Black Experience

Jason Victor Serinus - May 3, 2022

The award-winning opera from Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson gets a stirring recording from Pentatone.

Lou Fancher - April 18, 2022

As part of its centennial celebration, the CMC is offering a free concert: A Song of Triumph: The History of Black Music.

Josef Woodard - April 17, 2022

The violinist and bass-baritone give the world premiere of a genre-defying music-theater piece.

Mark MacNamara - March 29, 2022

A dramatic soprano at the peak of her powers talks about the life of a singer, climbing the ladder, and staying grounded.

Michael Zwiebach - March 18, 2022

Alexander Gedeon was concerned about the company’s internal commitment to goals of inclusion and equity.

Richard S. Ginell - February 21, 2022

Downes’s latest album offers a compact overview of the ragtime composer’s music.

Victoria Looseleaf - February 21, 2022

The bass-baritone reprises his role in a radical retelling of Fidelio, but he’s expanding his part offstage, too.

Bill Doggett - February 16, 2022

This expansive essay explores the cultural contradictions of the Harlem Renaissance and American culture informing Still’s musical achievements.

Bill Doggett - February 15, 2022

The remarkable documentary brings viewers intimately close to the fabled singer.

Andrew Gilbert - February 14, 2022

Social-justice advocacy is all in a day’s work for the virtuosic drummer. Her run of five unique shows at SFJAZZ starts Feb. 16.