News

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (12/15/11) — On Sunday, January 15, 2012, from 4-6 p.m., the University of Minnesota will host the 31^st Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Concert featuring Committed, winners of NBC’s The Sing-Off, plus Larry Long with musical guests Tonia Hughes, Billy Peterson, and Billy Steele. The concert will take place at the University’s Ted Mann Concert Hall (2128 4th Street South, Minneapolis, MN 55455, U of M West Bank campus). This program honors Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dr. Reginald Buckner, founder of the MLK, Jr. Concert.

When the University of Minnesota’s Martin Luther King Jr. Concert began more than 30 years ago, it was the only tribute of its kind in Minnesota. The late Reginald Buckner, School of Music professor and an accomplished performer and composer, founded the concert and began the tradition of celebrating the life and accomplishments of Dr. King through the performing arts. After professor Buckner’s death in 1989, the University continued to honor Buckner’s memory and artistic genius by carrying on the inspiring legacy of this annual program. The Martin Luther King Celebration is now a joint program of the University of Minnesota’s Office for Equity and Diversity and the School of Music.

The concert is free of charge and open to the public; no advance tickets or reservations are required. For more information about the program, or for disability accommodations, contact the Office for Equity and Diversity at oed@umn.edu or 612-624-0594. Visit z.umn.edu/MLK2012 for more information.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Committed is a highly sought-after a cappella singing group comprised of six young men who love creativity, music, and God. The group began in 2003 at Forest Lake Academy and solidified their sound while at school at Oakwood University in Huntsville, AL. Members of the group include Maurice Staple, Alain “Tommy” Gervais, Theron “Therry” Thomas, Robbie Pressley, Dennis “DJ” Baptiste, and Geston Pierre.

Committed has been compared to a cappella groups like Take 6 and Boyz II Men. What sets Committed apart is its versatility – four out of the six members are instrumentalists, and all of them are able to sing various styles of music from gospel, pop, R&B, contemporary worship, and jazz.

The group was featured on the second season of NBC’s hit singing competition, “The Sing Off,” and emerged as the season two champions. It has been their strong faith, hard work, and creativity that has gotten them to the point of being called one of the nation’s top ten a cappella groups. Committed truly believes that “with God all things are possible,” and they continue to work toward inspiring people through music. More on Committed’s website.

Larry Long, called “a true American Troubadour” by author Studs Terkel, has made his life work the celebration of American stories and heroes. Long’s hundreds of ballads readily capture the American history of our time, while embracing our common humanity with stories about those history makers who are known and those who are unknown. He has worked in urban communities with Latin, Somali, African-American, and Scandinavian students. He has worked in southern rural communities combining black, white, Native American and Latin stories.

Now a Smithsonian Folkways recording artist, Long has sung at major festivals, concerts and events throughout the U.S. and internationally. Long is a recipient of the prestigious Bush Artists Fellowship, the Pope John XXIII Award and In The Spirit of Crazy Horse Award for his work in forgotten communities. For more information, visit Larry Long’s website.

Tonia Hughes has spent the last five years broadening her appeal in the Twin Cities by garnering critical acclaim in musical theatrical productions throughout the area. Her latest and long-awaited release I’m Ready Now is uniquely different from anything that she has done to date in that it embodies all that she is vocally and spiritually.

In addition to serving as a lead vocalist with the Grammy and Stellar Award nominated Excelsior Chorale Ensemble, Hughes has provided background vocals at various events featuring Tremaine Hawkins, Rance Allen, and William Murphy. Because of her versatile vocal ability, Hughes has opened for various events featuring legendary music artists such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Little Richard. However, she’s most grateful for the experience garnered while working with industry powerhouses Fred Hammond, Mary J. Blige, and Judith Christie McAllister.

Billy Peterson is one of the premier bass players in the world, as well as a successful producer and arranger. He has worked with Ben Sidran, Eddie Harris, Leo Kottke, Bob Dylan and Steve Miller, to name a few. Peterson was also the bassist for the Steve Miller band for 20 years. More at Jazz.com.

The youngest of the Steele siblings, Billy Steele performs, writes, and produces for the Grammy Award-winning ensemble, the Sounds of Blackness, for who he is currently serving as Assistant Director. He is the co-recipient of three Grammys via this talented ensemble. He continues to write and produce for various artists, including the Steeles. His voice has been heard on soundtracks with artists such as Rod Stewart, Luther Vandross and many more. Recently, he collaborated on the Disney soundtrack Legends, The John Henry Story, narrated by James Earl Jones. More at the Steele’s website.

Check out this great article on Larry’s work with Elders Wisdom in the schools and his residency at Sanford this past school year:

• Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song at commongroundmeditation.org

This year, the Minneapolis Monarch Festival will be held on Saturday, Sept 10, at Lake Nokomis. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association and Community Celebration of Place invite you to join us at the Festival to learn about our state’s official butterfly – the Monarch.

Last year, an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 guests and volunteers helped nearly 400 live Monarch butterflies start their amazing 2,300 mile migration from Minnesota to the mountains of Michoacán Mexico. The Festival highlights this Minnesota – Mexico connection with with cross-cultural food, music, dance, habitat awareness and art.

Specialists from native plant vendors will be on-hand to explain and sell Monarch-friendly garden plants. Enjoy guided prairie-garden tours, canoe rides on Lake Nokomis, and monarch-inspired art and games. Back by popular demand, the steamroller operated by ArtOrg (last year’s photos) and Grupo Soap del Corazon, will roll over special print blocks created by kids to make individual butterfly artwork.

There will be performances by Mariachi Mi Tierra, the Javier Trejo Trio (Mexican/Americana), Larry Long (American Folk), the Tropical Zone Orchestra (Salsa), KetzalCoatlicue (Aztec Dance), Ballet Folklorico Mexico Azteca (Traditional dance), Larrie Yazzie (Native American Fancy Dance) and Batak (Fusion Jazz).

For more information: http://www.monarchfestival.org/

In 2007 Larry wrote a song to honor the Eden Prairie Fire Department. After going out with them on a fire, the first draft of Duty, Honor, Courage, was written. The song remained in limbo until 2009, when he performed at Pete Seeger’s 90^th Birthday party at Madison Square Garden, and visited Ground Zero for the first time on that trip.

On 9/11 he’ll be performing Duty, Honor, Courage at the 10^th Anniversary of 9-11 on the Capitol steps with more than 12 different faith communities offering words of consolation and inspiration. Government leaders, including Governor Dayton, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and other elected officials; members of law-enforcement, military, firemen and EMS personnel will represent those who serve.

Participating musicians and artists include Brother Ali, Larry Long, Sheila Ray Charles, and Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre. Music Director Scott Winters will direct an all-volunteer orchestra made up of some of the area’s top classical musicians.

Make your plans to attend with your family and friends today. Bring lawn chairs and blankets to sit on the capitol lawn.

You can learn more at their official website, www.minnesotansstandingtogether.com

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This month’s Longfellow-Nokomis Messenger has a great article on the Minneapolis Monarch Festival, which will be held this year on September 10 at Lake Nokomis.

Get close to monarchs during Lake Nokomis festival Sept. 10
By Tesha M. Christensen

Send a monarch butterfly on its amazing journey from Minnesota to the mountains of Michoacan, Mexico during the Monarch Festival at Lake Nokomis on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011.

“It doesn’t really matter who you are or where you come from, people find the monarch fascinating,” said Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA) Executive Director Rita Ulrich.

The purpose of the Monarch Festival, according to Lis Young-Isebrand of the Monarch Lab at the University of Minnesota, “is to bring our diverse community of people together to celebrate and learn about monarchs.”

She pointed out: “Adult monarchs weigh less than a paper clip (about half a gram), yet they are able to fly over 2,000 miles to Mexico in the fall and back to Texas in the early spring. And, they are beautiful! The monarch is simply amazing.”

Read the full story…

Through 2011-2012  CCP and Larry are working in partnership with PACERS:  Celebrating Appalachian Communities.

Throughout Appalachia there are examples of celebrations and festivals that have positive financial outcomes and improved community resilience and well-being.  With generous assistance from the Appalachian Regional Commission,  PACERS will build upon and expand this tradition by holding in Section (Jackson County) and Camp Hill (Tallapoosa County)  comprehensive multi-day workshops that will develop replicable models for community festivals/celebrations while jointly training young people and community members to document their communities through the arts:  including music, photography, videography, and  graphic design.  Workshops will also include sessions on festival/celebration publicity and organizational requirements.  Workshops—beginning in August, 2011—will be two to three day events and will set the foundation for a local celebration.  They will be preceded and followed by school-based opportunities for students to undertake community documentation and celebration projects (e.g. photo essays, music or video CD’s).  Students and PACERS chapter will be provided with appropriate technology with professional support for its application.

Workshop leaders will include Dr. Jay Lamar, Director of the Center for Arts and Humanities (as well as other professionals associated with the center);  Larry Long, creator of Elders Wisdom Childrens Song (www.communitycelebration.org and www.larrylong.org) ;  Andrew Goetz, nationally recognized photographer (www.goetzphoto.com); Fred Fluker, graphic designer, and Dr. Jennifer Adams, Director of the Journalism Program Auburn University.  Local teachers,  musicians, and other community members will also participate in the workshops and in school settings.

Larry’s appearance on the Mary Hanson Show will be re-broadcast on Channel 6, the Metro Cable Network (MCN) on Sept. 5 at 9 PM in honor of Labor Day. The interview, “An Interview with Larry Long,” will also be seen on the Minneapolis Television Network (MTN) on cable Channel 17 at the following times:

• Wednesday, Aug. 24 at 8 PM
• Sunday, Aug. 28 at 10 AM
• Wednesday, Aug. 31 at 8 PM
• Sunday, Sept. 4 at 10 AM

Larry’s currently in Alabama leading workshops through his not-for-profit Community Celebration of Place and its program Elder’s Wisdom, Children’s Song. The organization goes into schools across the United States, bringing with it elders from the community-at-large who then share their life stories and life lessons with the students. The students then take what they’ve learned and create a song for their elder, which they sing during an honor ceremony for the elders.

It’s often a very powerful experience for everyone involved, and EWCS gets a number of emails every year from students who have been through the process and are still affected by it years later. This is one email that came in a few days ago, and Larry asked that we post it (with kind permission).

Hi Larry,

There is little to no chance that you remember me, as I was all of 9 years old when we met (I was the rowdy kid who played the piano). That year marked the inaugural year of EWCS in Spearfish, and you worked with my 4th grade class to pen a song in tribute to an effervescent and unforgettable Ms. Louise Smock. Now twelve years afterward, I remember that experience as one of incredible joy and significance, not only for the kids involved but for the entire community. I am so happy to see that this program not only continues to be a part of my old school, but has also expanded to other Black Hills communities.

As reports of recalcitrant youth across the globe fill the nightly news, it’s reassuring to know that we in the Black Hills are still teaching our kids to be good people, to appreciate the value of hard work, and perhaps most importantly, to afford our elders the adoration and respect they so deserve. Although I may not have understood the significance at the time, those few weeks we spent hearing stories from Ms. Smock and the subsequent songwriting we did with you were exceptionally memorable and will stay with me throughout my life. In short, as an alumnus of your first year program, I wanted to reach out and say thank you for doing this and for continuing to invest in our community. It means more than you could ever know.

[…] Music remains a huge part of my life and have picked up a number of new instruments and playing styles. Should you find yourself in Boston this year, or China/Singapore next year, bring a guitar and let’s play some music! I hope that someday, I can help carry on the EWCS tradition. You and Hank Fridell (If you speak with him or know how to get in touch with him, please send my best to him and his wife) created something great with this program, and I hope that I can be a part at some point. Would be a great honor. Until then, hope all is well. Drop me a note if you get a chance. Keep up the great work!

Best,
Max

TWIN CITIES — July 12, 2011 — Eight community organizations working on the tornado recovery effort in North Minneapolis will receive funding from a June 12, 2011, benefit concert at the Hennepin Theatre Trust State Theatre on Wednesday, July 13, 2011. The event will take place at Noon at the North Community YMCA Youth & Teen Enrichment Center (1711 West Broadway Minneapolis, MN 55411/ 612-588-9484).

NorthSide: A Twin Cities Community Benefit raised more than $100,000 with hard cash and ticket sale contributions of $26,600.00 and in-kind donations of more than $80,000.00.

More than 200 musicians, from Soul Asylum to Brother Ali and Sounds of Blackness to The New Standards, donated their time and waived their fees to make the event happen, plus many behind-the-scenes individuals and organizations, including the State Theatre, which was donated pro bono by the Hennepin Theatre Trust (See About the Northside Benefit Organization).

“Without a nickel in our pockets, our small group and our benefit partners successfully organized the Northside: A Twin Cities Community Benefit at the State Theatre on June 12th, 2011, and raised funds that will go directly to the organizations that are assisting residents of North Minneapolis on a daily bases,” says benefit co-organizer and artist Larry Long.

“Due to the enormity of the destruction to so many people’s lives in North Minneapolis — and the generosity of so many individuals and organizations — it was very difficult for us decide upon where our funds could be put to the most use,” Long notes. “We walked the streets of North Minneapolis. We talked to displaced renters and homeowners. We attended meetings and visited with many of the nonprofit organizations assisting the displaced people on the north side. We weren’t able to fund them all, even though each of them is well-deserving.”

Recipients of NorthSide Benefit Funding Charitable dollars will go directly to nonprofit organizations whose missions are to provide shelter, food, medical services, counseling, child care, utility assistance, youth mentoring and employment opportunities to the residents of North Minneapolis. The recipients include:

• North Community YMCA for opening up their facility to tornado victims and giving free memberships to those hardest hit by the tornado. The North Community YMCA is known for working with and not simply doing for those in their community.
• Elim Transitional Housing for answering the call of giving transitional housing to displaced renters and homeowners.
• Urban Homeworks for their faith-based and practical innovative community development that works in partnership with low income families to produce dignified housing through developing a strategic network of good neighbors.
• EMERGE— on behalf of the Northside Community Response Team (NCRT)— to specifically employ over 150 North Minneapolis youth and 13 adults to work on north side community beautification crews for 4-7 weeks during the summer of 2011.
• God’s Prayer Center for giving food, shelter, and counseling to the hardest hit on the North Side.
• Sweetie Pie Urban Farming for creating organic community gardens with North Minneapolis youth.
• At Home Group for their willingness to establish a Northside Relief Transportation Fund to buy month long bus passes for tornado victims in need of getting to work, visiting family, or traveling to and from the North Community YMCA.
• iRelief (aka mplstornado.info) for effectively keeping the entire Minneapolis community informed on how to be of help to those directly hit by the tornado through their Facebook site: Mpls Tornado. Plus, for directly organizing large food drives and benefits for the victims.

About the Northside Benefit Organization

The core organizing team for the Northside include: Arlana Vaughan, Sara Renner, Tonia Hughes, Catherine Reid Day, Claire Chamberlin, Stuart Paster, Martin Keller, LeeAnn Weimar, and Larry Long.

Contributing organizations and businesses include: Hennepin Theatre Trust, The State Theatre, Local Union 13 IATSE, Community Celebration of Place, Cordset Manufacturing, Smart Set, Inc., Loring Theater, Planet Claire Creative, Media Savant Communications Co., Storyslices, AVA Special Events, and the Minneapolis Foundation.

Artists, Emcees and Media Partners:

• Sounds of Blackness
• Soul Asylum
• Brother Ali
• Robert Robinson
• Larry Long
• Joyful Noize
• Tonia Hughes
• Billy McLaughlin Group
• Toki Wright
• Sara Renner
• The TC Jammers: Featuring Jeanne, Patty, Jason and Paul Peterson
• Jamecia Bennett
• Cameron Wright
• The New Standards
• Dean Magraw
• Prudence Johnson
• GB Leighton
• Brittany Delaney
• Van Nixon
• DJ Freddy Fresh
• Darnell Davis and the Remnant
• Kerri Noble
• Ginger Commodore
• Thomasina Petrus
• Emcees T. Mychael Rambo, Robyne Robinson, Angela Davis (WCCO-TV)
• Media Partners: KMOJ, Cities 97, The Current, 96.3, KBEM, KFAI

We had so much fun doing the CD release concert at Loring over the weekend. Thank you to everyone who helped out and to everyone who attended! Here is a note from Larry:

Thank you all for helping to make last night one of the performing highlights of my life.

From house lighting on down to the sound board – from the divine harmonies of the backup singers to the Joyful Noize of Park Avenue Methodist Church choir –  from the steady heartbeat of the traps to the subtlety of the hand drum, triangle, and shakers – from the divine ethereal harmonics of the electric guitar to the rising tide of the Hammond gospel organ – from the vocal scats, to the Pentecostal chants, to the gospel swells, to the rising tide of each vocal line, beneath that low bass tone, on our journey home – to simply catch a glimpse – of a world to come – filled with love – that’s with us now – when we fill ourselves with that power far greater than ‘I’ .  . .

There was spirit on stage – there was magic in the room.   Everyone was happy and so was/am I.

With gratitude,

Larry

And we had some great feedback too!

Larry Long’s CD Release Concert was a masterpiece from start to finish, certainly his greatest artistic creation. It fully reflects three years of diverse work and cultures around the globe, incorporating deeply moving, inspiring music and videos celebrating heroes and sheroes from Tibet to the Japanese-American internment. Larry’s extraordinary ensemble featured a range of stars from the Minnesota music scene, from J.D. Steele to Tanya Hughes and Robert Robertson, who lifted the entire theatre to new heights. Larry allowed each star to shine and together they created a constellation so bright that it lit up the night and the lives of everyone present.

Love,
Terry

Terry Gips, President
Sustainability Associates
9000 W. 28th St., St. Louis Park, MN 55426
612-374-4765  tgips@SustainabilityAssociates.com
www.SustainabilityAssociates.com

———-

Larry, the concert was a tremendous testimony to all of your life’s work: telling stories through song, lifting up the voices of those we don’t hear, working for justice, bringing people of all races and backgrounds together, making fantastic music and inspiring people to be there better selves. Thanks for a wonderful evening.”

Pam C

———-

Hi Bro,
Congratulations on such a spectacular success Saturday night!  Everyone agreed it was your best concert ever. I loved every minute of it (as did the boys other than it being too loud for them at times) and was so impressed by your creativity and how brightly you shined and how you allowed others to shine as well. I was lifted to the highest places. It was an extraordinary gift to the community.

The main thought that came up for me is that it would be great to have another concert soon (just what you want to hear, right?) so that all of the friends of the people who came could also experience it. The word of mouth would be fabulous.

Another thought that came to me is that we should think about the possibility of a White House performance. I think Barack, Michelle and the girls would love it. How soon do you think you’ll have a video?

Love,
Terry

———

It was an honor to be part of such a meaningful and heartfelt concert. Beyond the music being off the hook, which it was, the spirit of the evening was overwhelming.

Larry, we (meaning the entire community, meaning the whole wide world) owes you a great debt for your earnest, thoughtful, painfully honest endeavor to truly be a person in the world that cares deeply about the suffering of others and wants to do something about it. Your energy and undying response to us all creates the possibility for great music to happen, for people to come together and for all of us to think about what we are doing.
Thank you!

With deep gratitude and love,
Marc Anderson