Arts Class Web Journal

Jacobsen Series: The Legacy of George Walker Friday, the 21st of February I attended a concert at the University of Puget Sound. This concert was held in honor of the late George Walker. His son, Dr. Gregory Walker, is a violinist and performed along side a small ensemble of multiple pianists, cellist, violinists, and an opera singer. George Walker has a very accomplished and impressive history. He was the first black composer to win a Pulitzer prize. He originally started his musical journey as a pianist and then grew into becoming a composer. His son Gregory chose the violin and now performs his father's pieces and carries on his musical legacy. I really enjoyed the video clip that was able to show us who George was and tell us more of his history. It was interesting to see how many variations of instrument and voice that George used in his composed pieces. Typically I think of composers always using a full orchestra. However, his pieces had combinations of only pian...

MLK DAY CONCERT On January 20, 2020 I attended the MLK Unity Breakfast at UW Tacoma. The purpose of this event was to celebrate the civil accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr by showcasing African-American talent. During this breakfast, Dr. Quinton Morris, a tenured Seattle University Violin professor performed his violin along with a piano accompanied by pianist Mr. Joseph Williams. The performance was absolutely breathtaking. Before Dr. Morris took stage, we were given a brief history about his impressive background. He is the second living  African-American violinist in U.S. history to have the rank of tenure at a major university. He's performed to multiple sold out shows at Carnegie Hall in New York City as well as many other famous venues worldwide. What made this performance even more impactful was the fact it was in celebration of Dr. King's legacy. There is to this day still very little representation for  artists of color in classical m...