Black History Month may be ending, but Black music is forever in style at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Experience Ladysmith Black Mambazo this Sunday, February 25, at 7:30 PM in Schermerhorn Symphony Center. For 60 years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has sung powerful, uplifting songs that emote the struggles and passion of South Africa. Nelson Mandela called Ladysmith “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors.” The group sings a cappella in a joyously energetic performance that combines loud powerful choruses with softer, almost whispering chants where voices blend harmoniously alongside tightly choreographed dance moves.
Since they shot to global stardom on Paul Simon’s Graceland, Ladysmith Black Mambazo hasbeen recognized as one of the world’s great vocal groups. In addition to their work Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes with Paul Simon, Mambazo has recorded with numerous artists from around the world, including Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, Sarah McLachlan, Josh Groban, Emmylou Harris, Melissa Etheridge, and many others. Their film work includes a featured appearance in Michael Jackson’s “Moonwalker” video and Spike Lee’s Do It A Cappella.
They’ve provided soundtrack material for Disney’s The Lion King, Part II as well as Eddie Murphy’s Coming To America, Marlon Brando’s A Dry White Season, Sean Connery’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, James Earl Jones’s Cry The Beloved Country, and Clint Eastwood’s Invictus. A film documentary titled On Tip Toe: Gentle Steps to Freedom, the Story of Ladysmith Black Mambazo was nominated for an Academy Award. They have appeared on Broadway, have been nominated for Tony Awards, and have won a Drama Desk Award. Good seats are still available now.
This season the Duke Ellington Orchestra celebrates its 100th anniversary. First formed as the Washingtonians, the band later moved to New York and took up residence at the famed Cotton Club and the rest, from “Satin Doll” to “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” is history. Experience this acclaimed ensemble, presented without the Nashville Symphony at 7:30 PM on Friday, March 1.
Each season, the Nashville Symphony showcases the Schermerhorn’s world-renowned pipe organ in a symphonic concert. Enter the versatile Wayne Marshall, leading from the console as soloist in the Poulenc Organ Concerto and from the piano for Gershwin’s Second Rhapsody. On the podium, he conducts Harlem and the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, by American icons whose mixing of jazz and classical idioms captured the spirit of 1950s and 1960s New York City. West Side Story and Harlem come to town Thursday, March 7 through Saturday, March 9 at 7:30 PM each evening.
British conductor, organist and pianist, Wayne Marshall, is world-renowned for his musicianship and versatility on the podium and at the keyboard. He is a celebrated interpreter of the music of George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and other 20th century American composers. He has worked with the BBC Singers on several occasions and has appeared both as soloist and conductor at the BBC PROMS. As organ recitalist, he has an exceptionally varied repertoire and performs worldwide. In the last couple of years, he has gained a big following on social media.
