From 7 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 18, NYC classical radio station WQXR will broadcast and stream its second annual Pride show with a virtual video concert from the homes of multiple classical-music artists. Performers will include bass-baritone Davóne Tines, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, pianist Sara Davis Buechner, cellist Hannah Collins, violinist Clara Lyon, vocalist/violinist/composer Mazz Swift, pianist Henry Kramer, singer and pianist John Holiday, and pianist David Fung. The event will be hosted by New York Public Radio’s Tobin Low.
On June 19, WQXR will honor Juneteenth with a 24-hour music marathon celebrating Black classical artistry. Juneteenth—also known as Freedom Day—is a nationwide holiday commemorating the effective end of slavery in the U.S. A live discussion and call-in program hosted by Terrance McKnight, from 7 to 9 p.m. on June 19, will examine the ways in which classical music has historically excluded the Black aesthetic. The music marathon will feature over 150 pieces by more than 50 Black composers and performances by more than 60 Black musicians, ranging from historical figures to contemporary artists. During the live discussion and call-in program, “The Black Experience in the Concert Hall,” on the evening of June 19, McKnight will speak with leaders in the classical-music field including Martina Arroyo, soprano and founder of the Martina Arroyo Foundation; Wynton Marsalis, trumpeter and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center; Khalil Gibran Muhammad, professor of History, Race, and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and author of The Condemnation of Blackness; and Jesse Rosen, President and CEO of the League of American Orchestras.
