Ravinia 2024 Issue 3

served as Director of Choral Studies and Assis- tant Professor of Music at Andrew College from 2013 to 2015. Thompson has a BA in Music and an MM in Choral Conducting, both from Emo- ry University. Nanny of the Maroons, or Queen Nanny, is an important national hero for the Jamaican peo- ple, as she led the courageous resistance against British colonists in the First Maroon War (1728– 40). The Maroons, the self-liberated African people that the British were attempting to return to slavery as the colonists tried to occupy the en- tire island, were victorious due to Queen Nan- ny’s brilliant military leadership and cunning. Myths and legends have arisen to fill the vac- uum of the sparse historical records of Queen Nanny’s life and legacy. Some say she practiced obeah , a hybrid religious practice among the en- slaved, and that she cast spells that caused white soldiers to drop dead when they walked into her territory. Most likely, these stories arose from the effectiveness of her guerrilla war tactics that prioritized stealth and deadly efficiency. In the context of this song, Queen Nanny’s methods of resistance against colonial violence are not as important as her absolute confidence in her power to protect her people. In this mur- der ballad disguised as a lullabye, we hear the disembodied voice of Queen Nanny beckoning the British invader, wandering through the deep Blue Mountain brush, to sleep. (The enigmatic refrain nods toward the story of Delilah, one of the oldest archetypes of feminine power.) As the song unfolds and the symptoms of her poison/ spell set in, Queen Nanny drops clues that she seeks a more eternal rest for those who seek to re-enslave her and her people. Although her gentle maternal guise evaporates for a moment of righteous indignation, the piece ends as gen- tly as it began—and slowly slips into the sleep of death. –Program note by Joel Thompson DAMIEN GETER (b. 1980) Amanirenas Damien Geter is an acclaimed composer who infuses classical music with styles from the Black diaspora to create music that furthers the cause for social justice. His growing body of work includes chamber, vocal, orchestral, and full operatic works, with his compositions being praised for their “skillful vocal writing” ( Wall Street Journal ). He is Richmond Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence, Portland Opera’s In- terim Music Director and Artistic Advisor, and Resonance Ensemble’s Artistic Advisor. This season, Des Moines Metro Opera presents the full-length world premiere of American Apollo ; Virginia Opera holds a workshop of Lov- ing v. Virginia , co-commissioned by Virginia Opera and Richmond Symphony; Chicago Symphony Orchestra programs Annunciation ; Richmond Symphony premieres a brand-new work; and The Recording Inclusivity Initiative records String Quartet No. 1 (“Neo-Soul”). Last season, Cotton had its Philadelphia and Washington, DC, premieres, Emmanuel Mu- sic performed his motet, and Geter conducted his own piece, An African American Requiem , at Fort Worth Opera and led Absence: Terence Blanchard at Portland Opera. In 2022 alone, he had six premieres: An African American Requi- em (in partnership with Resonance Ensemble and Oregon Symphony); I Said What I Said for Imani Winds (Anima Mundi Productions, Chamber Music Northwest, and The Oregon Bach Festival co-commission); Holy Ground (Glimmerglass Opera); Elegy (American Guild of Organists); The Bronze Legacy (Chicago Sym- phony Orchestra); and American Apollo (cham- ber version for Des Moines Metro Opera). Geter is an alumnus of Austrian American Mozart Festival and Aspen Opera Center, was an Irma Cooper Vocal Competition finalist, and toured with American Spiritual Ensemble. He owns DG Music, Sans Fear Publishing. When Karen Slack approached the Blacknificent 7 to be a part of the “African Queens” project, I knew immediately that my subject would be the great ruler Amanirenas, the “One-Eyed African Queen,” ruler of the kingdom of Kush. Little is known about her life, but perhaps what she is most well-known for was defeating Caesar in his failed attempt to conquer Kush. The music’s contrasting phrases highlight two sides of Amanirenas, the fierce warrior and the gentle mother, which is symbolic of the every- day queens I have known throughout my life. –Program note by Damien Geter Damien Geter KAREN SLACK A recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Ex- cellence, Karen Slack is an Artistic Advisor for Portland Opera, serves on the board of the American Composers Orchestra and Astral Art- ists, holds a faculty position at the Banff Cen- tre, and was recently named the 2024–25 Lyric Unlimited Artist-in-Residence at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Highlights of Slack’s 2023–24 season included her debuts with the New York Philhar- monic and Chamber Music Detroit, plus returns to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Fes- tival Internacional de Música Sacra Bogotá in Colombia, as well as a performance with the Pa- cifica Quartet in Denver. Slack is collaborating with ONEComposer and pianist Michelle Cann on a recording project to be released on Azica Records, and presently she is premiering her new commissioning project African Queens, an evening-length recital of new art songs by Jas- mine Barnes, Damien Geter, Jessie Montgom- ery, Shawn Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Carlos Simon, and Joel Thompson. Slack has amassed a body of work that reflects her dedication to elevating works by living composers, particular- ly Black artists. In recent seasons, she has pre- miered Okpebholo’s Songs in Flight program at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; two works by Hannibal Lokumbe with the Nashville Sympho- ny and Oklahoma City Philharmonic; Barnes’s Songs of Paul with Orpheus Chamber Orches- tra at Carnegie Hall; Geter’s Justice Symphony with the Fresno Symphony and The Washing- ton Chorus; and Thompson and Andrea Davis Pinkney’s A Snowy Day with Houston Grand Opera . She has performed on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Scottish Opera, San Francisco Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera The- atre of St. Louis, and many other companies. In concert, Slack has been featured with the Mel- bourne and Sydney Symphonies and the Bergen and St. Petersburg Philharmonics, made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and premiered Lokumbe’s Healing Tones with the Philadelphia Orchestra. A native Phila- delphian, Slack is a graduate of the Curtis Insti- tute of Music and San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program. Karen Slack was a Ravinia Ste- ans Music Institute in 2008 and is making her first return to the festival. RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 73 RACHELHADIASHAR(GETER);KIACALDWELL(SLACK)