MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – New World Symphony has announced its “I Dream a World: The Harlem Renaissance in Europe” festival, at area venues Feb. 3-15.

The multi-disciplinary event builds on 2022’s inaugural “I Dream a World” festival and underlines New World Symphony’s ongoing commitment to inclusive programming and representation of Black musicians and creatives. To purchase tickets, visit bit.ly/3QzRV3P.

This season’s festival is a two-week exploration of the trans-Atlantic movement and influence of the Harlem Renaissance in Europe, as America’s cultural explosion, racial inequality limited artistic freedom and expression for Black creatives sparked a widespread movement to Europe in search of better opportunities.

The event will focus on the artists who found success in Europe between 1917 and 1935, exploring the impact of World War I, the rise and spread of Nazism, and World War II on the spread of Harlem Renaissance ideology and Black music in Europe.

In addition to a robust series of concerts, the festival will feature an exhibition curated by Christopher Norwood, a lecture presented by FIU/Wolfsonian, and a film presented by the City of Miami Beach and the American Black Film Festival.

The New World Symphony, America’s Orchestral Academy, prepares graduates of music programs for leadership roles in professional orchestras and ensembles. In the 35 years since its cofounding by Artistic Director Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas and Lin and Ted Arison, NWS has helped launch the careers of more than 1,200 alumni worldwide. The festival is funded in part by the NWS Collaborations Fund and the NWS Fund for New Ventures.

SYMPHONIC LINEUP

Friday, Feb. 3, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. at New World Center (Truist Pavilion): NWS transforms into a 1920s Parisian Cabaret with Julia Bullock and Louise Toppin, inspired by the legendary Chez Bricktop. Proprietress Ada “Bricktop” Smith, an American dancer, jazz singer and Vaudevillian, set the tone for Paris’s “café society” and was known for entertaining royalty, movie stars and writers.

Saturday, Feb. 4, 7:30 p.m. at New World Center, WALLCAST concert in SoundScape Park and live webcast at nws.edu.

Sunday, Feb. 5, 2 p.m. at NWC, Conductor William Eddins takes the New World Symphony podium to lead a twonight celebration of works influenced by the art and artists of the Jazz Age. Concerts will be hosted by festival curator Dr. Tammy Kernodle, University Distinguished Professor of Musicology at Miami University of Ohio, with the NWS joined by soprano Louise Toppin in works by Coleridge Taylor, James P. Johnson, Scott Joplin, Igor Stravinsky, and Maurice Ravel. The concerts will be preceded by a discussion on the African Diaspora hosted by Shawn Anthony Christian, associate professor and chair, Department of English, Florida International University and Nathaniel Cadle, associate professor of English at Florida International University, joined by NWS Fellows.

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 7:30 p.m. at NWC, Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and bandleader Branford Marsalis and Florida Memorial University broadcast journalism professor Russell Motley present an exploration of American ragtime bandleader, arranger, and composer, James Reese Europe, one of the most dynamic musical figures to emerge out of America’s music scene during the first two decades of the 20th century.

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m. at NWC, concert featuring keyboard centric music by Black composers, hosted by British musicologist and pianist Dr. Samantha Ege, joined by William Eddins and the NWS Piano Fellows, to showcase this work from artists including Florence Price. Recordings from this concert will be included in the NWS’s 36Keys.com, a digital resource library to ensure this work is available to students, teachers, programmers, and music lovers.