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Posted on Thu, Feb 10, 2011 : 8:50 a.m.

River Raisin Ragtime Review, soprano Anita Johnson offering Black History Month concert

By AnnArbor.com Freelance Journalist

The River Raisin Ragtime Revue will team up with Anita Johnson, a soprano with the Metropolitan Opera, for a concert Sunday afternoon at the First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor.

Johnson is an acclaimed singer, an Ypsilanti native and University of Michigan graduate, who performed for President and Michelle Obama at the White House last year. The Tecumseh-based RRRR is a professional theater orchestra dedicated to presenting significant American music.

As part of a Black History Month program, Johnson and the RRRR will present selections from Scott Joplin’s opera "Treemonisha." She will also sing several songs of the ragtime and musical theater composer Joe Jordan. Also on the program are works by African American composers and songwriters including Will Marion Cook, Bob Cole and J. Rosamond Johnson, James Reese Europe, Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton and Luckey Roberts. Selections will include music from "Clorindy: The Origin of the Cakewalk," the first African American musical revue to play on Broadway. A historical narrative will provide context for the program.

The concert takes place at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 13 at the First Congregational Church, 608 E. William St., Ann Arbor. Admission: $25; youth (12 and under): $10, available at the door, or by reservation at the church office, 734-662-1679 (ext. 5). For more information, email ragtimeband@comcast.net. The concert is being co-sponsored by the University of Michigan Office of Academic and Multicultural Affairs, the First Congregational Church and Harriet Cobbs.

Comments

Pablo

Fri, Feb 11, 2011 : 3:22 p.m.

And, not mentioned, but the Willis Patterson Our Own Thing also will provide support music accompanying in the Treemonisha music portion of this special prgram.