O, Sing

Music and The Great Migration Concert Brings History To The Present

 PHOTOS BY CATRILIA WATSON

If you listen to the music well enough, you may hear who you are.

The Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA) and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) joined together to celebrate ASLAH’s 2019 national theme “Great Migration and Urban Realities.”

 For the last several years CAAPA has bought the ASLAH theme to life through music, dance, narration, visual arts, and opera. This year CAAPA presented “Music and The Great Migration Concert” on Sunday, October 20 at the Publick Playhouse in Cheverly, MD. Click here for more photos.

The concert  highlighted music from the Mississippi Delta to the Harlem Renaissance including the Blues, Jazz, Negro Spirituals, and Classical opera and featured baritone VaShawn McIlwain; soprano DeVaunté Ogden; Prince George's Poet Laureate Sistah Joy; dancer Jo Nay Aiken; bass Stephen Hooks; and drummer Edward Alexander, with Maestro Dr. Lester Green, CAAPA’s Artistic Director and pianist. Through narration and a poignant visual presentation, CAAPA wove the story of African American’s experience of leaving the south for the north to pursue better opportunities. 

CAAPA’s extensive arts programming includes concerts, recitals, youth programs, scholarships, and the performing arts for families, seniors, and youth year-round. 

The next CAAPA event is the “Brava, Bravo, Bravissimo Concert” on Sunday, October 27 at 4:00 pm at the First Presbyterian Church, N. Vermont St. Arlington, VA.