Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement
This talk will explore how legendary jazz vocalists Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald used their acclaim to raise their voices in protest during the Civil Rights Movement. Their performances often brought fans of all races together while drawing attention to the segregation, inequality, and rampant racism that was flourishing across America. From Holiday’s haunting protest song “Strange Fruit” to Fitzgerald’s trailblazing success in opening previously segregated venues, this lecture examines how the jazz musicians worked to improve the lives of other working black artists and their fellow Americans.
Featured
Soprano ROCHELLE ELLIS, DMA Voice, is a Lecturer of Voice at Princeton University and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Voice at Westminster Choir College of Rider University. She made her New York City Opera debut as "Serena" in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, and has also performed operas with Chamber Opera Chicago and Skylight Opera Theatre. Internationally, she has performed the Verdi Requiem with the National Opera of China in Beijing, sung opera favorites at the Prague (Czech Republic) Autumn Music Festival, and performed solo recitals in Osaka and Tokyo, Japan.
In addition to maintaining voice studios at Princeton University and Westminster Choir College, Dr. Ellis is active in both Rider University and community outreach in music. She teaches in the Rider Educational Opportunity Program summer pre-college program, as well as in the Westminster Conservatory High School and Middle School Summer Vocal Institutes. She conducts the Chorale, the performance choir for the Trenton Children’s Chorus.
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