Even with snow on the ground and sub-zero temperatures, on Friday night the Music Department hosted the concert “Black, Brown and Beige,” which was sponsored by Justin Reed and the Moton Museum. This concert featured solo and group performances by Lisa Edwards-Burrs, Naima Burrs, Timothy Holley and Russell Wilson.
Edwards-Burrs opened the concert by expressing her thanks to the audience for attending and commenting, “I am delighted to see so many of you here,” and shortly after the concert was in full swing with the first of the evening’s nine selections. The first piece entitled, “Song of the Seasons,” had four parts, each appropriately named after a season and was a very somber piece with the tone changing as the seasons do.
Following this piece was a performance by Burrs and Wilson entitled, “Sonata for Violin and Piano,” which featured movements two and five. These two movements were drastically different in tempo and tone, but both made you feel as if you were singing or dancing along to the pieces. The last piece before the brief pause featured a solo performance by Wilson on the piano. The piece, “Fantasie Negre,” varied greatly in tempo, which kept the audience engaged. At one point, Wilson’s hands seemed to be flying across the piano as the tempo increased and the notes became more staccato.
After the brief intermission, Edwards-Burrs returned to the stage with a brief presentation and expression of gratitude to everyone who helped make the concert possible and who attended. Next, came a mother-daughter performance by both Burrs. Edwards-Burrs sang along to her daughter’s accompaniment on the violin. The selection was entitled, “Three Poems of Langston Hughes,” and featured three shorter movements that provided a feeling of joy and were very upbeat. Edwards-Burrs commented on how she “enjoyed every opportunity to perform with her daughter” and she was “especially looking forward to this performance.”
The next piece featured the trio of Edwards-Burrs, Holley and Wilson with four parts as indicated by the title, “Four Songs.” Each song told a different story. The first described mercy and how it “lies around us.” The second song, “Stones,” had more of an upbeat and jazzy tone to it as the suspense began to build, leading into the other pieces. Edwards-Burrs used a variety of facial expressions throughout the entire night, but her best was at the end of this piece’s fourth song when she nodded her head as an indication that no one would control her, as the lyrics of the song continued. This drew a few laughs from the audience as she continued to smile before continuing on to the next selection.
Following this piece came three more selections, each performed by a different combination of the evening’s performers. One that was especially notable was “8:22” performed by Holley. Before beginning the piece, Holley jokingly commented how the title “is not a reference to the temperature,” but was rather a reference to the book of Jeremiah. This piece explained how he came to learn to play the cello and his experience during this time. It was a very moving piece, and Holley put everything he had emotionally and physically into playing this piece.
After this heartwarming piece, came two more selections entitled, “Walk With Me” and “Jacob’s Ladder.” The latter of the pieces was performed by the whole ensemble and Edwards-Burrs expressed her appreciation to her friend Steven Allen, who originally composed the piece and went back to compose a part for the violin so Burrs would be able to play. Edwards-Burr also thanked the audience one last time for their attendance and support in making this a successful performance.
If you are interested in attending future concerts, there will be one last concert before Spring Break this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Wygal Auditorium. The Music Department will pick up with performances March 10 in Jarman Auditorium with the Jazz Ensembles Concert. A full list of dates and time for the semester can be found on Longwood’s website: music@longwood.edu.
