A local musician will play with the very first all-Black classical symphony orchestra to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
[orchestra playing AMEN! by Carlos Simon]
The Gateways Music Festival's ensembles and orchestra are composed of classical musicians of the African diaspora. This year, the festival's run of concerts in Rochester, New York and New York City will culminate in a performance at Carnegie Hall on Sunday at 3 p.m.
DAVID BERRY: There have been all-Black groups at Carnegie that have performed in the past, but there's never been an all-Black classical symphony orchestra … so it really is a historic concert.
David Berry, who directs the music program at Eastern Mennonite University , is best known as a classical pianist, but he'll be playing the celeste this weekend.
BERRY: It's a keyboard instrument, sort of like a piano, not quite as long or as big, but it has a really special sound. So instead of the hammers inside a piano hitting strings, that makes sort of a typical piano sound, it hits little metal bars, so it sounds kind of like a bell.
Berry has played celeste and piano in the orchestra since 2001.
BERRY: I mean, to be a part of history like that, in a place like Carnegie Hall, which is really the center of the classical music world, here in the United States especially, is just an honor beyond belief. So yeah, I'm really proud to be a part of that, and with such excellent musicians, too, the program will be really, really wonderful.
A friend from his Julliard days will be there, too.
BERRY: Jon Batiste will be performing with the orchestra an original composition of his. It'll be the world premiere.
The concert will be live-streamed on New York's classical music station, WQXR.
