The Core Ensemble performs the chamber music theatre work “Ain’t I a Woman!,” celebrating the life and times of four powerful African American women: renowned novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, ex-slave and fiery abolitionist Sojourner Truth, exuberant folk artist Clementine Hunter and fervent civil rights worker Fannie Lou Hamer. The musical score is drawn from the heartfelt spirituals and blues of the Deep South, the urban vitality of the Jazz Age, and contemporary concert music by African Americans. “Ain’t I a Woman!” is a joyful exploration of the trials and triumphs of four passionate and accomplished women.
Chamber music theatre is a unique performance format developed by the Core Ensemble, featuring a marriage of theatrical narrative to chamber music performance. Actress Shinnerrie Jackson portrays multiple characters while interacting with the onstage musical trio of cello, piano and percussion.
Since 1993, the Core Ensemble has toured in every region of the United States and internationally to Australia, England, Russia, Ukraine and the British Virgin Islands. The Core Ensemble has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, state of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, Palm Beach County Cultural Council and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.
This concert will take place online (YouTube).
Morrison Chamber Music Center
SF State’s Morrison Chamber Music Center is home to the Jane H. Galante Concert Series, renamed in 2020 in memory of the center’s founding trustee. Formerly known as the Morrison Artists Series, it is the longest running chamber music concert series in San Francisco, featuring superb, admission-free performances by some of the world’s most acclaimed ensembles since 1955. The San Francisco Chronicle writes: “indispensable.” The center also provides educational opportunities to students and the community including lectures, master classes, artist residencies, mentoring and school outreach. The Morrison Chamber Music Center is funded, in part, by a generous gift from the May Treat Morrison Chamber Music Foundation. Professor Cyrus Ginwala serves as artistic director of the Jane H. Galante Concert Series, and the Alexander String Quartet serves as quartet-in-residence and directs the center’s instruction program.