New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Duke Ellington School of the Arts) The award-winning Duke Ellington School of the Arts String Orchestra and Guitar Ensemble have performed with world famous artist such as Earth, Wind and Fire and Pattie LaBelle; they have made music at iconic venues such as the White House, the Vice President's residence, and the Kennedy Center; but at 3:30 p.m. on June 16, they will be in Harlem performing a free community concert at the historic Church of Intercession.
The performance is part of the "National Festival of the States" series hosted by
Music Celebrations International. Church of the Intercession Parish Administrator,
Juliet Lowe-Tannis, hopes that the high-level group as well as well as the historic significance of the church will encourage the community to come to the concert.
"We have a wonderful group of young, talented, upcoming musicians performing and we really want people to come out and see them. We also have a beautiful location. The music is free, it's for the community. We are a cultural gold mine here and we want people to come up and enjoy what we have to offer," she says.
Both groups have captured top honors in contests and have performed around the country. Their program will consist of many audience favorites such as Handel's "Water Music" and Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusic".
This performance venue is especially important to the Duke Ellington School of the Arts ensembles because of the connection of the school's namesake to the area. "Duke Ellington's orchestra gained a national reputation from their performances at the Cotton Club in Harlem," says string orchestra director Heather Haughn. "It is really special to bring music students from the school named after him to perform in Harlem."
Haughn is a professional violinist in her own right, performing with Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, and the
National Philharmonic. She is also on the faculty of Goucher College in addition to her teaching at Duke Ellington School of the Arts.
Guitar Ensemble director, Isaac Daniel, is the Instrumental
Music Department Chair, Orchestra Director, Musical
Director for special ensembles, staff arranger, and guitar instructor for the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Mr.
Daniel has a wealth of experience as a musician, educator, and retired Naval Officer of the United States Navy Band.
For more information, please visit https://www.mciconcerts.com or call 800-395-2036.
