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(Nathaniel Dett Chorale, above)
The celebration of Black History Month continued at York with a concert on Feb. 26 by Canada”s renowned Nathaniel Dett Chorale, presented in partnership with the Faculty of Fine Arts. Named for the celebrated African-Canadian composer Nathaniel Dett, the chorale, directed by Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, is Canada”s first professional choral group dedicated to the performance of Afrocentric works. The chorale recently released their first CD to resounding critical acclaim.
The York concert, titled “Voices of the Diaspora: Canciones de Cuba”, featured music set to works by the Cuban poet Nicolas Guillen. York faculty, alumni and students appearing with the chorale included music Professor Michael Marcuzzi, who created arrangements for some of the pieces; music Professor Sundar Viswanathan, saxophone; York music alumnus Marcus Ali, flute; and York students Ruben Esguerra, percussion, Sean Bellaviti, piano, Paco Luviano, bass, and Melissa Davis and Kaisha Lee, singers.
For more information on the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, visit their Web site at http://www.nathanieldettchorale.org.