I Dream a World: The Harlem Renaissance in Europe
Picture this: It’s 1938, Paris. You’re at Chez Bricktop, the glamourous nightclub where café society rubs shoulders with the likes of Josephine Baker, Cole Porter and Ernest Hemingway. A woman takes the stage, and she starts to sing…
This year’s I Dream a World festival takes us on a tour through interwar Europe to meet the Black musicians who transformed art and culture on both sides of the Atlantic. Over the course of two weeks, join New World Symphony for a closer look at the pivotal moment in music that went on to shape early jazz and inspire composers like Ravel and Stravinsky.
I Dream a World: The Harlem Renaissance and Beyond is made possible with support from the NWS Collaborations Fund, the NWS Fund for New Ventures and the Keith and Renata Ward Family Fund. Knight Foundation and New World Symphony: Reimagining Classical Music in the Digital Age.
2022-23 EVENTS
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM
New World Center, Truist Pavilion
Julia Bullock, soprano
Louise Toppin, soprano
Christian Reif, piano
Don’t miss this: Enjoy a fabulous night out in a Parisian nightclub. Wear your best 1920s, 1930s or 2020s partywear and sip a cocktail while sopranos Julia Bullock and Louise Toppin share music by Billie Holiday, George Gershwin and Cole Porter.
Saturday, February 4, 2023 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, February 5, 2023 at 2:00 PM
New World Center, Michael Tilson Thomas Performance Hall
William Eddins, conductor
Tammy Kernodle, festival curator, musicologist and host
Louise Toppin, soprano
Don’t miss this: Take a deep dive into the music that inspired, or was inspired by, the Jazz Age. Conductor William Eddins, one of NWS’s very first Piano Fellows, returns to NWS to lead Fellows in music by Scott Joplin, Maurice Ravel and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at 7:30 PM
New World Center, Michael Tilson Thomas Performance Hall
Branford Marsalis, bandleader, saxophone and arranger
Russell Motley, host
Tammy Kernodle, festival curator, musicologist and host
Don’t miss this: Through music and narration, the Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and bandleader Branford Marsalis guides New World Symphony in sharing the story of James Reese Europe, the trailblazing musician who brought ragtime into the mainstream and went on to be remembered as “the Martin Luther King Jr. of music.”
Wednesday, February 8, 2023 at 7:30 PM
New World Center, Truist Pavilion
Samantha Ege, piano
William Eddins, conductor
Noah Sonderling, piano
Wesley Ducote, piano
Don’t miss this: British musicologist and pianist Dr. Samantha Ege shares moving and memorable piano-centric music by influential Black composers including Amanda Aldridge, Harry T. Burleigh and Robert Nathaniel Dett. Joining Dr. Ege in performance and discussion are conductor and NWS alum William Eddins and NWS’s current Piano Fellows.
Friday, February 10, 2023 at 7:30 PM
Lyric Theater of the Black Archives, Overtown
Musicians of the New World Symphony
Don’t miss this: Join New World Symphony for an evening of jazz and chamber music at the Historic Lyric Theater in Overtown. Like Harlem, Overtown experienced its own cultural renaissance in the 1930s, and served as a refuge for artists like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald when they performed in Miami.
Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 11:30 AM
New World Center, Michael Tilson Thomas Performance Hall
Chad Goodman, conductor
Don’t miss this: Bring your little ones to this family-friendly celebration of the Black artists whose work at the turn of the 20th century went on to shape music and culture for decades to come. This relaxed, interactive concert was designed with children ages 4 to 9 in mind.
Wednesday, February 15, 2022 at 8:00 PM
SoundScape Park
Don’t miss this: Bring a blanket, lawn chair or picnic basket to enjoy a free documentary screening in SoundScape Park. Sit back, relax and learn about the life and times of trailblazing musician James Reese Europe and his infantry regiment of Black soldiers. The documentary features commentary by Branford Marsalis, President Barack Obama and more.
