Voices Lifted: Two Centuries of Black Composers of Opera – Diane McCullough

Diane McCullough, has a rich musical career which combines teaching with singing opera and playing ethnic music. She is a former Co-Chair of the Docents Committee for Opera Theatre St. Louis, Chair of the Advocacy Committee for Opera Theatre’s Guild and the author of several guides to accompany Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s productions. Using a selection of Black composers from Joseph de Boulogne to William Grant Still to Terence Blanchard, Diane McCullough will discuss the work and agency taken by these composers in the face of the barriers of racist Jim Crow laws and prejudice. The presentation will explore the musical forces that place these composers squarely at the heart of the development of an “American” sound in many genres of American music – folk, pop, jazz, classical. To view this Zoom recording click here.