce MacIntyre Richard Barrett.

A huge thank you to my vocal coach, Cris Frisco.

oh! to be free

Quanda Johnson Soprano

with

Simon Docking, piano Simon Mandari, djembe

Shari Clarke, violin Kathleen Doherty, dance

Friday, April 25, 2014

7:00 PM Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts

Halifax, NS

Quanda Johnson, a Philadelphia native, has performed on and off Broadway, in regional theatre, national, and international tours. Currently, a Fulbright independent researcher affiliated with Dalhousie Music/Theatre and NSCAD Media Arts, she is exploring the Underground Railroad as it relates to Atlantic Canada and Quebec, synthesizing her findings into a multimedia theatrical "event" concert, Beyond the Veil of the Sorrow Songs. The founder and artistic director of The Quest Factor, a think-tank/production company focused on the African Diaspora, she has an MFA in Acting from the New School University (NYC) and a Master of Music degree from the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College. Nominated for an AUDELCO Award (Best Actress) for her portrayal of Marian Anderson, she appeared in Broadway's Tony award-winning Ragtime and made her New York City Opera debut in Virgil Thomson's The Mother of Us All with Soprano, Lauren Flanigan. All of her work is dedicated to the memory of the first artist in her life, her mother, Vernetta.

“A work of art is a scream of freedom.” – Christo

PROGRAMME

________

On Blackness

Lovely Dark and Lonely One Harry .T. Burleigh (1866-1949)

Dream Variations Margaret Bonds

no.2 from Three Dream Portraits) (1913-1972) Prayer Leslie Adams

No. 1 from Nightsongs: Six Afro-Amercian Songs (b. 1932)

* * *

You Are No Longer a Slave! (¡Ya no eres esclavo!)

From CancionesNegras Xavier Montsalvatge (1912- 2002)

no.3 Chevére no.4 Cançion de Cuna para Dormir a unNegrito no.5 Canto Negro

Simon Mandari, djembe

Independence (Autonomie)

MeineLeider Johannes Brahms no.4 from 5 Leider, op.106 (1833-1897)

Darfes Falken Schwinge… Antonin Dvorak

no.7, from Gypsy Songs, op.55 (1841-1904)

* * *

I Don't Want to Work (Je ne veux pas travailler)

from Banalités Francis Poulenc

no.2 Hôtel (1899-1963) no.4 Voyage à Paris

________

Anarchy To This We’ve Come Gian Carlo Menotti from the Consul (1911-2007)

________

Hope Springs...Eternal? Saying Goodbye Tom Ciupullo

No.2, How to Get Heat Without Fire (b.1960)

Joy Ian Gordon no.10, from Genius Child: A Cycle of 10 Songs (b.1956)

~Pause~

Of the Sorrow Songs Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Chili Traditional Spiritual I Want Jesus to Walk with Me Spiritual

arr. Anne. E Boatner Steal Away Spiritual

arr. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)

Simon Docking, piano ________

A Peek: Behind the Veil of the Sorrow Songs with

Simon Docking, piano Simon Mandari, djembe

Shari Clarke, fiddle Kathleen Doherty, dance

Wade in the Water Spiritual arr. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)

Simon Docking, piano Kathleen Doherty, dance

________

Let's Break the Chains

My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord Spiritual F. Price

(1887-1953) Ride On King Jesus Spiritual

H. Johnson (1888-1970)