FORTUNE'S BONES: THE MANUMISSION REQUIEM Set for The Paramount Theatre, 2/22

Seattle Theatre Group, (STG) will present FORTUNE'S BONES: THE MANUMISSION REQUIEM, at The Paramount Theatre, Sunday, February 22, 2015, 4 PM, as a FREE public event. The requiem is a musical setting composed by Dr. Ysaye Barnwell, formerly of Sweet Honey in the Rock, of the book-length poem of the same name, written by Dr. Marilyn Nelson. The cantata is performed in Seattle by over 100 local voices, a 40+-piece orchestra of local musicians, an African drum ensemble, and featured soloists.

Fortune was an African man enslaved by Dr. Preserved Porter in a Connecticut farming community in the 18th Century. Upon Fortune's death in 1798, Dr. Porter, a renowned bone surgeon, prepared Fortune's skeleton to serve the study of anatomy. Fortune's skeleton was displayed in Waterbury's "First Medical Museum" as a tangible reminder that slavery existed in the North as well as the South. The skeleton was removed from display out of respect for his remains and the sensibilities of the community in 1970.

Dr. Marilyn Nelson was commissioned by the Mattatuck Museum to write a eulogy poem in commemoration of Fortune's life. The Manumission Requiem is that poem. The Waterbury (CT) Symphony Orchestra commissioned Dr. Ysaye Barnwell to compose a musical setting of the poem by Dr. Nelson, which was first presented in 2009.

"Over the course of the last 14 years, STG has engaged in major undertakings that bring focus to stories from our collective history based in the African American experience," stated STG Executive Director Josh LaBelle. "FORTUNE'S BONES, is reminiscent of our involvement in community-wide programs like THE MAAFA, and SANKOFA Theatre, both based on stories from the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, both produced in Seattle by STG, with involvement from hundreds of local residents. It is an honor to host such an important event with support from our funding partners, using the arts to articulate important pieces of our history," he continued.

Seattle Theatre Group, the region's largest non-profit performing arts organization, with funding support from The Boeing Company, The National Endowment for the Arts, 4Culture, the City of Seattle's Office of Arts & Culture and the Department of Neighborhoods, along with Andrew Conru, present this program in honor of Black History Month. STG partnered with the Seattle Fortune's Bones Project comprised of a number of local artists and arts organizations, to host this event as part of activities taking place throughout the community. (The Fortune's Bones Project is a trademark owned by Dr. Ysaye Barnwell.) For more information on these efforts, go to www.seattlefortunesbonesproject.org

The February 22, musical cantata in Seattle will feature:

• A 100+ voice choir comprised of members of The Sound of the Northwest and other local choirs and individual voices, under rehearsal direction of Juan Huey-Ray
• A 40+-piece orchestra under the direction of Dr. Stephen Newby, composer, conductor, gospel/jazz vocalist and pianist, Seattle Pacific University Associate Professor of Music; Director of Composition; Director of the Center for Worship
• An African Drum Ensemble under the direction of Seattle-based Senegalese drummer Thione Diop
• Author, Dr. Marilyn Nelson as narrator
• Choir direction by composer, Dr. Ysaye Barnwell
• Soloists Shannon Finney and Stephen Salters (guest artists)
• Lobby art by Kimisha Turner - Gifts Without Voices, in honor of Fortune and Henrietta Lacks and their contributions to medicine and science, without their consent

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