“At Brooklyn’s Ryder Elementary School, students in the Harmony [music-education] Program got a front-row seat to world-class violinist Rachel Barton Pine,” reports Adriana Diaz in a segment on Thursday’s (1/16) CBS Evening News. “She plays music … by composers like Ignatius Sancho, a self-taught British slave, and Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who was once the envy of Mozart…. In 1995, Pine … started researching black composers whose works were not widely known … Now, the classical music of more than 350 black composers spanning four centuries has resurfaced thanks to her determined research. ‘Our primary motivation behind doing this work is to inspire young African American students that classical music is part of their history and that you know they’re an important part of classical music’s future,’ Pine said…. Pine’s initiative, Music by Black Composers, has created [an online database], a music book and even a coloring book…. ‘Knowing about these performers and composers probably would have eliminated the question in my head: Am I odd for being black and interested in classical music?’ [violinist and composer Jessie] Montgomery said.” Pine commented, “We’re all supposed to play all the good music because that’s how we learn about each other.”
In photo: Violinist Rachel Barton Pine (facing camera, top left) with students in the Harmony Program at Brooklyn’s Ryder Elementary School
