Columbus Symphony Orchestra: African Portraits

Hear the CSO perform Lokumbe's acclaimed oratorio African Portraits plus works by Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland.

Noted composer Hannibal Lokumbe's oratorio African Portraits is a depiction of slavery and its troubled legacy that draws on the rich musical heritage of spirituals, blues, and jazz forged by slaves and their descendents in America. For African Portraits, the CSO is joined by a jazz band led by composer and trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe, an African drum troupe drawn from Columbus-based Tony West and the Imani Dancers, and a large gospel choir directed by Reverend Raymond Wise, who directs Ohio State's gospel ensemble.

Lokumbe's work is influenced by the spirituals he listened to while working in the cotton fields of Texas, as well as the drums of the Masai in Africa where he lived. Guest conductor Christopher Wilkins was one of the creative forces behind the acclaimed 2001 production of Peer Gynt presented by the symphony and Ohio State's College of the Arts at the Wexner Center.

Presented by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in association with the Wexner Center as part of the Huntington CSO Great Performers Series.