Thanks to Darin Atwater and his Soulful Symphony for one of the coolest evenings in recent entertainment memory. Performed as a world premiere at Strathmore Hall on May 20th and Meyerhoff in Baltimore on the 21st, Atwater's symphony combined with a raucous and talented chorus, dancers, and two rap groups who brought new energy to the usually staid symphony tones. Atwater's Soulful Symphony is a partnership with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, but the fusion Paint Factory show is brand new and can't miss. The heavily African American performers -- so unusual in the symphony world -- brought the crowd to its feet. One of my friends called it church for nighttime, and while the content was not religious, it was consciously uplifting but not too cloying.
Atwater is shifting the cultural needle with a new form of entertainment and music that breaks down walls and invites a huge swath of new listeners in.
If you get the chance, catch Paint Factory or the Soulful Symphony and come ready to dance. For more background on the show, check out these pretty divergent reviews from the Baltimore Sun and the Washington Post:
Trumpeting Diversity
A Rare Majority-Black Orchestra Tries to Build Cultural and Racial Bridges
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/21/AR2007052101623.html
Making rap nice is counterintuitive
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/music/bal-to.poppaint21may21,1,3793372.story?ctrack=4&cset=true
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