+ The Dawson Papers

+ 2005 Symposium

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  • Session One: Race and Identity in Twenty-First Century Music Making.
  • Session One: Race and Identity in Twenty-First Century Music Making.
  • Session One: Race and Identity in Twenty-First Century Music Making.
  • Session One: Race and Identity in Twenty-First Century Music Making.
  • Session One: Race and Identity in Twenty-First Century Music Making.
  • Session One: Race and Identity in Twenty-First Century Music Making.
  • Session One: Race and Identity in Twenty-First Century Music Making.
  • Session Two: William Dawson, Up Close.
  • Session Two: William Dawson, Up Close.
  • Session Two: William Dawson, Up Close.
  • Session Three: The Spirituals: Meaning and Mythology in African American Identity.
  • Session Three: The Spirituals: Meaning and Mythology in African American Identity.
  • Session Three: The Spirituals: Meaning and Mythology in African American Identity.
  • Session Four: Reciprocity and Representation: Music, Letters, and the Visual Arts.
  • Session Four: Reciprocity and Representation: Music, Letters, and the Visual Arts.
  • Session Four: Reciprocity and Representation: Music, Letters, and the Visual Arts.
  • Session Four: Reciprocity and Representation: Music, Letters, and the Visual Arts.
  • Session Four: Reciprocity and Representation: Music, Letters, and the Visual Arts.
  • Session Five: The Intersection of Concert and Vernacular Traditions.
  • Session Five: The Intersection of Concert and Vernacular Traditions.
  • Session Five: The Intersection of Concert and Vernacular Traditions.
  • Session Five: The Intersection of Concert and Vernacular Traditions.
  • Session Six: Music as Social History.
  • Session Six: Music as Social History.
  • Session Six: Music as Social History.
  • Session Six: Music as Social History.
  • Session Six: Music as Social History.
  • Session Seven: The Ecology of the Music: Identity, Artistic Expectation, and Arts Institutions.
  • Session Seven: The Ecology of the Music: Identity, Artistic Expectation, and Arts Institutions.
  • Session Seven: The Ecology of the Music: Identity, Artistic Expectation, and Arts Institutions.
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Adavis

Session One: Race and Identity in Twenty-First Century Music Making.

Composer and pianist Anthony Davis talks about the difference between value and commodification in African American music and musical cultures. He also highlights the importance of race and identity issues in his own work, particularly his operas. He speaks of the revolutionary aspects of African American music in the 20th century and its impact on popular culture around the world, particularly with regard to improvisation and remixing, the making of the composer into a collaborator. He discusses the power of the "web of references" that unfold within African American composition and the way artists enter into "play with the past" both consciously and unconsciously.