By Helen BezunehSpecial to the AFRO hbezuneh@afro.com
GoGo Symphony, a musical group that celebrates go-go music within the style’s birthplace of D.C., is internet hosting “T’was the Evening,” a classical jazz vacation present at 8:00 p.m. on Dec. 22. The Union Stage efficiency will mix the sounds of classical symphony music and Go-go music, however this time with a vacation twist.
“We’re going to have some Christmas songs, numerous enjoyable and partying,” mentioned Liza Figueroa Kravinsky, founder and composer of GoGo Symphony from Arlington, Va. “It’s a kid-friendly occasion. Simply count on numerous go-go beats and numerous strings and flutes and horns on high of that. We now have Dee Dee because the MC and there’s going to be numerous name and response with the group.”
“I composed a lot of the unique music and organized one of many Christmas songs,” she added. “I’ll be taking part in the violin and perhaps shaking some jingle bells right here and there, dancing across the stage.”
Within the phrases of the group’s web site, GoGo Symphony has been performing “symphonies you’ll be able to dance to” since 2012, when Kravinsky based the group.
“I used to be raised on classical music,” Kravinsky informed the AFRO. “However then I began taking part in in go-go bands, and you understand how go-go places something over the go-go beat and makes it go-go. That’s what I did with classical music.”
The GoGo Symphony has been working arduous in preparation for the vacation present, guaranteeing attendees will benefit from the full of life performances.
“We’ve been rehearsing since September,” mentioned Kravinsky. “We needed to write some particular preparations of Christmas music within the GoGo Symphony format. We now have new costumes, now we have some decorations, we’re simply attempting to make it as festive as potential.”
William “Juju” Home, principal drummer of GoGo Symphony from D.C., will carry out a few songs with the symphony on the live performance. The present may also characteristic a highlight on Home, who has toured with quite a few famend musicians equivalent to Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Salt n’ Pepa and Luther Vandross.
“It’s going to be a extremely, actually nice present,” Home informed the AFRO. “I’m coming in doing a few Christmas songs carried out by Chuck Brown.”
“The primary a part of the present that I’m going to be doing with Dee Dee, it’s going to be a Christmas jazz set, just like the Erykah Badu sort,” he added. “It’s really going to be very nice, it’s going to be completely different, completely completely different than what you usually see from a symphony.”
Eucrita D. Willis, who goes by Ms. Cxree or Dee Dee, is the artistic inventive director and supervisor of GoGo Symphony. Willis, a performing arts trainer from Newport Information, Va., sings and dances with the symphony. She has toured with main artists, a few of which embrace Shirley Murdock, Nephew Tommy, Damion Corridor and David Peaston.
“We all the time prefer to have enjoyable at GoGo Symphony exhibits. It’s an academic platform for youth, for households, from younger to outdated, the place they will really hear some classical music that’s intertwined with the D.C. sound of go-go and expertise a complete collaboration of various genres.” Willis informed the AFRO. “We’re doing a few of our throwback music that we’ve had for a while with slightly combination of our new Christmas songs that have been written and produced by our conductor.”
“We’ve finished exhibits across the holidays for different venues and different folks, however that is our first official vacation present,” she added. “Come ready to have time and take heed to a few of the conventional, classical that we, even myself, grew up on as youngsters.”
The vacation present may also characteristic a raffle prize. Tickets for the present will be discovered on unionstage.com, the hyperlink for which is on gogosymphony.com.
