(POSTPONED) Before There Was Mozart

Before There Was Mozart is based on a children’s book written by Lesa Cline-Ransome. It tells the true story of Joseph Bologne, an only child of a slave and slave-owner, who becomes “the most accomplished man in Europe.” After traveling from his native West Indies to study music in Paris, young Joseph is taunted for his skin color. Despite his classmates cruel words, he continues to devote himself to his violin, eventually becoming the conductor of an orchestra. Joseph begins composing his own operas, which everyone acknowledges to be magnifique. But will he ever reach his dream of performing for the king and queen of France?

This performance includes narration of the book with musical interludes from the Eykamp String Quartet – playing pieces that were written by Joseph himself. The narration is also accompanied by large-scale illustrations (created by James E. Ransome, husband of the book’s author). This story is a fantastic introduction to a highly talented musician and often overlooked figure in black history.

Thanks to generous funding from Toyota’s Accessing the Arts grant, the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra is able to provide this program to WCPL at absolutely no cost.