The Inside Story: Andrew Sewell and HARMONY IN BLACK

HARMONY IN BLACK is part of a five-year initiative by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Sewell, that aims to elevate the voices of an array of living, diverse composers throughout the United States. For this first recording composers Patrice Rushen and William Banfield are featured. Their three compositions do not quote spiritual melodies directly but do embody the spirit of those songs by drawing either on direct quotation of speeches or writings.

Today, Andrew is our featured artist in the “Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to learn about his hopes for the Albany Records release, and the ensemble’s plans for future installments in the series of albums…

What characteristics of the composers on HARMONY IN BLACK do you believe are entirely unique to them? Is there an intrinsic quality to their music that you believe cannot be found elsewhere?

The two composers on this album have chosen historical black figures as the inspiration for the three works recorded here. Dr. Bill Banfield and I were in graduate school together at the University of Michigan and have known each other for over 30 years. The orchestral works reflect a focus on this topic of great figures in history. Bill had written a Symphony based on the life of Paul Robeson, his Symphony No. 8 Here I Stand, in 2002, but it had never been performed. When I contacted him in 2018 about another project, he mentioned this to me. I had suggested needing a shorter work for narrator and orchestra, similar in scope and length to Copland’s Lincoln Portrait for the WCO to perform on our summer Concerts on the Square® series. To this end, Bill chose to honor the life of Frederick Douglass. When Bill introduced me to the orchestral work of Patrice Rushen, her Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory (2002) — a work based on the life and words of Dr. Martin Luther King — it seemed only natural to include all three on our first album.

How do you hope audiences will respond to the works on HARMONY IN BLACK? What do you want them to take away after listening to this album?

The narrative of honoring and remembering great leaders in American history is inspirational for all Americans. Their stories need to be told, and this helps all generations embrace their legacy. Their words are just as profound then as they are today.

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

I enjoy working with soloists, artists (composers), and musicians. Making music with colleagues in the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and other orchestras brings a great amount of personal satisfaction and joy. These collaborations are inspirational and the continuing opportunity to work with these colleagues is a gift.

How do you prepare for a performance?

Studying the music, its context, the language of the composer, the style and bringing it to performance requires a lot of preparation, study, and analysis. Then there are the rehearsals and the performance. It is important to always be prepared and honor the composer in the best way we can in presenting their music.

The overview for HARMONY IN BLACK states that the album is part of “a five-year initiative by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra that aims to elevate the voices of an array of living, diverse composers throughout the United States.” Can you share more about this initiative? How did it begin and what are the next steps following this release?

The overall title of the project was taken from a book written by Dr. Banfield in 1992, Musical Landscapes in Color, which recalls the lives and legacies of black composers of the 20th century, and which became a textbook in acknowledging those composers. When Bill became our composer in residence from 2021 to 2024, it seemed a logical expansion to then record the music of this generation of composers and include contemporaries from the last 30 years. We will be recording and performing the second album, Convergence, this fall with composers Michael Abels, Patrice Rushen, Valerie Coleman, and Andre Myers with the performance set to take place in Madison WI on Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 7:30 PM in the Overture Center for the Arts. The album will be released to the public in spring of 2025.