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Bernstein Centenary

Curated by Nolan Williams, Jr.

Throughout 2018, NEWorks partnered with institutions in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta to curate a range of cultural events celebrating the life and music of Leonard Bernstein. Our projects include the Mann Center's festival, Brilliantly Bernstein: Beyond the Baton, The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage concert, Bernstein Tribute, and the national touring exhibition, West Side/South Side (pictured above). 


The photo above features our West Side/South Side exhibition. Photo Credit: Jordan August

Partners

Presenting Partners

Darin Atwater

Fulton County Arts and Culture

The Kennedy Center

Mann Center

Monumental Baptist Church

National Museum of American Jewish History

NEWorks Productions

NYU-Washington, D.C.

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Philadelphia Youth Orchestra


Educational Partners

Alice Deal Middle School

American University

Art Institute of Atlanta

Clark Atlanta University

KIPP Du Bois Collegiate Academy

String Theory Charter School 

University of the Arts

University of the District of Columbia 

COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMMING

Art of Songwriting: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

February through November 2018


In the spirit of Bernstein, NEWorks partnered with the Mann Center to curate a two-phase residency for young creatives, led by inspiring teaching artists, to compose new works that explore the nation's history and its ongoing struggle to become a more perfect union. These works employed elements of the libretto from Bernstein's musical, 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, as a foundation and inspiration.


Phase 1 ran from February through May 2018 at KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy and was led by Darin Atwater. Darin, Nolan and select KIPP faculty worked in tandem: (1) to guide scholar-artists in studying the content and structure of the 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE libretto, and (2) to explore principles of song composition and instrumental arranging as tools that give poetic voice and expression to their thoughts about social justice, informed by their personal experiences. 


Building upon these same objectives, Phase 2 of this project ran for eight weeks during the fall term of 2018. In this phase, the Art of Songwriting residency expanded to include scholar-artists at KIPP Du Bois Collegiate Academy and String Theory Charter School, led by teaching-artists Greg Corbin and Sean Schulich. 


At the conclusion of this second project phase, young creatives spent two weeks in a music studio to record their compositions. (Pictured above / photo credit: Jordan August)


This program was made possible by the support of the Hamilton Family Charitable Trust.

Bernstein: Broadway & Beyond

with The Philadelphia Orchestra (POA)

Mann Center, Main Stage

Wednesday, July 18, 2018


Kensho Watanabe, conductor
Joseph Lattanzi, baritone
Alexandra Schoeny, soprano
Stewart Goodyear, piano
Darin Atwater, composer 


This POA concert, co-curated by the Mann Center and NEWorks, featured some of Bernstein's most treasured works, including excerpts from On the Town, Peter Pan, and Candide, along with the jazz-infused Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, a seminal composer in his own right who was a significant influence for Bernstein.


The concert also featured the world premiere of the newly commissioned work South Side, Symphonic Dances by acclaimed American composer Darin Atwater. South Side, Symphonic Dances is based on the eternal tale in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Bernstein's romantic musical update West Side Story. South Side, Symphonic Dances represents the tragedy and triumph of African-American youth who navigate the complexity of urban living. The war between rival teenage gangs in Bernstein's West Side Story is replaced with the metaphoric rival "gang" of oppressive forces and structures of subordination, including racism, economic/educational disparities, injustice, media bias, etc. The work aims to storyboard society's collective struggles and the power of story, music, and culture, transcending boundaries of geography, class, and race - all of the universal concepts that are present in all cultures.

Bernstein Tribute

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

The Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage


Bernstein Tribute was a concert of music and movement curated by NEWorks to honor the Leonard Bernstein centenary. The mixed program featured less-commonly performed works by the iconic American composer, including excerpts from Bernstein's song cycle for children, I Hate Music!, and his sonata for clarinet and piano. The tribute also featured a rousing performance by internationally-celebrated tap 'hoofer', Cartier Williams.

Philadelphia Community Mass

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Monumental Baptist Church (Philadelphia)


Sunday, November 25, 2018

The Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage (Washington, D.C.)


Saturday, April 6, 2019

Mother Bethel AME Church (Philadelphia)


Monday, June 24, 2019

Mann Center, Main Stage (Philadelphia)

with The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra

 

Conceived by Nolan Williams, Jr. and inspired by Bernstein’s MASS, the Philadelphia Community Mass drew together a collective of Philadelphia-based composers, musicians and directors to create a community Mass that explored the relevance of faith in our times. Featuring the Bernstein-inspired compositions of Dr. Rollo Dilworth, Ruth Naomi Floyd, Dr. Jay Fluellen and Evelyn Simpson Curenton, the Philadelphia Community Mass was was anchored by the Philadelphia Community Mass Choir, a collective of singers under the direction of Dr. Fluellen. 


Excerpts of the Mass were performed by The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra at the Mann Center in 2019, orchestrated and conducted by Williams.


Pictured: PCM presentation at Monumental Baptist Church / Photo Credit: courtesy of NEWorks Productions

PRESS: Philadelphia Community Mass

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Thursday, August 9, 2018

The Mann commissions four Black composers with Philadelphia roots for Bernstein's 100th birthday

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Sunday, April 7, 2019

Spectacular performance at Mother Bethel carries Leonard Bernstein's big idea into the age of Black Lives Matter

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Tuesday, June 25, 2019  

Yannick Nézet-Séguin makes his Mann Center debut with a good vibe and Beethoven’s Ninth

WHYY PBS

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Friday, August 10, 2018

Four African-American composers go to church with Bernstein’s ‘Mass’ 

West Side/South Side National Photographic Exhibition

May 2 through August 30, 2018

  • WASHINGTON, D.C.: NYU-Washington, D.C., Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Gallery
  • ATLANTA: Woodruff Arts Center, Beauchamp C. Carr Gallery 
  • PHILADELPHIA: The Free Library of Philadelphia, 2nd Floor West Gallery


West Side/South Side was a photo exhibition that explored the challenges and triumphs of American diversity. Conceived and curated by Nolan Williams, Jr., the exhibition featured daring new works from student photographers attending top media university programs in Washington, D.C. (American University, The University of the District of Columbia), Philadelphia, PA (University of the Arts), and Atlanta, GA (Art Institute of Atlanta, Clark Atlanta University). 


The exhibition title is inspired by American composer Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story. Bernstein's work was inspired by the timeless Shakespearean work, Romeo and Juliet, yet broke new artistic ground with the decision to explore in this musical a rivalry between two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds—one Puerto Rican, the other White. Premiered on Broadway in 1957, Bernstein challenged us to wrestle with issues of community integration. He also shone a spotlight on the social challenges that often distinguish one neighborhood from another.


Sixty years later, 55 students from our partner schools have produced nearly 300 images that compel us to grapple with these same topics anew. Their works are featured online as a digital exhibition. Thirty-three selected works were mounted for the traveling exhibition. 


A series of panel discussions was also convened in each city to engage community around the themes of the exhibition.

Presenting Partners

NEWorks Productions

Mann Center

Fulton County Arts & Culture 

Highlights from the West Side/South Side Exhibition Tour

    STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

    American University

    Iwan Bagus, Professor

    Art Institute of Atlanta

    E. Taylor Bareford, Professor

    Clark-Atlanta University

    Deidra Tyree Smith, Professor

    The University of the Arts

    Barbara Proud, Professor

    University of the District of Columbia

    Iwan Bagus, Professor

    PRESS: West Side/South Side

    The Neighbor

    Friday, June 1, 2018

    Fulton County, others hosting 'West Side/SouthSide: A Photo Exhibition'

    Sponsors

    Bernstein Centenary was presented, in part, with funding from the following:


    Fulton County Arts & Culture

    Hamilton Family Charitable Trust

    National Endowment for the Arts

    PNC Arts Alive

    The Presser Foundation

    Pia and Jimmy Zankel


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