February 22, 2023- In support of February’s “Storytellers” gallery exhibit, the Decatur Area Arts Council celebrated Black classical composers at its Midday Music Concert.
Midday Music Concerts are held at the Madden Center at 125 N. Water Street in downtown Decatur from 12:15 p.m.-12:45 p.m.
Community members are invited to bring a sack lunch to eat while the concert is underway. The concerts are free and open to the public.
Wednesday’s Midday Music Concert featured Chenoa Murphy, a Symphony Orchestra violinist, educator, and speaker. Murphy led a lecture-demonstration on famous Black classical composers including Florence Price, Thomas Wiggins, Sister Marie Seraphine Gotay, and Joseph Bologne.
Murphy gave a brief history of each composer’s life, and then followed the history lesson up by performing a piece of work from each composer.
The “Storytellers: A Celebration of Black Artists” exhibit has been featured throughout the month of February in honor of Black History Month. In addition to the visual art pieces on display, it was important for the Decatur Area Arts Council to highlight as many forms of art as possible.
“As the Decatur Area Arts Council, we wanted to take a look at all different forms of art so the month long exhibit really features visual arts, but we also wanted to look at the art of music and composing, and in this case it was classical music,” Jami Fawley, gallery coordinator said.
Thursday, February 23rd will be the last day of the “Storytellers” exhibit. The community is invited to come view the visual artwork from Black artists in the central Illinois area.
