"Of Ebony Embers" to be presented at Bradley

Peoria, Illinois...January 21, 2003. . . The Core Ensemble will present, "Of Ebony Embers: Vignettes of the Harlem Renaissance," on Wednesday, February 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Dingeldine Music Center located at 1417 W. Barker on the Bradley University campus.

"Of Ebony Embers" is a music theatre work for a solo actor and chamber music trio that explores the lives of African Americans who helped shape the Harlem Renaissance. The piece connects audiences to the lives of three outstanding African-American poetsÑLangston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude McKayÑas seen through the eyes of the great painter and muralist Aaron Douglas.

The Core Ensemble, a nationally acclaimed trio of cello, piano and percussion, performs music by African American composers ranging from jazz greats Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Billy Strayhorn, Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus, to concert music composers Jeffrey Mumford and George Walker. The Core Ensemble includes cellist Tahirah Whittington, pianist Hugh Hinton, percussionist Michael Parola, and actor Akin Babatunde.

The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Department of Music at (309) 677-2595.