John Michael Cooper
THE PROBLEM WITH PROGRAMS (Part 3)
Florence Price’s First Symphony, the 1933-34 World’s Fair, and Three Tribbles (corrected) In Part 1 of this three-part post, I suggested...
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John Michael Cooper
Mar 7, 20213 min read
THE BEAUTY OF BLACKNESS
Florence B. Price’s “Night” (Text by Bessie Mayle) The poetry, music, and other artworks of the Harlem Renaissance and Chicago Black...
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John Michael Cooper
Feb 11, 20215 min read
RACIAL JUSTICE AND AMERICAN PATRIOTISM
Resurrecting a Blacklisted Musical Affirmation of Freedom from 1976 in 2021 [Update (March 8, 2021): The June 13, 2009 revival of...
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John Michael Cooper
Dec 25, 20203 min read
THE SOUND OF PEACE
A Bright Star, a Dove, and Two Christmas Gifts from Margaret Bonds Margaret Bonds (1913-72) was no stranger to humanity’s never-ending...
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John Michael Cooper
Nov 10, 20206 min read
“THERE IS GLASS EVERYWHERE”
A Weekend of Triumph for Black Women – and Some Musical Highlights This past weekend, after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had received more...
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John Michael Cooper
Aug 28, 20205 min read
ART, REVOLUTION, AND A REUNION OF HOPE
A virtual reunion with college sophomores offers surprises, wisdom, and a snapshot of Hope for a troubled time.
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John Michael Cooper
Jul 30, 20203 min read
WHEN THE DOVE ENTERS IN
The newly recovered gospel song "When the Dove Enters In" by Margaret Bonds & Langston Hughes delivers a symbolic message for our own time.
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John Michael Cooper
Jul 22, 20205 min read
FLORENCE PRICE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN AFRICAN AMERICAN CLASSICAL STYLE
The Boulanger Initiative's programs of piano music by Florence Price help to understand how Price developed her distinctive musical voice.
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John Michael Cooper
Jul 16, 20206 min read
FLORENCE PRICE AND RACIST STEREOTYPES
In two little-known piano suites Florence Price took on popular Black stereotypes by humanizing her subjects through her music.
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John Michael Cooper
Jun 10, 20206 min read
WALK WITH ME
The global #BlackLivesMatter marches and Florence Price's spirituals give voice to the power of the cosmos in mandating racial justice.
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John Michael Cooper
May 24, 20204 min read
SILENCE AND SOUND
Margaret Bonds's little-known settings of Robert Frost's well-known "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" teach important lessons.
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John Michael Cooper
Apr 24, 20204 min read
FLORENCE PRICE AND THE SORROW SONGS: "I'm Troubled in My Mind"
Florence Price's newly published piano arrangement of the slave song "Troubled in My Mind" eloquently sounds spirit of the ancestral melody.
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John Michael Cooper
Apr 8, 20205 min read
THE ARTS LEAD
The arts are where our imagination grows the strange new fruit of new world-views that open the way to a brighter future.
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