Elevate Vocal Arts presents a pair of Juneteenth concerts on Friday in Selbyville and Dover.
Elevate’s Artistic Director and founder, Arreon Harley-Emerson, says the concert focuses on the history of Juneteenth, but also on the importance of Black joy.
“The history of Juneteenth is complex and we look forward to telling that story, but also really sitting with the abundant joy that is also within the holiday and the black experience in general,” he says.
The concert features traditional African folk songs, American spirituals, works by the trailblazing African-American composer Florence Price, and pop songs, he adds.
“There will also be some tunes by some other bigger names such as Beyoncé and Boyz II Men as well,” he says.
Performing on the concert will be the 24 members of Elevate’s Summer institute, a five-week apprenticeship program for emerging artists ages 18 - 25. The participants in the program undergo a rigorous selection process and are compensated for being a part of it.
“Their time in their program we consider as true work,” says Brittney Stanton, Elevate’s executive director. “And so they are given a stipend for their work.”
This year, in addition to a focus on singing and choral music, the program has added two additional areas of study.
“This year we've added a conductor track and a combo track,” Stanton says. “So we have four conductors working with the ensemble and also singing, and we have 3 combo musicians - keys, drums, and bass - that are learning how to work with an ensemble and how to work with solo vocalists.”
The skills the young professionals will learn go beyond the concert stage.
“They're getting an opportunity to develop their professional portfolio,” Stanton explains. “So they do a lot of resume building, cover letter writing. We do mock interviews, they get to learn about the industry, financial literacy.”
Harley-Emerson says the decision to center these performances around Black joy was intentional, and a tribute to the many contributions African-Americans have made to American culture.
“Those joyful expressions, because there are many, of creativity really is resistance in and of itself,” he says. “It's a way to march toward progress.”
Elevate Vocal Arts performs on Friday at 12:30 at Selbyville’s Freeman Arts Pavilion and at 7:30 in Dover at Delaware State University’s Bennett Chapel. Both performances are free and open to the public.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
