24th International Duke Ellington Study Conference Launches Tomorrow in NYC

The 24th International Duke Ellington Study Group Conference will be presented by the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts (DECFA) in New York City starting tomorrow (Thursday, May 19) Duke Ellington and continuing through Sunday, May 22, 2016.

Music historians, scholars, educators and jazz lovers will gather in Manhattan to celebrate the legacy of Duke Ellington, America's most prolific composer of the 20th century whose body of work includes more than 3,000 musical compositions in the jazz, classical to sacred music genres.

The conference, which takes place in a different international locale every two or three years, was last held in New York City in 1992, 18 years after Ellington's death in 1974. "I was an honored guest at the Conference in Amsterdam in 2014 and I was so impressed that I decided then and there that we should host this year's gathering in New York City," says Mercedes Ellington, Duke Ellington's granddaughter, who is President of DECFA, the not-for-profit arts organization she founded in 2004 to enhance Ellington's legacy into the 21st century and beyond.

The public is invited to join music lovers, musicians and leading scholars from around the world for a series of panels at St. Peter's Church as well as at musical events across New York City designed to celebrate, preserve and expand the legacy of Duke Ellington, who is widely recognized as one of America's most influential American composers of all time.

Highlights of the Conference include:

- Gala Opening Night Reception at St. Peter's ('The Jazz Church), 54th Street and Lexington Avenue), where attendees will meet jazz devotees from around the world as well as Ellington family members;

- Panel Discussions led by eminent scholars and artists covering various aspects of Duke's career, influence and culture;

- Historic Reunion of producers and performers from Broadway productions that featured the Duke's music, such as After Midnight and the Tony Award- winning Sophisticated Ladies;

- Performances by world-renowned artists and Broadway celebrities at the MIST Harlem and St. Peter's Church;

- Guided Bus Tours and excursions to Jazz at Lincoln Center, Cotton Club, The Apollo, the Ellington Statue, Duke Ellington Boulevard, Harlem speakeasies and clubs frequented by the Duke, and a visit to historic Woodlawn Conservatory in The Bronx where Duke is buried in a tree-shaded corner that is also the final resting place for such other jazz legends as Illinois Jacquet, Miles Davis, and Lionel Hampton, among others.

- Screenings of rare footage from documentaries, performances and family archives;

- Special Screening at The Paley Center for Media (25 West 52nd Street) of Duke Ellington's ground-breaking 1956 musical allegory A Drum Is a Woman; about Carribee Joe and his drum which evolves into a woman's persona known as Madam Zajj. Pioneer dancer/ choreographer Carmen de Lavallade, who played Madam Zajj in the original, will join the panel which includes Candido Camero and Bobby Sanabria

- Champagne Brunch honoring Carmen de Lavallade, who will receive the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts' 2016 "Beyond Category Award" from actress Tamara Tunie.

Jazz lovers and Ellington aficionados are expected to attend from all parts of the globe. Space at the conference is limited and those planning to attend are invited to purchase their tickets as soon as possible to avoid being shut out!

There are three ticket prices: Tickets guarantee entrance at all Conference Events. Regular tickets for the four- day conference are priced at $325; Seniors 65 and older may purchase discount tickets for $175; and Students with ID may purchase $125 discount tickets. Special rates for groups of 10 or more, contact kikeldin@gmail.com. For complete Conference information, visit www.DECFA.org.