Overview
Two events took place during NJPAC’s inaugural season (1997-98) that boldly announced what the vision of this new arts center would be. The first, a performance by the boundary-pushing chamber group Kronos Quartet. The second, a tribute to gospel singer and activist Mahalia Jackson. Now, the Kronos Quartet returns to NJPAC to explore the inspiring voice of Mahalia Jackson, refracted through today’s foremost composers.
Mahalia Jackson was the voice of the civil rights movement. She sang her truth across the south: at Selma, the March on Washington and the funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr. She won the first-ever GRAMMY® for gospel music, and was honored with a posthumous lifetime achievement award in 1972.
For 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet has challenged and reimagined what a string quartet can be. Kronos has been at the forefront of revolutionizing chamber music into a living art form that responds to the people and issues of our time. At this performance: David Harrington (violin), Gabriela Díaz (violin), Ayane Kozasa (viola) and Paul Wiancko (cello).
KRONOS QUARTET
David Harrington, violin
Gabriela Díaz, violin
Ayane Kozasa, viola
Paul Wiancko, cello
Stacy Garrop / Glorious Mahalia *
I. Hold On
II. Stave in the Ground
III. Are you being treated right
IV. Sometimes I feel like a Motherless Child
V. This World Will Make you Think
featuring the recorded voices of Mahalia Jackson and Studs Terkel
Nina Simone (arr. Jacob Garchik) / For All We Know +
Antonio Haskell (arr. Jacob Garchik) / God Shall Wipe All Tears Away (inspired by Mahalia Jackson) +
Zachary James Watkins / Peace Be Till *
featuring the recorded voice of Dr. Clarence B. Jones
INTERMISSION
Terry Riley / Good Medicine from Salome Dances for Peace *
Laurie Anderson (arr. Jacob Garchik) / Flow +
Steve Reich / Triple Quartet *
In three movements (played without pause)
Generous support for Classical performances provided by the Smart Family Foundation/David S. Stone, Esq., Stone & Magnanini