BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//artsboston.org//NONSGML iCalcreator 2.6// VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:Calendar of artsboston.org X-WR-CALDESC:In this calendar you will find information about events that y ou did save X-WR-TIMEZONE:US/Pacific BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20130521T030354CEST-3861M6gETa@artsboston.org DTSTAMP:20130521T010354Z CATEGORIES:Personal CLASS:EVENT DESCRIPTION:Event Name: Roots and Reason: Bernice Johnson and Toshi Reagon \nEvent Url: http://www.artsboston.org/event/detail/55979/Roots_and_Reason _Bernice_Johnson_and_Toshi_Reagon\nEvent Date Begin: 2010-02-18\nEvent Dat e End: 2010-02-18\n\nBerklee's Africana Studies program &ldquo\;Roots and Reason Series\,&rdquo\; presents Bernice Johnson Reagon and Toshi Reagon i n a special collaborative performance\, Thursday\, February 18\, at the Be rklee Performance Center\, 136 Massachusetts Ave.\, Boston\, MA. Call 617 -747-2261 or visit berkleebpc.com for more information. In a cross-gener ational concert performance\, mother Bernice Johnson Reagon and daughter Toshi Reagon will perform and speak about their music and work\, guided by the concept of the series\, Roots and Reason. The program will include ro ots music traditions&mdash\;songs/vocal and instrumental stylings&mdash\;a nd the reasons for the foundation and myriad evolutionary paths evolving f rom these groundings. Recipient of the 2003 Heinz Award of the Arts and Humanities for her work as a scholar and artist in African American cultu ral history and music\, Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution Na tional Museum of American History and Distinguished Professor Emeritus fro m American University\, Dr. Reagon continues to do pioneering intellectual work in the field. Recently she created the Cultural Resources structure for the first online African American Lectionary. Her early commitment t o social and political activism is reflected in the determined way she has crossed categories to do her work\, including forming and leading the int ernationally renowned a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. With a catalog of original compositions based in her social and political conscio usness journey\, which provided voice for the mass actions in the struggle against racism in the 1960's\, the elder Reagon's songs provide a contemp orary window extending from that transformative period forward. Of Toshi Reagon\, The New Yorker said\, &ldquo\;...her live shows shower retro fun k\, urban blues\, and folk on the audience with evangelical fervor. To hea r her is to believe.&rdquo\; Not surprisingly\, Toshi Reagon integrates a commitment to social justice into her own spirited blend of sounds\, expre ssed through her fierce guitar playing and voice. Ms. Reagon&mdash\;an acc omplished guitarist\, vocalist\, and producer&mdash\;is an extraordinary s ongwriter with an impressive catalog of her own compositions. She is fea rless and has a range which allowed her to create a Delta blues performanc e for 651 Arts in Brooklyn\, and then bring to the Jessye Norman Carnegie Hall Anthology Concert a contemporary blues tinged rendering that provided an essential evening from roots to more evolved forms. In addition to the se performance commissions\, Toshi Reagon has performed with a wide variet y of artists from Chaka Kahn\, Nona Hendryx\, Pete Seeger\, Ani Difranco\, Lenny Kravtiz\, and Liz Wright\, with whom she has worked as a songwritin g collaborator. This evening is possible because one of Toshi Reagon's m ost consistent collaborators is her mother\, serving as music director as well as creating the orchestral instrumentation for the 1993 opera Temptat ions of Saint Anthony: Robert Wilson Direction and Staging\, Bernice Johns on Reagon\, Composer. The two also joined forces in creating the music sco re for the Peabody Award winning WGBH PBS film series Africans In America: Slavery in America. The Roots and Reason program is produced by African a Studies Professor William &ldquo\;Bill&rdquo\; Banfield. This series cel ebrates the richness of blues\, gospel\, and bluegrass and their influence on American popular music\, while also exploring the stylistic relationsh ip with global folk. Guest artists featured this year include Regina Carte r\, Lionel Loueke\, Donald Harrison and music from the Caribbean\, the Mis sissippi Delta\, Ireland and more.\n\nStart time: Berklee’s Africana Stu dies program “Roots and Reason Series\,” presents Bernice Johnson Reag on and Toshi Reagon in a special collaborative performance\, Thursday\, Fe bruary 18\, at the Berklee Performance Center\, 136 Massachusetts Ave.\, B oston\, MA. Call 617-747-2261 or visit berkleebpc.com for more informatio n.\n \nIn a cross-generational concert performance\, mother Bernice Johnso n Reagon and daughter Toshi Reagon will perform and speak about their mus ic and work\, guided by the concept of the series\, Roots and Reason. The program will include roots music traditions—songs/vocal and instrumental stylings—and the reasons for the foundation and myriad evolutionary pat hs evolving from these groundings. \n \nRecipient of the 2003 Heinz Award of the Arts and Humanities for her work as a scholar and artist in African American cultural history and music\, Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History and Distinguished Profess or Emeritus from American University\, Dr. Reagon continues to do pioneeri ng intellectual work in the field. Recently she created the Cultural Resou rces structure for the first online African American Lectionary.\n \nHer e arly commitment to social and political activism is reflected in the deter mined way she has crossed categories to do her work\, including forming an d leading the internationally renowned a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. With a catalog of original compositions based in her social and political consciousness journey\, which provided voice for the mass action s in the struggle against racism in the 1960’s\, the elder Reagon’s so ngs provide a contemporary window extending from that transformative perio d forward.\n \nOf Toshi Reagon\, The New Yorker said\, “...her live show s shower retro funk\, urban blues\, and folk on the audience with evangeli cal fervor. To hear her is to believe.” Not surprisingly\, Toshi Reagon integrates a commitment to social justice into her own spirited blend of s ounds\, expressed through her fierce guitar playing and voice. Ms. Reagon an accomplished guitarist\, vocalist\, and producer—is an extraordinar y songwriter with an impressive catalog of her own compositions.\n \nShe i s fearless and has a range which allowed her to create a Delta blues perfo rmance for 651 Arts in Brooklyn\, and then bring to the Jessye Norman Carn egie Hall Anthology Concert a contemporary blues tinged rendering that pro vided an essential evening from roots to more evolved forms. In addition t o these performance commissions\, Toshi Reagon has performed with a wide v ariety of artists from Chaka Kahn\, Nona Hendryx\, Pete Seeger\, Ani Difra nco\, Lenny Kravtiz\, and Liz Wright\, with whom she has worked as a songw riting collaborator.\n \nThis evening is possible because one of Toshi Rea gon’s most consistent collaborators is her mother\, serving as music dir ector as well as creating the orchestral instrumentation for the 1993 oper a Temptations of Saint Anthony: Robert Wilson Direction and Staging\, Bern ice Johnson Reagon\, Composer. The two also joined forces in creating the music score for the Peabody Award winning WGBH PBS film series Africans In America: Slavery in America.\n \nThe Roots and Reason program is produced by Africana Studies Professor William “Bill” Banfield. This series ce lebrates the richness of blues\, gospel\, and bluegrass and their influenc e on American popular music\, while also exploring the stylistic relations hip with global folk. Guest artists featured this year include Regina Cart er\, Lionel Loueke\, Donald Harrison and music from the Caribbean\, the Mi ssissippi Delta\, Ireland and more. DTSTART:20100218T000000 DTEND:20100218T000000 LOCATION: SUMMARY:Roots and Reason: Bernice Johnson and Toshi Reagon TRANSP:TRANSPARENT END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR