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Core Ensemble to Perform at Annual Humanities Lecture

By March 6, 2017November 6th, 2018No Comments

Chamber music theatre piece celebrates African American women

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (March 6, 2017)-On Thursday, March 9, at 11:15 a.m. the Core Ensemble will perform the chamber music theatre work Ain’t I a Woman! in Ballantyne Auditorium at Kirkwood Community College.

Chamber Music Theatre is a unique performance format developed by the Core Ensemble featuring a marriage of theatrical narrative to chamber music performance. Shayla Simmons will portray multiple characters while interacting with the onstage musical trio of cello, piano and percussion.

Ain’t I a Woman! celebrates the life and times of four powerful African American women: renowned novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, ex-slave and fiery abolitionist Sojourner Truth, exuberant folk artist Clementine Hunter, and fervent civil rights worker Fannie Lou Hamer. The musical score is drawn from the heartfelt spirituals and blues of the Deep South, the urban vitality of the Jazz Age, and contemporary concert music by African Americans. Ain’t I a Woman! is a joyful exploration of the trials and triumphs of four passionate and accomplished women.

Since 1993, the Core Ensemble has toured in every region of the United States and internationally to Australia, England, Russia, Ukraine, and the British Virgin Islands. The Core Ensemble has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, The Palm Beach County Cultural Council and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.

For ticket reservations and program information please contact: Ballantyne@kirkwood.edu or call 319-398-5899 ext. 4331.

 

*****EVENT*****

What: Ain’t I a Woman!
When: Thursday, March 9
Where: Ballantyne Auditorium, Kirkwood’s Main Campus, Cedar Rapids
Time: 11:15 a.m.