Meet the all-noir orchestra of Atlanta

Meet the all-noir orchestra of Atlanta

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norman lebrecht

March 20, 2017

Orchestra Noir strives to raise ‘the invisible curtain and [bring] classical music to diverse, younger audiences that is relevant and respectful of their community.’

‘In orchestral music, sometimes we forget the heritage that goes into it. We forget that you can play R&B [and] hip-hop with an orchestra,’ says founder-conductor Jason Ikeem Rodgers.

 

Comments

  • Ungeheuer says:

    I have a distaste for this identity stuff. With what moral fervor could anyone object when the Tout-Blanc Orchestra of So and So inevitably emerges?
    (Please note that this is not a discussion on the lack of racial diversity in orchestras around the country or the world.)

  • Steven Holloway says:

    Your parenthetical disclaimer is absurd. It is exactly about that lack of diversity when it comes to African-American musicians.

  • Bruce says:

    I remember reading some critic’s opinion, back in the early 1950’s, that since the Boston Symphony had hired Doriot Anthony Dwyer as principal flute, there was no more need for the various “women’s philharmonics” that used to exist. (Because one woman had made it into a major orchestra. I also remember reading an interview with her where she said she thought that it was her unusual name that led to her even being given a chance to audition; usually when women wrote to apply for orchestral jobs, the orchestra simply wouldn’t answer. Given some of the utterly badass female musicians out there — and they can’t have been the first good ones — I bet some of those orchestras were really good.)

  • Robert Holmén says:

    Don’t dismiss the possibility that they are a group of musicians who enjoy playing together and enjoy playing a certain repertoire together.

    That’s pretty much how most ensembles start.

  • Steve P says:

    Wonder how diverse their audience is…

  • M2N2K says:

    Separating people by race for almost any reason is detrimental to race relations because it perpetuates racist attitudes.

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