Duke Ellington Exhibit Celebrates Life of Musical Genius

Lectures, Musical Events to Highlight Smithsonian Exhibit

The UNL Libraries will host a national traveling exhibition, "Beyong Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington," Sept. 21-Nov. 2. The exhibition is in conjunction with a number events highlighting Ellington's career, including a lecture and performance by jazz great Wynton Marsalis on Sept. 30.

The free exhibit, organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the American Libraries Association, will be on the second floor of Love Library, 12th and R streets.

The exhibit explores the life and music of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, one of the most important figures in the history of American music. It 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 in the 1920s and his worldwide travels with the Ellington Orchestra.

Major funding for the exhibit came from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The exhibit is based on a Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service/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.

Other programs and exhibits scheduled in connection with the exhibition include:

• Sept. 18-19: concerts, Nebraska Jazz Orchestra plays Ellington's "Suite Thursday" at Crown Hall in Omaha, Sept. 18, and the Ramada Hotel in Lincoln, Sept. 19; 7:30 p.m. each day; ticket information 477-8222.
• Sept. 30: lecture by Wynton Marsalis, "Duke Ellington and His Music," 7 p.m., Kimball Recital Hall, sponsored by the UNL 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).
• Sept. 30: concert, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, conductor; 8 p.m., Lied Center for Performing Arts; ticket information, 472-4747; followed by an opening reception at 10 p.m. at the exhibition in Love Library (the reception is free and open to the public).
• Oct. 10: lecture, "The Music of Duke Ellington," with David Sharp of the UNL School of Music, 7:30 p.m. Westbrook Music Building (free).
• Oct. 13: concert, "The Music of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus," UNL Jazz Ensemble, David Sharp, conductor, 8 p.m., Kimball Recital Hall (free).
• Oct. 27: lecture, "Duke Ellington and the Harlem Renaissance," with Venita Kelly, UNL Department of Communications Studies, Love Library auditorium (free).

Ping Chong to Stage World Premiere at Lied Sept. 22

The Lied Center for Performing Arts will stage the world premiere of Ping Chong's Chinoiserie at 8 p.m. Sept. 22 in Kimball Recital Hall.

Chinoiserie is a look at cultural differences. Though structured around a historical time-line that begins with the 1793 encounter between the Celestrial Emperor of China and a trade emissary form England, the multidisciplinary work also draws heavily on Ping Chong's own experiences as a child raised in New York City's Chinatown.

Ping Chong has created more than 30 performance pieces for the stage since 1972, many of which have earned prestigious awards and distinctions. He is currently working on a trilogy of works about East-West relations, of which Chinoiserie is the second.

Tickets are $18 and $14; half price for youth 18 and under or UNL, Wesleyan and Doane students with proper identification. The Lied Center box office is open for walk-in sales on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 60 minutes before the performance. Phone orders may be placed by dialing 2-4747 or 1-800-432-3231.

Tejano Music on Nebraska ETV

Texas-based Tejano music has been around for more than 100 years, but as it reemerges in clubs and radio stations throughout the United States, hundreds of new fans are popping up and major recording labels are taking notice. It's gone from being considered the music of the working class to a music people across the country are proudly listening to.

Songs of the Homeland, a 60-minute documentary honoring and celebrating Tejano music, is broadcast at 9 p.m. on Sept. 20, on the stations of the statewide Nebraska ETV Network.

The special recounts the creative evolution of Tejano music, a musical genre that originated among Mexican migrant workers in south Texas. Filmed on locations throughout Texas, "Songs of the Homeland" features images of the past and interviews with major figures in the development of Tejano music, such as Lydia Mendoza, Isidro Lopez, Valerio Longoria, Tony de la Rosa and Sunny Ozuna along with a video clip of Selena (pictured above), the Tejano music sensation who was tragically murdered in Texas in March of this year.

Preston Love On 33rd Street Sessions

Omaha's renowned jazz reedman Preston Love and his orchestra are featured on 33rd Street Sessions, airing at 7 p.m. on Sept. 21 on the Nebraska ETV Network.

Videotaped this past summer as part of Nebraska ETV's series of live-on-tape studio concerts, Love performs such jazz standards as "Take the 'A' Train," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," "My One and Only Love," "Wave," "Mercy, Mercy" and a Jimmy Rushing medley.

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