Composer, jazz trumpeter, and community activist Hannibal Lokumbe, the Philadelphia Orchestra's Composer-in-Residence, has composed two intriguing works for string quartet that explore the lives of two heroic women, Anne Frank and Fannie Lou Hamer. Check out the performances by Philadelphia Orchestra musicians on Saturday, February 25th at the African American Museum in Philadelphia and the National Museum of American Jewish History.
"The piece on Fanny Hamer was commissioned by the Kronos Quartet, and they’ve performed it around the country. The Anne Frank piece I wrote because I wanted to make sure I make a musical statement of thanks and gratitude to her. As a child of color growing up in Texas, it meant a lot for me to read her diary. It let me know that insanity was not confined to the part of the world I lived in only." —Hannibal Lokumbe
Both works highlight the power of the voice, both written and vocal, in resisting oppression and crying for freedom.
Program:
1:30 pm African American Museum in Philadelphia
Fannie Lou Hamer, for string quartet and vocalist
3:00 pm: National Museum of American Jewish History
A Star for Anne, for string quartet and narrator
Kimberly Fisher, violin
William Polk, violin
Kerri Ryan, viola
John Koen, cello
Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch, vocalist