Beyond Category: The Concert Music of Duke Ellington
Discover a new perspective on the legendary Duke Ellington’s music as PostClassical Ensemble and Guest Curator Dr. John E. Hasse explore his diverse and lesser-known concert pieces, showcasing his groundbreaking forays into ballet, opera, film scores, Broadway musicals, and symphony orchestras.
With a career that spanned 50 years, DC native and American icon, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, is known around the world for such jazz standards as Mood Indigo, Solitude, and his band’s signature tune Take the “A” Train, composed by collaborator Billy Strayhorn.
But Ellington sought to break out of stereotyped boxes, to explore broader creative horizons. His masterworks include scores for ballet, opera, motion pictures, and Broadway musicals as well as for symphony orchestras.
This spring PostClassical Ensemble journeys through the music of Ellington’s extraordinary yet little-known concert pieces, including his magnificent Black, Brown, and Beige, the suite from the ballet The River, and the debut of Scott Silbert’s orchestration of Caravan, featuring guest conguero Felix Contreras.
Program
- Duke Ellington: Black Beauty
- Duke Ellington: Black, Brown, and Beige
- Duke Ellington: excerpts from the film Anatomy of a Murder
- Duke Ellington: A Single Petal of a Rose
- Duke Ellington: Suite from The River
- Duke Ellington: Where is the Music? (arr. Scott Silbert)
- Duke Ellington: Caravan (arr. Scott Silbert)
Post-Concert Discussion
Artists
- John Edward Hasse, guest curator
- Ellington Carthan, pianist and host
- Felix Contreras, conga
- PostClassical Ensemble conducted by Angel Gil-Ordóñez
Practical information
- Phone: 202-467-4600
- Venue: The Kennedy Center, Terrace Theater, 2700 F St NW, Washington, DC 20566
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