DUKE ELLINGTON’S “SACRED MUSIC” PERFORMED AT BU’S 45th MLK CELEBRATION

BOSTON, MA – Former Bostonian and world’s leading expert on Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music Randall Keith Horton will conduct selections of the works at the 45th annual “Hope, Despair and the Blues” Martin Luther King Celebration Concert sponsored by Boston University and the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground on January 16, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. at BU’s Metcalf Hall in the George Sherman Union. Since 1972, this event is believed to be one of the longest running Martin Luther King celebration in the nation.

The “Most Important” Music To Ellington

Duke Ellington considered his Sacred Music, “The most important thing I have ever done,” yet it was rejected by critics who felt that “A person who belongs in the clubs, has no business writing music for the church.” Mr. Horton, Ellington’s former assistant composer, conductor, pianist and the custodian and champion of Ellington’s sacred music for more than 30 years, will share introductory remarks on Ellington’s little known and under-appreciated compositions before leading the Boston University Big Band, the Inner Strength Gospel Choir, a tap dancer, several interpretive dancers and three narrators in the swinging, devotional, worship music. The concert is free and open to the public on a first come first served basis, and space is limited. For additional information, please visit www.bu.edu/dos.

In addition to selections from Ellington’s Sacred Music, Marvin Gaye’s powerful version of the Star Spangled Banner, sung at the 1983 NBA All Star Game, will be remembered. There will be a number of student selections performed as well as remarks by local playwright Kirsten Greenidge, whose plays Milk Like Sugar and Baltimore have been recent hits on Boston stages.

Immersive Experience for BU Student Musician

“Thanks to Randall Keith Horton, our Boston University staff and students have not only been introduced to Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music, we have been immersed in the actual hopes, dreams and history behind Ellington’s pioneering compositions,” offers Victor Coelho, Professor of Music and Chair, Musicology & Ethnomusicology. “Mr. Horton was Duke Ellington’s assistant composer, conductor and piano player. He sat knee to knee with Ellington and traveled briefly with the band. He was commissioned by Ellington’s son Mercer to write the only full-length concerto grosso of Ellington’s opus work Black, Brown & Beige, and by Ellington’s sister Ruth to concertize and perform her brother’s Sacred Concerts.”
“As the world’s leading expert on Ellington’s Sacred Music, he is uniquely qualified to bring the music and its healing message to life with his first hand experiences with Ellington and the stories behind the music. It has been a privilege to work with him and hear him perform such an important piece of Ellington’s musical legacy.”

Messages of Love, Tolerance and Healing
According to Katherine Kennedy, Director for the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, “To have an expert of Mr. Horton’s stature share Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music and its message of love, tolerance and healing, pays a timely and meaningful tribute to the legacies of Duke Ellington, Dr. Martin Luther King and Dr. Howard Thurman, men who dedicated their lives to creating meaningful, shared experiences with the power to break down the barriers that separate people.”

Ellington Expert’s Credentials
Randall Keith Horton overcame adversity, growing up in the Roxbury/Dorchester section of Boston, to become a musical scholar, composer, conductor and historian. From his early work with musical greats Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves, Michael Jackson and The Jackson Five, Horton soon found his greatest fulfillment, championing the Sacred Music of Duke Ellington and sharing his love of music as a knowledgeable historian. He created and hosts the American Music television series on PBS affiliate KRCB-TV and CUNY-TV to highlight the accomplishments of American musicians, composers, and scholars. He serves as Special Advisor to The H. Wiley Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music at Brooklyn College and the Associated Scholar American Music Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder. Mr. Horton continues to support the works of late folk singer/songwriter Kate Wolf, and for more than 30 years, has championed the pioneering Sacred Music of Duke Ellington.
For additional information on Mr. Horton and the American Music television series, please go to www.randallkeithhorton.com and www.americanmusictv.org respectively.