Lift Ev’ry Voice Weekend: Celebrating the Music of Black Americans
The Eileen Southern Initiative is pleased to announce a series of events honoring pioneering music scholar Eileen Southern (1920-2002), the first Black woman tenured at Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The Aeolians of Oakwood University (Huntsville, AL), an award-winning choral ensemble, will travel to Cambridge April 7-9, 2022, for a weekend residency. The group was founded by Eva Beatrice Dykes, a professor of English at Oakwood who in 1921 had become the first Black woman to earn a doctoral degree from Radcliffe College (the women’s college affiliated with Harvard). A webinar, concert, masterclass, and community sing in Southern’s honor will help to share her story and to continue her work of celebrating the rich legacy of Black music in the United States. All events are free and open to the public. The concert is free but tickets are required.
Click here to reserve your ticket for the April 8 concert through the Harvard Box Office. Please note that tickets may be procured in-person at the Box Office (Smith Campus Center) and will also be available at the door.
If you are unable to attend in person, please visit the homepage of this website on April 8 to watch a live stream of the conversation and concert.
For more information, visit here
OVERVIEW
Thursday April 7, 2022
Webinar “Black Music and the American University: Eileen Southern’s Story”
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m | Register here
Friday April 8, 2022
Pre-concert Conversation
7:00 p.m.–7:40 p.m | Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall
Concert
8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. | Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall
Saturday April 9, 2022
Voice Masterclass
9:00 a.m. | Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall
Community Sing
11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Science Center Plaza Tent
Eileen Southern Initiative Exhibits
Eileen Southern and the Music of Black Americans
Digital exhibit, ongoing.
Eileen Southern’s Story
Exhibit in Harvard’s Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, Richard F. French Gallery, 2nd floor, through Monday, April 11, 2022.
