Cultural Crossroads:
DvoÅ™ák in America
Kenneth Kellogg, bass
R. Carlos Nakai, Native flute
Will Clipman, world percussion
The Ciompi Quartet
Pamela Freund-Striplen, curator/narrator/violist
“There were times during the performance when I noticed people wiping their eyes,
overcome by the beauty of the music as well as the message it conveyed.I sincerely
hope that many others are so lucky to experience the beauty of this concert. ”
- Kathy Wallis , Executive Director, Beaches Fine Arts Series
“We saw many new faces in the hall last night who came specifically for
last night’s concert.”
- Catherine Hughes, Executive Director, Brooks Center for the Performing Arts
Cultural Crossroads: DvoÅ™ák in America is a live concert experience that explores the Black and Indigenous influences on DvoÅ™ák during his time in America. The program weaves original Native American melodies and moving African American Spirituals along with DvoÅ™ák’s most beloved chamber music. Short videos and imagery add to this powerful multimedia experience. Cultural Crossroads: DvoÅ™ák in America with its stellar and diverse cast of musicians is a catalyst for audience engagement as it entertains, educates, and inspires, drawn from the curiosity of a Czech composer a century ago.
“I thought Dvorak in America was brilliant. It has an important story to tell and is quite effective in performance. The playing and singing was beautiful. I feel that the form of narrated plus musical playing has a future. The recontextualizing of the American Quintet, R. Carlos Nakai’s music,
and three spirituals was quite effective. So rich!”
- Steve Jaffe, Mary and James H. Semans Professor of Music Composition at Duke University
Immerse yourself in the sounds that inspired DvoÅ™ák’s most beloved chamber music. From moving African American Spirituals to original Native American rhythms and melodies, you’ll hear why DvoÅ™ák famously asserted “in the Negro and Indian melodies of America I discover all that is needed for a great and noble school of music.”
Cultural Crossroads interweaves DvoÅ™ák’s “American” Quartet and Quintet with these inspirational elements creating a vivid tapestry of cultural exchange. Bringing this story to life are world’s premier Kenneth Kellogg, bass, R. Carlos Nakai, Native flute, Will Clipman, world percussion, The Ciompi Quartet, and Pamela Freund-Striplen, curator/narrator/violist.