UCI Music to host the 25-Year Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference

The Quinquennial Conference Celebrates Black Leaders in Classical Music

Irvine, Calif., August 10, 2022 — The Department of Music at UCI is pleased to host the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference, which will take place on October 13-16, 2022, at the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA) campus. The conference is presented by the African American Art Song Alliance, an advocacy organization representing Black composers of Western classical art songs, and is supported by CTSA. The event is possible thanks to generous funding from the Hampsong Foundation, LA Opera and the Flora Family Foundation.

“We are thrilled to host the anniversary conference at CTSA. To work on any activity for 25 years is something to celebrate,” said Darryl Taylor, professor of music and the conference founder. “Having the opportunity to bring together such excellent musicians and scholars for celebrating Black achievement in classical music is a dream come true.”

The Alliance presents the vanguard conference every five years, inviting the nation’s leading performers and scholars to present and discuss Black participation in the Arts, both past and present. The activities of the Alliance have influenced national trends in teaching curricula and arts programming and comprises more than 6,000 participants from across the globe.

The October anniversary conference will focus mainly on two areas: Social Justice and the Harlem Renaissance Centennial Observation. Session topics include the study, performance, and support of art songs by African American composers. In addition, the Alliance will present solicited lectures, posters, composers and performers for peer review.

The 25th-anniversary conference will also pay particular attention to women composers. 2022 marks the half centennial since the death of Margaret Bonds, an American composer, pianist, arranger and teacher who was one of the first Black composers and performers to gain recognition in the United States. The conference will present lectures and performances about Bonds and her musical contributions.

The Alliance remains focused on maintaining accessibility for the audience it serves and the larger population. They have made registration free and open to the public for the conference and its events. Free registration is available on the Department of Music website at https://music.arts.uci.edu/alliance-25.

To learn more about the African American Art Song Alliance, visit their website at https://artsongalliance.org.

CTSA is home to the departments of art, dance, drama and music. Undergraduate and graduate degree courses include extensive studio, workshop and performance experiences; theoretical and historical studies; and arts and technology practices.

Boasting an acclaimed, international faculty who work across a wide variety of disciplines and partner with others across campus, CTSA also provides excellent facilities to support artistic development and research. These include four theaters; a concert hall; three art galleries; the Beall Center for Art + Technology; electronic music studios; cutting-edge costume, lighting and scenic design studios; a stage production shop; digital arts labs; and a video production studio. For more information, visit www.arts.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.