National Association of Negro Musicians

As always the summer is moving along rather fast, no matter how long I stay up. I am in the process of getting ready to go to the National Association of Negro Musicians in Colorado Springs. It is an annual event and try to make it each year. The Associations encourage young minority artists to play and learn about the various genres of music open to them. There is an opening ceremony on Sunday afternoon and a scholarship contest that evening. The area of concentration is piano. The areas change each year; winds, strings, organ. and piano.
On Monday the workshops begin and various young students come and entertain the participants throughout the day and the three day conference. The featured artist will be Diane Reeves. There will be an opera premiere, workshops on conducting, and the spiritual along with a banquet and closing concert on Wednesday.
I try to attend this event each year. There is a lot of history from meeting people like William Warfield, Shirley Varrett, and Jester Hairston to name a few. The main purpose of the Convention is to keep and promote the music of the African American experience in America and throughout the world. Based on what I learned in the class these last few months, I hope to introduce more culturally diverse music in programs and try to play more music on as many programs as possible.