Arts and Culture
Bay Area African American Women in Music: Tramaine Hawkins takes Gospel to Selma and the Symphony
As a teenager growing up in Berkeley during the 1960s, Tramaine Hawkins, the daughter of Ronald and Lois “the Pie Queen” Davis, was well aware of the Civil Rights Movement. She was too busy, however, singing the praises of Jesus Christ at her grandfather Bishop E.E. Cleveland’s Ephesian Church of God in Christ and other churches to actively participate in the movement.
On Sunday, March 8, during the 50th anniversary of the infamous “Bloody Sunday” and the successful Selma-to-Montgomery march and passage of the Voting Rights Act that followed, Hawkins showed her support for the movement by taking part in a star-studded concert in Selma following a march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge.
Some 50,000 people attended the free concert, which also included performances by the Blind Boys of Alabama, Kirk Franklin, Doug E. Fresh, Kelly Price and Ruben Studdard. The reclusive Bill Withers spoke but let his two adult children do the singing.
“It was an awesome honor and a wonderful celebration of voting rights of African Americans,” the singer says. “My heart went out to the people there – parents, grandparents, children. It was an awesome sight to have our people come together like that to support and celebrate one another.”
Hawkins and many others were accompanied by a symphony orchestra and mass choir directed by Henry Panion III, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Panion personally invited Hawkins to appear at the concert and has written earlier symphonic arrangements of some of her songs that were performed with orchestras in Washington, D.C., and other cities.
Hawkins will next perform his arrangements with the Stockton Symphony at Christmas concerts on December 12 and 13 in the Atherton Auditorium on the San Joaquin Delta College campus in Stockton.
“I’ve always loved a challenge. I’ve always loved to spread my wings and not just do one genre of music. I’ve been a trailblazer in a lot of respects, with what I did with “Fall Down” and singing with Carlos Santana. He recorded with me on my Grammy-winning album,” she says of her 1990 album “Tramaine Hawkins Live.”
“I think the range and intimacy and fervor of my voice really stand out when I’m singing with an orchestra. It really allows me to just kind of float and have a presence over the music,” she explains. “I hear different chord structures and really play with the melodies and experiment a little bit. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
Hawkins lives near Sacramento with her husband of 20 years, Tommie Richardson Jr. She was previously married to Bishop Walter Hawkins and was a featured soloist in his Love Center Choir. She has seven grandchildren and another on the way.
“So many artists have gleaned so much from me,” she explains, now billed as Lady Tramaine Hawkins. “I’ve always been known as a lady on stage with such presence.”
Arts and Culture
Richmond Preps for Full Weekend of Cinco de Mayo Festivities
Cinco de Mayo festivities in Richmond and San Pablo are some of the bests in Bay, and organizers say that tradition will be alive and well at this weekend’s annual parade and festival. The action kicks off Saturday, May 4, with the 16th Annual Cinco de Mayo Richmond/San Pablo Peace & Unity Parade. The parade of floats, performances, and community organizations starts at 10 a.m. at 24th Street and Barrett Avenue and Richmond and ends at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 1845 Church Lane in San Pablo.
By Mike Kinney
The Richmond Standard
Cinco de Mayo festivities in Richmond and San Pablo are some of the bests in Bay, and organizers say that tradition will be alive and well at this weekend’s annual parade and festival.
The action kicks off Saturday, May 4, with the 16th Annual Cinco de Mayo Richmond/San Pablo Peace & Unity Parade. The parade of floats, performances, and community organizations starts at 10 a.m. at 24th Street and Barrett Avenue and Richmond and ends at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 1845 Church Lane in San Pablo.
The parade’s Grand Marshall this year will be community organizer Diego Garcia, owner of Leftside Printing.
The festivities continue Sunday with the Cinco de Mayo Festival along 23rd Street, which last year drew over 100,000 people, according to the 23rd Street Merchants Association. This year’s festival will again run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. between the intersections of Rheem Avenue and Clinton Avenue. It will feature two entertainment stages, one sponsored by La Raza 93.3 FM at 23rd and Rheem, and another sponsored by Radio Lazer FM at 23rd and Clinton.
Both events are important for the city and the region’s Latino community.
San Pablo Mayor Genoveva Calloway, who co-chairs the parade alongside John Marquez, president of the Contra Costa Community College District Board of Trustees, says Saturday’s festivities are about bringing the Richmond and San Pablo communities together in unity.
“This truly connects the spectators and people in the parade as one,” Calloway said. “The parade showcases the real communities of Richmond and San Pablo – our nonprofits, schools, horse riders, classic cars and trucks, our local businesses. All of these people represent the heartbeat of our community.”
Rigo Mendoza, vice president of the 23rd Street Merchants Association, said that at its heart, Richmond’s Cinco de Mayo Festival celebrates the date the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
But John Marquez started up the popular festival to bring the community together and also to exhibit the community’s businesses and culture to visitors, Mendoza said. The gathering was also a way to promote peace in the community.
Art
Mario Van Peebles’ ‘Outlaw Posse’ Screened at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre
The Oakland International Film Festival hosted a screening of “Outlaw Posse” at the Grand Lake Theatre on Monday. Special guests included director/actor Mario Van Peebles and his co-star, Oakland native Scytorya Rhodes. The film is Peebles’ second western, the first being ‘Posse,’ 13 years ago.
By Carla Thomas
The Oakland International Film Festival hosted a screening of “Outlaw Posse” at the Grand Lake Theatre on Monday. Special guests included director/actor Mario Van Peebles and his co-star, Oakland native Scytorya Rhodes. The film is Peebles’ second western, the first being ‘Posse,’ 13 years ago. Filmmaker Van Peebles shared his passion for independent artistry and producing projects with his son, Mandela, who also starred in the film, along with Whoopi Goldberg and Cedric the Entertainer. Next week, The Post will publish an in-depth interview featuring Peebles’ reflections on his work, future projects, and continuing his father’s legacy and Rhodes on her grandfather, a real-life cowboy.
Arts and Culture
Kedrick Armstrong: New Music Director for the Oakland Symphony
The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director. In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.
By Post Staff
The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director.
In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.
Armstrong is the successor to previous music director and Conductor Michael Morgan, who passed away in 2021 after a 30-year tenure at the Symphony.
Armstrong will open the Oakland Symphony 2024-2025 season on October 18.
Armstrong, who is 29 and hails from Georgetown, South Carolina, is currently the creative partner and principal conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.
The Chicago Tribune has praised Armstrong for his ability to “simply let the score speak for itself.” He enjoys a wide range of repertoire, spanning early music to premiering new works, using his joy and curiosity for all music to cultivate understanding and collaboration within diverse communities.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new music director of the Oakland Symphony,” Armstrong said. “As a Black conductor, I find it humbling to stand on the shoulders of both Michael Morgan and Calvin Simmons,” the most recent and the first African American music directors of the Symphony, respectively.
Armstrong led three programs at the Symphony between 2022 and early 2024, which showcased his broad knowledge of the classical repertoire and enthusiasm for spotlighting diverse voices.
On his Oakland Symphony subscription debut on Feb. 16, Armstrong led the world premiere of “Here I Stand: Paul Robeson,” an oratorio by Carlos Simon on a libretto by Dan Harder, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony.
Armstrong was selected unanimously by the Oakland Symphony’s board of directors and musicians after an extensive two-year search. “The search committee was overwhelmed by Kedrick’s scholarship and curiosity about all kinds of music, from classical and jazz to gospel and hip-hop,” said. Dr. Mieko Hatano, executive director of the Oakland Symphony. “We are thrilled to have him join us at the Oakland Symphony.”
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