Exhibition Highlights Musical Genius of Duke Ellington

The UNL Libraries will host the national traveling exhibition, "Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington," for six weeks. This free exhibition will be held in Love Library from Sept. 21 through Nov. 2.

This exhibition explores the life and music of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, one of the most important figures in the history of American music.

"Beyond Category" traces Ellington's life from his roots in the rich African-American musical culture of turn-of-the century Washington, D.C., to his successes in New York City during the height of the Harlem Renaissance and his worldwide travels with the Ellington Orchestra.

The exhibition was organized by the Smithsonian Institution traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and the American Library Association, with major funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is based on a SITES/National Museum of American History exhibition of the same name developed as part of "America's Jazz Heritage," a Partnership of the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution.

Free programs and other events will be held in connection with this exhibition and will include, during the month of September:

• Sept. 21- Nov. 2, Exhibition: "Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington," Love Library, 2nd Floor. Interpretative tours will be scheduled.
• Sept. 12, Radio Broadcast: Nebraska Public Radio, "All Day Duke," with guest Wynton Marsalis.
• Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m., Crown Hall, Omaha, concert by the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra
• Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m., Ramada Hotel, Lincoln Suite, concert by the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra. Ticket Information: 402-477-8222.
• Sept. 30, 7 p.m., Kimball Recital Hall, lecture by Wynton Marsalis, "Duke Ellington and His Music," sponsored by the College of Fine and Performing Arts, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Racial Pluralism Action Team, and the African American and African Studies Program. Free and open to the public.
• Sept. 30, 8 p.m., Lied Center, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Conductor. Ticket Information 2-4747.
• Sept. 30, 10 p.m., Love Library, 2nd Floor, Opening reception for "Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington," sponsored by the Friends of the UNL Libraries and the Friends of the Lied. Free and open to the public.

For questions regarding these Scarlet pages, contact:
dtaurins@unlinfo.unl.edu
(402) 472-8518, Fax: (402) 472-7825