BREAKING NEWS - NYC: 24TH INTERNATIONAL DUKE ELLINGTON STUDY CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN NYC MAY 19th-22nd, 2016, PRESENTED BY DECFA
The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts' presentation of the 24th International Duke Ellington Study Conference, presented this year by The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts from Thursday, May 19th through Sunday, May 22nd, 2016, at various venues in New York City. The Conference, which is attended by approximately 200 music scholars, lecturers, Duke Ellington historians and music and jazz fans from all over the globe, is held in different countries of the world on an irregular schedule. This year the Conference is being presented by The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, which was founded in 2004 by Duke's granddaughter Mercedes Ellington, the noted dancer and choreographer, to protect and enhance the legacy of Duke Ellington, the musician, orchestra leader and composer who is universally regarded as the most prolific American composer of the 20th century. The conference, which will be held in various New York City venues associated with Duke Ellington's life and career, will feature screenings, lectures, the presentation of dissertations by noted musicologists and historians, performances of Ellington's musical compositions by renowned jazz singers, dancers and musicians, as well as a guided bus tour of the Harlem Ellington knew and loved, and a visit to the historic Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx where Duke and other jazz immortals are buried. Carmen de Lavillade, the world renowned dancer/choreographer who portrayed Madam Zajj in Duke Ellington's memorable TV special and recording, "The Drum Is A Woman," will introduce a screening of the heralded production, hosted by Mercedes Ellington, at the Paley Center for Media on the Conference's Opening Day, Thursday, May 19th. Ms. de Lavillade will be the recipient of this year's "Beyond Category Lifetime Achievement Award" which will be presented to her at an Awards Luncheon to be held at the MIST Harlem (46 West 116th Street in Harlem) on the final day of the conference, Sunday, May 22nd from 11:30 am - 2:00 am.copyright 2016 - See cabaret listings from all over the world at CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE
