The Appalachian Chamber Music Festival (ACMF) returns to Jefferson County this month to perform multiple concerts. The 2024 season’s theme is “Our Different Voices” and the festival has commissioned a new work from composer Rufus Reid, titled “The Niagara Movement Suite,” which it will perform during a free concert on Sunday August 11 at the Mather Campus in Harpers Ferry.
Reid is well known as a jazz performer, having recorded over 500 albums since the 1970s. He is also a well-respected educator. He added composition to his repertoire two decades ago and calls himself the “evolving bassist” as he continues to explore, create and perform on an active schedule.
ACMF premiered Reid’s “Wind and Sail” composition at last summer’s festival. According to Katie Tertell, ACMF Artistic Director, “It was just magical to work with Rufus. He really got the vibe of what the festival was about, and I knew I wanted to find a way to collaborate with him further. I was overjoyed when he said yes to writing a work about the Niagara movement for us, part of a project we’ve had in the pipeline for years.”
Reid offers a similar sentiment about Tertell and ACMF, commenting that “These are world-class musicians. I was blown away by the musicianship of the ensemble. It was a delight to hear my work performed last year. I was in London earlier this year and Katie arranged to meet. When she asked if I would write a new composition, I immediately said yes.”
Reid continued, “When I got home, I thought, ‘what did I agree to?’ I was generally familiar with the Niagara Movement as the precursor to the NAACP, but researching it to create this work was an education for me as well. With this music, I hope to convey an image in the audience’s minds of the circumstances and the activist climate during that period. It’s a pretty heavy subject matter and many of the issues continue today, even if we don’t always want to talk about it openly.”
Reid says he is eager to hear the work for the first time. “I compose on paper and I’ll play it on the piano and my double bass, but you’ll hear it at the same time as I’m hearing it performed for the first time. I’m looking forward to what happens when the music hits the air.”
The 2024 Appalachian Chamber Music Festival runs from August 10 through 18 with 11 public concerts, each with a different program. Tickets for individual performances and the Festival Pass (granting admission to 10 ACMF-hosted concerts) are now on sale. Complete schedule and detailed information about each concert is available on the ACMF website at AppalachianChamber.org.
The ACMF musicians will perform several of their concerts outdoors, including the finale on August 18 at Happy Retreat in Charles Town. Photo by Brian Christopher.
By Steve Pearson