CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, PRESENTERS & SPECIAL GUESTS
George Wein Bernice Johnson Reagon Joshua Rifkin
Special Guest Jazz Vocalist, Dee Dee Bridgewater in Concert
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
GEORGE WEIN
DATE: Friday, March 21st, 2014
‘Jazz Impresario George Wein is considered to be as much a legend as his festivals. Through his company Festival Productions Inc., he has spearheaded hundreds of music events annually since 1954 when he produced the first Newport Jazz Festival – an event that started the “festival era,” according to jazz critic Leonard Feather. He followed this with the Newport Folk Festival in 1959. Later, he pioneered the concept of sponsor association with music events. In 2012, Wein received the APAP Award of Merit for Acheivement in Performing Arts.’
DR. BERNICE JOHNSON REAGON
DATE: Thursday, March 20th, 2014
‘For more than a half-century Bernice Johnson Reagon has been a major cultural voice for freedom and justice. An African-American woman’s voice, a child of Southwest Georgia, a voice raised in song, born in the struggle against racism in America during the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s, she is a composer, songleader, scholar and producer.’
JOSHUA RIFKIN
DATE: Thursday, March 20th, 2014
Professor Rifkin has appeared as conductor and keyboard soloist with many prominent orchestras in the US, Europe, Israel and Australia, including the English Chamber Orchestra and Israel Camerata Jerusalem, among several others. His critical edition of Bach’s Mass in B Minor, published by Breitkopf & Härtel, appeared in November 2006. In 1999, the University of Dortmund awarded Professor Rifkin an honorary doctorate for his contributions to Bach interpretation. He currently teaches at Boston University as a Professor of Music in the Dept of Musicology and Ethnomusicology at the College of Fine Arts.
PRESENTERS LIST (March 20th – 23rd, 2014)
