Audra McDonald Added to Duke Ellington's 'Black, Brown and Beige and Sacred Music'
Duke Ellington created Black, Brown and Beige to provide a more accurate accounting of African American history written for the first time by a member of his race.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Dec. 20, 2021
The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts will present the professional world premiere of Duke Ellington's most significant work Black, Brown and Beige, the only-full length orchestration, as well as the composer's equally pioneering and swinging work, Sacred Music, in a special, one-night event on Wednesday, January 26, 2022.
One of the most prolific and iconic composers of all time, Duke Ellington created Black, Brown and Beige to provide a more accurate accounting of African American history written for the first time by a member of his race. It was, according to Ellington, "a parallel to the history of the Negro in America," with black, brown and beige representing red, white and blue.
The "Ellington-Horton Black, Brown and Beige" set to be premiered at Steinmetz Hall was commissioned by G. Schirmer, Inc. through Ellington's son Mercer in 1987 and arranged and orchestrated by music scholar and former Ellington bandmate Randall Keith Horton-who is also the co-author of Duke Ellington: The Notes the World Was Not Ready to Hear along with Karen S. Barbera.
Emmy-, Grammy-, and Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Jazz Orchestra at Dr. Phillips Center, musicians from the Jazz at Lincoln Center and Bethune-Cookman University Concert Chorale will come together for this powerful performance, which is part of the two-week Grand Opening Celebration marking the completion of Steinmetz Hall-the third theater in Orlando's $615 million performing arts center.
The performance comes nearly 80 years after the first performance by Ellington's band in New York City's Carnegie Hall in 1943. Critics panned the premiere simply because it was ahead of its time and Ellington never performed it in its entirety again. But portions of his magnum opus later become the genesis for his three, equally groundbreaking Sacred Concerts which dared to bring swinging, devotional jazz into the church. They encapsulated his celebration of African American history, his civil rights statements, personal faith, belief in America's founding principles of freedom and equality, and hope for a world without categories he felt diminished and divided Americans.
"It means so much to bring back to life a work that was meant to inspire and chronicle the injustices of the Black experience in America," said six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald. "It is a true honor to share the stage with so many talented performers to pay tribute to the late, great Duke Ellington in Steinmetz Hall."
In addition to Black, Brown and Beige & Sacred Music, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will also perform with popular artists across different genres during its 10-day residency at the performing arts center, including The Royal Ballet in Covent Garden, Jennifer Hudson, Leon Bridges and Lyle Lovett to show the versatility and acoustic depth of the new theater.
Named after philanthropists Chuck and Margery Pabst Steinmetz, Steinmetz Hall will be one of the world's most acoustically remarkable spaces designed to reach the lowest levels at which humans can detect sound in a modern building. The multi-form venue is one of the few in the world that can also transform in shape, seating and sound to accommodate a variety of art forms and events.
"This has been one of the most ambitious performing arts development projects of the 21st century," said Kathy Ramsberger, president and CEO of the Dr. Phillips Center. "Our approach all along was to redefine the role, and the perception, of a modern performing arts center. So we placed it in the heart of Orlando, surrounded by the true culture of our city-where Arts For Every Life® would always have a home."
The Dr. Phillips Center opened its doors in November 2014 and began phase two of construction three years later in 2017 to finish Steinmetz Hall and Judson's-a dynamic, cabaret-style space set to open in May 2022. The center has welcomed more than 2.5 million guests across 2,400 performances and shows and has contributed $13.65 million to its mission and community support since opening.
To learn more or to purchase tickets visit www.Dr.PhillipsCenter.org/GrandCelebration.
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