Martin Luther King, Jr. Arguably no other name in American history has come to resonate so reverently as part of our cultural voice. But King’s inspired dream and message—one of nonviolence and equality that echoed throughout the turbulent civil rights movement from 1954 to 1968—still remains as relevant as ever before.
“Some global issues have become major concerns of mine—the protests in Paris and Berlin this summer, the bombings all over the Middle East, and our own challenges here in the United States of America,” says acclaimed lyric baritone, conductor, composer, arranger, teacher, and entrepreneur Courtney Carey. “We live in such difficult times, and I think not only reflecting on but also sharing Dr. King’s message of nonviolent social change is still very important in 2014.”
Carey is at the helm of Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow, an organization committed to promoting and presenting classical musicians of the highest caliber and acting as a vehicle to feature them in concert, in recital, and on the operatic stage. Additionally, it aims to capture multigenerational and ethnically diverse audiences that might not otherwise have access or exposure to classical music.
In honor of King’s contribution, the organization will present two Celebrating a King concerts, on Jan. 17 and 19, 2015, at the United Palace Theatre at the heart of the Harlem Renaissance in Harlem and Washington Heights, N.Y.
In addition to commemorating King, the concert will feature an array of speakers as well as classical vocalists who will honor the occasion through song and spoken word. Among those performing include Marquita Raley, Kali Wilder, Martin Woods, the Alumni Morehouse College Glee Club, the Brooklyn Ecumenical Choir, the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church Chancel Choir and, perhaps the most anticipated guest artist, operatic legend Grace Bumbry.
Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow
Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow was conceived by Carey, its founder and artistic director, in January 2014 while serving as director of the Chancel Choir at the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church in Harlem.
“This particular day, Issachah Savage, the vocal powerhouse, sang the grand anthem ‘Ho, everyone that thirsteth’ to a rousing ovation,” Carey recalls. “I thought to myself, ‘Courtney, you stand in front of upwards of 30 great singers every week. What can you do to get them heard by a broader audience?’ Thus began the work. And what work it has been.”
His initial goal was to help five singers whom he had identified as exceptional talents to be heard not only by the public, but also by the top managers and directors in the business.
“The idea was to present these singers with orchestra and chorus in a theater,” Carey says. “These conditions would make it so that there would then be no doubt as to whether their voices could fill a hall.”
It was a goal fulfilled. The organization presented a gala concert in the Langston Hughes Auditorium at the Schomburg Center, also in Harlem, in June 2014.
But in addition to meeting one objective, it also recognized a growing need in presenting both opportunities for promising young performers as well as audiences with limited exposure to the arts.
“I realized that the need was there,” Carey says. “I recognize that, particularly in this country, schools are turning out singers en masse, yet opera companies are folding at an alarming rate. So, where do they go? I felt that creating a performing platform would be my best contribution to ensuring the medium continues to thrive.”
After the gala concert, Carey said he easily could have rested on his success. Instead, he acknowledged that perhaps his work had just begun.
Celebrating a King
The Celebrating a King concerts planned in January highlight yet another demand. According to the organization, although several major cities throughout the country are home to rallies and parades honoring King, New York has boasted no large-scale event. Carey said it is his hope that the concerts will fill this gap by assembling a roster of speakers and singers to celebrate King’s contribution to the civil rights movement.
“The idea for these concerts here in New York is not a new one,” Carey says. “I’d actually approached Grace Bumbry in 2011 about doing concerts similar to these at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church: Bethel, where I was then serving as music director. At that time, she was preparing for her 75th birthday celebrations at the Vienna Staatsoper. So unfortunately, the idea was put to her just a tad too late. I told her manager, David Molnár, that if I couldn’t do the concerts with her singing, then I’d put it off. Now just seemed like the perfect time to do them. So, here we are.”
Bumbry, considered one of the leading mezzo sopranos of her generation as well as a major soprano for many years, is among a string of pioneering singers regarded for helping pave the way for African American opera and classical vocalists.
A 2009 Kennedy Center honoree, the Celebrating a King concerts mark a significant return to the American stage for Bumbry, who makes her home in Austria.
“Martin Luther King is our No. 1 hero,” Bumbry says in a phone interview. “For me to be able to come across the ocean at 78 is an enormous challenge alongside the enormous reward of performing for this concert.”
The Music, the Message, and the Vision
The program goes hand in hand with King’s message. “You know, they say music is the international language and can sooth the savage beast,” Carey says. “So, I’ve elected to address my concerns in the way I best know how: music. And what great music there will be.”
Bumbry will perform Brahms’ “Alto Rhapsody.”
“The ‘Alto Rhapsody’ is one of my favorite pieces, if not my favorite piece,” Bumbry says. “The first time I heard it was as performed by Marian Anderson, my idol.”
A celebrated African American contralto, Anderson played a particularly important role for black artists in overcoming racial barriers in the United States. In 1939 and with the assistance of Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, she commanded a crowd of more than 75,000 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. She also became the first black artist to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, was a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, and lent her voice to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.
“Alto Rhapsody” strikes a significant chord with Carey as well. “The singular high point for me will be Brahms’ ‘Alto Rhapsody,’ which I sang in my student days as a member of the Morehouse College Glee Club in 2001,” Carey says. “I am a native of Memphis, Tennessee, the place where Dr. King was gunned down that fateful April day at the Lorraine Motel. I remember when the plans to make the Lorraine Motel into a museum were presented to the Memphis City Council. I also remember my first visit there, walking down those hallways, looking at those pictures of people of all colors who fought for civil liberty. I also remember, many years later, singing the ‘Rhapsody’ along with the rest of the Morehouse College Glee Club, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Carmella Jones as the guest soloist. I vividly recall those final, poignant words, ‘If there is on your psaltery, father of love, one note his ear can hear, then refresh his heart! Open his clouded gaze to the thousand springs next to him who thirsts in the wilderness!’ It makes me well up just thinking about it.”
In addition, orchestral pieces will be performed as well as spiritual arrangements and a finale of “We Shall Overcome.” Bumbry also will perform a spiritual selection.
“Spirituals are something that have always been around and been alive,” Bumbry says. “Today, gospel music is more prominent, but the spiritual for me and for my age bracket tells a story that goes hand in hand with what we’re doing with these concerts.”
The Negro spiritual acted as a means of escapism. “If one couldn’t act out physically in the face of racial adversity, one sang it out,” Carey explains. “If you look at historical documents, the spirituals were sung at almost every rally’s opening. This was done as a call to order, a likening of the minds and spirits, and affirming one’s faith that better days were coming. They were sung to keep the forward momentum of the march itself, to prevent protesters from slowing down.
“The texts of these songs also reflected the desires of the masses, as we see in ‘We Shall Overcome,’” Carey adds. “These songs are an important part of the movement and signaled also to the oppressor that stories taken from the Bible were paralleled in their real-life situation. These songs were their battle cry, their inspiration, and their hope.”
The location of the concerts also is significant and particularly close to home for Carey. “I have lived in Harlem for the entire 10 years I’ve lived in this great city,” he says. “I have a love for the neighborhood and its people. The demographic landscape has changed drastically since I first moved here, and I think that it is a wonderful thing. I want people to be able to experience art of the highest level all over this city, and bringing an artist of Grace Bumbry’s stature to this neighborhood is major. I feel everyone deserves to be presented with the highest-quality musical experiences possible. So bringing these concerts here was a bit personal for me. I’ve lived and worked here for many years and I feel my presenting these concerts is a means of ‘paying it back’ to this wonderful community that has embraced me all these years. I’m not sure what the future will bring. If I can inspire people and help people through music, I’m happy. It’s a joy and an honor.”
Bumbry said she believes the concerts’ setting are exactly where fate would have them, especially in acknowledging its potential in reaching a diverse audience in a culture growing further and further away from classical music.
“I think it’s a great idea,” she says. “Classical music isn’t doing its part today. When you think of opera houses shutting down—not only in American but in Europe—and youth are becoming more and more restless and less goal oriented, you know that something has gone terribly wrong. The powers that be are not giving enough attention or enough time to help young performers learn what music is all about. It’s fine to know about Michael Jackson and Beyoncé, but there is the other side of that coin. There needs to be an equal balance in understanding both sides.”
Bumbry also applauds Courtney’s Stars of Tomorrow for acting as a kind of training ground in performance for young singers. “An important component to performing is the audience,” she says. “It’s the simple fact that to really know your craft, you have to have an audience. You have to learn how to play to them, understand them, and give to them. Otherwise, you’re only doing part of your job.”
Carey’s vision for the concerts runs parallel with the mission of his organization, which aims to help change that and inspire today’s classical music scene, if not also celebrate a musical melting pot.
“What I look to do with this organization is to not only target an intergenerational, culturally diverse audience but performers as well,” he said. “This program features all African American singers, but it’s important to highlight that the orchestra is a diverse mix of ethnic backgrounds and one of the conductors is Caucasian.” Ted Taylor will conduct Bumbry in the “Alto Rhapsody.”
“I’ve assembled a legendary singer and a stalwart conductor to be presented alongside an ingénue conductor as well as a roster of rising talents,” Carey says. “It’s a passing of the baton in some ways. I think that is a beautiful thing.”
