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Nadine Benjamin

Songs of Joy with Michael Harper

,Milton Court Concert Hall
Nadine Benjamin smiling in front of a white background

Soprano Nadine Benjamin leads a programme of songs and poems that celebrate the richness and joy of black and mixed-race experiences.

British soprano Nadine Benjamin brings together a wealth of stories told through song and spoken word, celebrating the lived experiences of black and mixed-race composers. British contributions include Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s haunting cycle Songs of Sun and Shade and his daughter Avril’s Sleeping and Waking, plus newer music by Errollyn Wallen and Hannah Kendall. There are vivid historic songs and works by living composers from across America, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, and Sweden.

Woven between the songs, Michael Harper reads poetry by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Maya Angelou and many more. This is a project with collaboration at its heart – co-curated by writer and broadcaster Elizabeth de Brito, Benjamin and Harper are joined by pianist Caroline Jaya-Ratnam to explore the joys of living, learning and moving through adversity.

Tagged with: Classical music Barbican Presents

This performance will finish at approximately 9.40pm, including a 20-minute inveral

Produced by the Barbican

Programme

  • Undine Smith Moore   Love Let the Wind Cry How I Adore Thee
  • Betty Jackson King   In the Springtime
  • Margaret Bonds   Dream Variations
  •   Mae's Rent Party
  • Rosephanye Powell   Songs for the People
  • Harry T Burleigh   Elysium
  • Florence Price   Night
  • Maria Thompson Corley   My Heart is Awake
  • Richard Thompson   Black Pierrot
  • Shirley Thompson   Precious Skies
  • Roderick Williams   On the Way
  • Errollyn Wallen   Hudson, Mississippi, Thames
  • Amanda Ira Aldridge   Fickle Singers
  • Avril Coleridge-Taylor   Sleeping and Waking
  • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor   Songs of Sun and Shade
  • Franz Hepburn   Yes
  • Dominique Le Gendre   Agua, Donde Vas?
  • Tebogo Monnakgotla   Images Lunaires

Performers

  • Nadine Benjamin   soprano
  • Caroline Jaya-Ratnam   piano
  • Michael Harper   speaker
  • Elizabeth de Brito   co-curator

Digital programme

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Milton Court Concert Hall

Location
Milton Court Concert Hall is located within the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is approximately a 5 minute walk from the Barbican entrance on Silk Street.  

Address
Milton Court
Silk St, London
EC2Y 9BH

Nearby public transport
We are within walking distance from a number of London Underground stations, the closest being Barbican, Old Street, St Paul’s and Moorgate. The nearest train stations are Liverpool Street and Farringdon. Bus Route 153 runs directly past the Barbican along Chiswell Street

Car and bicycle parking
We have free bicycle spaces and paid car parking spaces available