Black Ball: The Negro Leagues and the Blues (MAP 2017)

Rube_Foster_Blackball

ABOUT THE GRANT

  • $26,050 to support Black Ball: The Negro Leagues and the Blues (MAP 2017)
  • $5,817 to general operating support for Yerba Buena Gardens Festival

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Black Ball: The Negro Leagues and the Blues is an original suite for big band orchestra, vocal ensemble, announcer, shadow ball pitcher and catcher, inspired by the history of the Negro Leagues that made a significant contribution to American life and paved the way for the Civil Rights Movement. The birth of the Blues in America coincides with the birth of the Negro Leagues, and both cultural institutions helped African-Americans endure and creatively deal with the horrific forces of segregation, lynchings, Jim Crow, and domestic terrorism. Black Ball will be a multi-part suite that honors this history.


LEAD ARTISTS

Marcus Shelby
Marcus Shelby Orchestra