International
Duke Ellington Study Conference, presented this year by The
Duke Ellington Center for the Arts from Thursday, May 19 through Sunday, May 22, 2016, at various venues in New York City. The Conference, which is attended by approximately 200 music scholars, lecturers,
Duke Ellington historians and music and jazz fans from all over the globe, is held in different countries of the world on an irregular schedule.
This year the Conference is being presented by The
Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, which was founded in 2004 by Duke's granddaughter
Mercedes Ellington, the noted dancer and choreographer, to protect and enhance the legacy of
Duke Ellington, the musician, orchestra leader and composer who is universally regarded as the most prolific American composer of the 20th century.
The conference, which will be held in various New York City venues associated with
Duke Ellington's life and career, will feature screenings, lectures, the presentation of dissertations by noted musicologists and historians, performances of Ellington's musical compositions by renowned jazz singers, dancers and musicians, as well as a guided bus tour of the Harlem Ellington knew and loved, and a visit to the historic Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx where Duke and other jazz immortals are buried.
Carmen de Lavallade, the world renowned dancer/choreographer who portrayed Madam Zajj in
Duke Ellington's memorable TV special and recording, "The Drum Is A Woman," will introduce a screening of the heralded production, hosted by
Mercedes Ellington, at the Paley Center for Media on the Conference's Opening Day, Thursday, May 19. Ms. de Lavallade will be the recipient of this year's "Beyond Category Lifetime Achievement Award" which will be presented to her at an Awards Luncheon to be held at the MIST Harlem (46 West 116th Street in Harlem) on the fiunal day of the conference, Sunday, May 22, (11:30 AM - 2:00 PM).
