June 7, 2021

Adolphus Hailstork’s aria “Tulsa 1921: Pity These Ashes, Pity This Dust” will premiere on June 19 during an online musical event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre.

Organized by the Harlem Chamber Players, Harlem Stage, and Harlem School of the Arts, the commemorative event on June 19 will also feature works by Black composers, performed by diverse ensembles of musicians and artists.

With a libretto by Herbert Woodward Martin, the aria is written for chamber orchestra and a single mezzo-soprano voice, and will be performed at the event by MSM Alumna J’Nai Bridges (BM ’09).

The story of the violent attack that took place when a mob of armed White Americans destroyed a Black American neighborhood and business district leaving dozens dead and city blocks in ashes, is told in the Aria by a young girl picking her way through the destruction, lamenting the extinguished hopes of a thriving, industrious Black community.

Register to watch here.

Read more about the event here.