Author: Morgan Flake
A trumpet blasts from the back of the auditorium as Dr. Ronald C. McCurdy approaches the stage. A screen lights up with images of the Harlem Renaissance and the band begins to play. The words of Langston Hughes fill the hall.
Last Thursday, Nov. 20 students gathered in Thorne Hall for the Langston Hughes Project as part of Valuing Diversity Week. Put on by Occidental’s Intercultural Community Center and sponsored by the departments of Music, Critical Theory and Social Justice, and English and Comparative Literary Studies, the event proved to be successful.
McCurdy, a professor of music at University of Southern California created the project to expand music knowledge. As he read Langston Hughes’ poem “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods of Jazz,” his quartet played accompanying music while a screen, displaying a montage of images of prominent Harlem Renaissance figures and video clips of dancers, African drummers and nature, complemented his poetry.
“The compilation of images is intended to flow with the music and text,” McCurdy said. “We wanted room for imagination, enough space for the listener to complete Hughes’s sentences.”
Langston Hughes published the poem in 1961 as homage to the struggle of African Americans for freedom and equality. The Newport Jazz Festival in part inspired him to write the piece. In the margins of the poems, he wrote musical suggestions for accompaniment. He passed away before he could bring the project to full fruition.
McCurdy began work on this project 10 years ago, and in 2001 he composed the music with pianist Eli Brueggemann, based on the cues written by Hughes. He sees the project as a means to connect young people with history.
“A lot of students around the country are disconnected from history. Knowing history helps you to be a more whole and well-rounded person. Our intent is to create a very thought-provoking experience and give you enough thirst for you to do further exploration of Langston Hughes and other Harlem Renaissance artists,” McCurdy said.
Students interacted with the performance with clapping, snapping, and cheering. For many, jazz can be a soporific lullaby, but in combination with vocals and visuals, the production was almost overwhelming.
“The incorporation of the visual with the music was great,” said Krissy Leahy (sophomore), one of the programming assistants who helped put on the event.
“It’s such an important part of history. Jazz is the basis for so many forms of music today,” added Edith Zamora (sophomore), another programming assistant.
The programming assistants designed posters, distributed tickets in the quad, and helped with sound checks before the show. They also helped Associate Director of Intercultural Affairs Naddia Palacios acquire the donations from various departments that were vital to putting on the event. Palacios has been working on bringing the Langston Hughes Project to campus since September 2007.
McCurdy’s quartet has put on the Langston Hughes Project hundreds of times in the past few years.
“We’ve been everywhere from here to North Carolina,” said McCurdy. “As educators, our mission is to enlighten and inspire.”
The Intercultural Community Center decided to incorporate the Langston Hughes Project into its Valuing Diversity Week because this year’s theme was “Music of the People.”
“It worked perfectly with the theme, telling the story of the forced migration of African Americans and of the Harlem Renaissance,” Palacios said.
The only shortcoming seemed to be a want of energy due to a smaller than expected audience. Yet McCurdy´s powerful voice resonated deeply with the audience. Impressive solos on the trumpet, bass, piano, and drums captivated students. The enthusiasm of the audience was observable, but not tangible. I can only imagine the energy the group felt when it performed at Carnegie Hall.
The Langston Hughes Project gave students an opportunity to gain a stronger connection to history and their community through the common enjoyment of music and spoken word. Hopefully McCurdy will inspire students to delve further into the subject matter of “Ask Your Mama” to gain insight into history and a greater appreciation of diversity.
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