Valerie Simpson is kicking off Black Music Month with a historic night
Damien Sneed’s Carnegie Hall premiere heads to Town Hall for a live recording June 5
Valerie Simpson is not easing into Black Music Month. She is opening it with a live recording.
On Friday, June 5, Simpson will executive produce Revelation & Jubilation: A Symphony of Spirit at The Town Hall in New York City. The event begins at 8 p.m. and puts acclaimed conductor, composer and pianist Damien Sneed at the center of an evening built around Black musical heritage and its evolving future.
Sneed brings a Carnegie Hall debut to a bigger audience
Revelation & Jubilation had its world premiere at Carnegie Hall in February as part of United in Sound: America at 250. The response was strong enough to warrant a follow-up, and Simpson stepped in to make it happen. This time, the performance will be recorded for wide release, extending its reach well beyond one night.
Sneed leads the Orchestra of Tomorrow through a program that moves across African drumming, spoken word, spirituals, art songs, ballads and symphonic arrangements. He composed and arranged the material, and serves as music director and principal performer throughout the evening.
Simpson on why she said yes to Sneed
Simpson, recently named to The New York Times‘ list of the 30 Greatest Living Songwriters, has been open about what drew her to this project. She described hearing something in Sneed’s work that cut through the noise of a difficult cultural moment, something that pushed toward hope rather than retreating from the weight of the times. That response moved her to share it.
Sneed has framed the work as more than a concert. He sees Revelation & Jubilation as a meditation on a country still in the process of defining itself at 250 years, an offering built from sound, memory and meaning. The live recording, in his view, becomes a document for future generations, not just a performance for a single night.
A Sneed lineup stacked with heavyweights
Joining Sneed and the Orchestra of Tomorrow are Kim Burrell, Twinkie Clark, Jacqueline Echols-McCarley, Wynell Freeman, Gary McClellan, Phylicia Rashad, Juandolyn Stokes and Matthew Whitaker.
Sneed’s career spans decades of collaboration across genres. He has worked with Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Wynton Marsalis and Jessye Norman, among others. His television credits include music director roles on BET’s Sunday Best, Celebration of Gospel, Bobby Jones Gospel and the Soul Train Music Awards. He holds an Emmy Award, a Dove Award and an NAACP Image Award, and currently holds faculty positions at both Howard University and The Juilliard School.
Marsalis, who has worked closely with Sneed, has pointed to his consistent commitment to the highest standards within African American arts and culture. Clark, who will perform at the event, has called him a virtuoso whose reach crosses age, race and religion.
How to get tickets
The event takes place at The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street in New York. Tickets start at $35 and are available at thetownhall.org. A limited number of VIP tickets, which include a signed poster, are also on offer.
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