Monday Musicale with the Maestro – June 22, 2020 – In Honor Of Juneteenth 2020
IN HONOR OF JUNETEENTH 2020
Our concert at the Hayti Heritage Center on May 21, 2017, was a tribute to the African-American North Carolina native Nina Simone (1933-2003). Born in Tryon (where in 2010 a statue was erected in her honor), Nina Simone achieved international fame as a pianist, singer, and civil rights activist—known also as “The Queen of Jazz” and “The High Priestess of Soul.”
Today’s first concert video begins with an excerpt from the must-see documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? In this 1968 interview, Nina Simone shares her eloquent and impassioned feelings about freedom and performing. In her autobiography, I Put a Spell on You, she explores this further:
The function of an artist is to make people feel on a deeper level. It’s difficult to describe because it is not something you can analyze. To get near what it’s all about, you have to play it. And when you’ve caught it and when you’ve got the audience hooked, you always KNOW…because it’s like electricity hanging in the air.
Our guest artist for this concert was the brilliant North Carolina singer and actress Yolanda Rabun, known (among other things) for her electrifying one-woman tributes to Nina Simone. Her latest album, Yolanda, includes Nina Simone’s song “Be My Husband” for which Yolanda received a first-round 2016 Grammy nomination for “Best Traditional R&B Song”.
Here is Yolanda Rabun with the Durham Symphony Orchestra, performing my arrangement of the Bricusse and Newley song “Feelin’ Good,” one of Nina Simone’s hits. The second video features Yolanda with her ensemble performing “I Hold No Grudge”.
William Henry Curry
Music Director, Durham Symphony Orchestra
Durham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro William Henry Curry
Feelin’ Good (The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd)
Soloist Yolanda Rabun
Bricusse/Newley arr. William Henry Curry
Hayti Heritage Center Concert, May 21, 2017
I Hold No Grudge
Soloist Yolanda Rabun
arr Badalamenti, Clifford
Hayti Heritage Center Concert, May 21, 2017