For the New Jersey Youth Symphony's Black History Month Concert, Conductor Helen Cha-Pyo paired together the works of two young accomplished artists whose own experiences and artistic visions could serve as inspiration for the orchestra's musicians. The program for the Feb. 15 concert, which is sold out, features jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker in George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and a co-commissioned work, first premiered by the Utah Youth Symphony last year, by composer and conductor Quinn Mason called Electric Beauty. Both Whitaker, 25, who has been blind since birth, and Mason, 29, have received prestigious awards in their field and appeared on national and international stages. A program of Berkeley Heights, NJ-based Wharton Arts, the symphony will perform Mason's piece again at an April concert, and Whitaker will be honored with Wharton Arts' Trailblazer Award at its Gala, also in April.
A Tempo host Rachel Katz chats with Whitaker and Mason, as well as Cha-Pyo, Wharton Arts' Artistic Director, about the concert, their love of music, and what they hope to share with the symphony's musicians.
