The Mahogany Initiative
From the visionary mind of new TWC Artistic Director Eugene Rogers: a new artistic initiative is born.
Urgent stories for our time, and all times. Musical moments that connect us through our shared humanity. Bold voices and visions from American creators of color: composers, singers, and artists across many styles and fields.
This is TWC’s Mahogany Initiative.
Designed as a multi-year creative expression, TWC’s Mahogany Initiative seeks to center the voices and visions of creators of color across the entire spectrum of The Washington Chorus’ programs and events – lifting up, centering, and sharing brilliant creative expressions that connect, challenge, heal, and strengthen. In its first in-person full year as a major new program, The Mahogany Initiative includes TWC’s commissioning two new works from American composers of color (Roshanne Etezady and Damien Geter), the hiring of bold American artists of color including soprano Karen Slack, a series of collaborative TWC Community Sings in wards across the District of Columbia, and landmark collaborations with Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and EXIGENCE vocal ensemble, as well as with National Philharmonic on the world premiere of great American composer Adolphus Hailstork’s “A Knee on The Neck,” a Requiem Cantata for George Floyd.
TWC’s Mahogany Initiative is a multi-year, multi-genre commitment to celebrating and supporting creators of color. Join us.
“Lifting up the voices of creators of color is essential to building a world where every voice is heard and included,” says TWC Artistic Director Eugene Rogers. “TWC’s Mahogany Initiative is a theme that runs strongly through all our TWC programs in our resilient return to live programs in 2021-22 – and it’s here to stay for our next few seasons ahead. From commissioning new works from important creators, launching our free TWC Community Sings series with ‘Ain-A That Good News’ featuring music by Black composers including anthems, spirituals, and gospel pieces, to hiring and supporting extraordinary artistic talent and telling urgent stories that matter, the Mahogany Initiative emboldens and strengthens creators of color in countless ways. I’m excited to share more about this initiative as it unfolds, and to share these bold voices, visions, and creators – many of them new and emerging – to our DC regional audience.”
