Of Ebony Embers: Vignettes of the Harlem Renaissance

In honor of Black History Month, Cal Lutheran presents a chamber music theater work by the Core Ensemble celebrating the lives of the great African American poets Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Claude McKay as seen through the eyes of the painter Aaron Douglas.

Dracyn Blount portrays multiple characters while interacting with the cello, piano and percussion trio. The text is by Akin Babatunde. The musical score features jazz giants Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Billy Strayhorn, Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus as well as concert music by Jeffrey Mumford and George Walker.

Since 1993, the Core Ensemble has toured every region of the United States and internationally in Australia, England, Russia, Ukraine and the British Virgin Islands. The ensemble has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Florida Department of State’s Division of Cultural Affairs, the Palm Beach County Cultural Council and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.

Admission is free.