Latitude 45 Arts is proud to present The Nathaniel Dett Chorale in concert

Professional Choir of Afro-Centric repertoire from Toronto
Named for the great Canadian-born African-American Composer
Nathaniel Dett (1887-1943)

Saturday, January 20, 2007 at 3PM
At St Bartholomew's Church
Park Avenue between 50 and 51st Streets
All tickets: $20

This concert also marks the release of their CDs and DVDs in the USA as
Marquis Classics announces its distribution by Koch

The Nathaniel Dett Chorale's vision is to build bridges of understanding, appreciation, and acceptance between communities of people, both Afro-centric and other, through the medium of music. The Chorale seeks to dissolve the barriers of stereotype, to empower humans in general, and those of African descent in particular. The Chorale's mission is to be a premier performer of Afro-centric composers - past, present and future - and to be a touchstone for the education of audiences and communities regarding the full spectrum of Afro-centric choral music.

Founder Brainerd Blyden-Taylor named the Chorale after internationally renowned African-Canadian composer and choral director, R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943). His studies at Oberlin, Howard and Harvard led to great accomplishments. His tireless work of collecting, arranging and composing as well as training singers and forming a choir at Hampton College laid the ground work for our contemporary knowledge and awareness of music of the African diaspora. In the 1920's and 30's he performed at prestigious concert halls such as Carnegie Hall and Boston Symphony Hall.

In 1998,Blyden-Taylor established the Chorale to draw attention not only to Dett 's legacy, but to the wealth of Afrocentric choral music. Since its inception in 1998, The Nathaniel Dett Chorale has honored the memory of its namesake, performing a jubilant and uplifting repertoire extensively around the world.

Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, was born in Trinidad & Tobago. He immigrated to Canada in 1973.In addition to his work with the Chorale, Mr. Blyden-Taylor works frequently as a guest conductor for choirs and orchestras. He has recently completed a 25-year tenure with The Orpheus Choir of Toronto, and he has also worked as a conductor, artistic director and artistic advisor for the Nova Scotia Mass Choir and the Algoma Festival Choir. He is a member of the teaching staff at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto and is the Music Director of St. Timothy's Anglican Church, North Toronto

The Choir

The 21 members of the choir include many who are founding members, and all share Blyden-Taylor' s vision of the place of the importance of an Afro-centric choir in Canada and the adventure of discovering and commissioning work in this great global tradition. The singers are all professional and are of different racial backgrounds. They join together in music to transcend any barriers of race or experience in creating an open society. The works performed by the composers are by a great number of composers from the African Diaspora, Latin America and Canada as well as Africa. In 2006-07, in addition to performances at St Bartholomew's Church, the Chorale performs at the American Choral Directors Conference at Calvin College in Michigan, at the Cathedrals of Detroit and Cleveland, at the Library of Congress, Bucknell College, Albright College and at Howard University. The Choral performs several concerts in Canada  including a  benefit concert for the Black Loyalists Heritage Society, the oldest community of Afro-Americans in Canada.

 For further information:

514 276 2694

www.latitude45arts.com