John Michael CooperHOW TO GET OUT OF THIS MESS AND LET AMERICA BE AMERICA AGAINThis week, the Republican-appointed majority of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court that the President of the United States enjoys immunity…Jul 3Jul 3
John Michael CooperTHE HOUSTON EBONY OPERA GUILD SINGS THE PRICE OF FREEDOM.Part 3 of 3: Florence Price’s Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, the Trapp Family Singers, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and an Austro-German…May 28May 28
John Michael CooperTHE HOUSTON EBONY OPERA GUILD SINGS THE PRICE OF FREEDOM.My previous post described a brilliantly programmed concert to be given in celebration of Juneteenth — its history, its trials and…May 221May 221
John Michael CooperTHE HOUSTON EBONY OPERA GUILD SINGS THE DREAM OF FREEDOM, AND ITS PRICE (Part 1 of 3)On 23 June 2024, at 4:00 p.m. CT, the Houston Ebony Music Society, Inc., and Houston Ebony Opera Guild will offer a magnificently conceived…May 18May 18
John Michael CooperLANGSTON HUGHES AND MAX ROACH, MEET JOHNNY BUTLER AND TOM TEASLEYIT’S NOT LANGSTON HUGHES’S BEST-KNOWN POEM, not by a long shot. I first encountered it perhaps ten or twelve years ago in the context of…Mar 211Mar 211
John Michael CooperBLACK REINSCRIPTION, WHITE REPRISAL: ELIZABETH KECKLEY AND MARGARET BONDS(Prefatory note: I began this first of the twelve Black History months of 2024–25 down with simultaneous COVID and flu — and the lost time…Feb 29Feb 29
John Michael CooperSEQUINA DUBOSE: FROM “BLURRED LINES,” A MESSAGE CRYSTAL CLEAR (1 of 2)In some ways, the year 2023 was a year of revanchism and regression in classical music. Just a few years earlier, many voices —…Feb 17Feb 17
John Michael CooperMargaret Bonds and The Ballad of the Brown KingSome Historical Errata, Corrigenda, and AddendaNov 11, 2023Nov 11, 2023
John Michael CooperFor Anyone Who Has Wondered;Or, How Margaret Bonds and Florence Price Came to Be My “Whys”Nov 6, 2023Nov 6, 2023
John Michael CooperThe Tombstone’s Tale (2)This post is an update to my post of March 26, 2023.Oct 6, 2023Oct 6, 2023