On Wednesday, November 30, Boyer College of Music and Dance students will present The Music of the Great Migration: A Student Performance. The program, produced as well as performed by students, is the result of their semester-long research of the culture, music, and history of this time period. This performance marks the culmination of their hard work, creativity, and talent and will begin at 12:00 PM in the Ground Floor Lecture Hall at Paley Library.

The Music of the Great Migration: A Student Performance features musical performances by: Noah Hockner-trumpet, Silas Irvine-piano, Josh Lee-Bari sax, Chris Lewis-tenor sax, Chris Oatts-alto sax, Nathan Pence-bass, and Donavan Pope-drums.

This performance is the final event in Temple University Libraries’ programming series The Music of the Great Migration, marking the 100th anniversary of the historic and culturally important movement of 6 million African Americans to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West. This series featured musical performances, exhibitions, and film screenings, and encouraged students, faculty, and community members to enjoy the music of the Great Migration and participate in dialogues about the notable figures and history behind the music.

Here’s a look back at our semester of programming:

Coltrane Festival at the Bell Tower, photo courtesy of Ryan S. Brandenberg

The Music of the Great Migration kicked off during Homecoming with the Coltrane Festival at the Bell Tower. Crowds gathered to enjoy the warm weather and the music of Philadelphia Jazz great John Coltrane as performed by the Chris Lewis Group, Bootsie Barnes Group, Tim Warfield Group, and Ben Schachter Group.

Coltrane Festival at the Bell Tower, photo courtesy of Ryan S. Brandenberg

What Coltrane Means to Me panel discussion, photo courtesy Brae Howard

What Coltrane Means to Me: Musicians Discuss the Influence and Impact of the Jazz Great provided another opportunity to learn about John Coltrane and his continuing presence in Jazz music. Jazz musicians and critics shared their personal experiences with Coltrane’s innovative music and the impact it has had on their own work. The discussion was preceded by a Meet and Greet at the Blockson Collection.

What Coltrane Means to Me meet and greet at the Blockson Collection, photo courtesy Brae Howard

While The Music of the Great Migration: A Student Performance is the final event in the programming series, there are still opportunities for you to explore the legacy of John Coltrane and the Great Migration. The Blockson Collection is currently exhibiting A Love Supreme, a collection of album covers, photographs, posters, and other heirlooms related to John Coltrane which will be on display through December. Also at the Blockson Collection is Lord I’m Moving On: Celebrating the Great Migration. This exhibition runs through January and tells the story of the Great Migration, with a special emphasis on Philadelphia. We encourage you to stop by the Blockson Collection to check out these exhibitions before the student performance.

The Music of the Great Migration is presented in collaboration with: the Philadelphia Jazz Project, Ars Nova Workshop, Boyer College of Music and Dance, and Scribe Video Center, with a special thanks to Terell Stafford, director of jazz studies and chair of instrumental studies at Boyer.

Join us as we continue our Beyond the Page public programming series this fall. We look forward to presenting two upcoming programs that center around essential questions related to food, social justice, and activism. These programs explore food through social and cultural perspectives, including race and sexual politics. We hope to see you at the Paley Library Lecture Hall (1210 Polett Walk, Ground Floor) for:

• The Color of Food: Discussing Food Justice, Food Activism, and Farmers of Color with Dara Cooper, Kirtrina Baxter and Chris Bolden Newsome
  October 25
  On Tuesday, October 25 at 2:30 PM, community organizers Kirtrina M. Baxter, Dara Cooper, and Chris Bolden Newsome will be at the Libraries to discuss racial disparities in the food movement, strengthening community work through food, and advocating for food sovereignty in communities of color.

• Carol J. Adams on the Sexual Politics of Meat
  November 3
  The following week, Carol J. Adams, feminist, activist, and writer, comes to the Libraries on Thursday, November 3 at 2:30 PM. She will present a slideshow in which she analyzes images in popular culture through an ecofeminist approach, demonstrating the interconnected oppressions of sexism, racism, and speciesism.

Both of these programs are part of Seeing Stories: Visualizing Sustainable Citizenship, a series co-curated by Temple Contemporary and Temple University’s Office of Sustainability, along with faculty and graduate students from the Tyler School of Art, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Center for the Cinematic and Performing Arts.

Check out our full schedule of lectures, concerts, exhibits, panels, and more. As always, programs are free and open to all.

Starting this fall, Temple University Libraries will bring you two curated, collaborative series, in addition to the varied lectures, panels, performances, and concerts that serve as Beyond the Page public programming staples. Read on for a preview of our exciting lineup of programming for the upcoming academic year.

Visualizing Sustainability is our series co-curated by Temple Contemporary and Temple University’s Office of Sustainability, as well as faculty and graduate students from the College of Liberal Arts and Tyler School of Art. This series will engage tangible, aesthetic, design, and activist practices that impact our environment. Look forward to discussions of food justice and activism, public art, bird migrations, and so much more.

The Libraries will also bring you a series around Migrations, with a particular focus on the music of the Great Migration. 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of this historic and culturally important movement of African Americans to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West. We are partnering with the Philadelphia Jazz Project, Ars Nova, and the Boyer College of Music and Dance to bring you programs and exhibitions on John Coltrane, as well as public performances of John Coltrane’s music and other compositions of the time period.

All programs are free and open to all. Check out the program schedule as it becomes available and make sure to check back for updates and new programs as we move into fall.