“Trouble the Water”

"Trouble the Water"

Celebrating the HBCU Choral Tradition through the Music of Undine Smith Moore

March 13 & 14, 2025

The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

Symposium Presenters

Schedule

Schedule of Events

Thursday March 13

3pm-4:30pm, Zoom - Panel 1: Histories and Revitalizations

Click here to register for the Zoom link: https://ucla.zoom.us/meeting/register/VI0XL9_ZSwCGEOPJ9cc_Ow

Moderator: Raymond Knapp

Candace Bailey, "Whose Music History? The Music History Curriculum at an HBCU"

May Claire La Plante, "The history of Scott Joplin's Opera Treemonisha, and its revitalization efforts by the HBCUs"

Break

8pm, St. Paul the Apostle Church and Livestream - Trouble the Water Concert

Click here for information and livestream link: https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/event/ucla-choral-concert-winter-2025/

Friday March 14

All events take place in-person in Lani Hall, on Zoom for remote presenters, and on Livestream: https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/school-of-music-live-streams/#lani-hall

8:45am - Introductions

9am-10:30am - Panel 2: Choral Pedagogies

Moderator: Craig Robertson

Michelle Z. Gibson, "Becoming American: The Choral Music Pedagogical Implications of Place and Identity Formation in African American Spirituals"

Kaelyn Howard, "Rehearsal Processes to Non-European Choral Music and Cross Cultural Understandings: African American Spirituals"

Odell Zeigler, "Empowering Choral Directors: Strategies for Success in Urban Choral Programs"

10:30am-10:45am - Break with light refreshments

10:45am-11:45am - Panel 3: Public Outreach and Activism

Moderator: Fredara Hadley

Abimbola Cole Kai-Lewis, "The Song Ring Shout: Pursuing a Pedagogy of Healing Through Music Programming at The Apollo"

Cheryl Keyes, "An Orchestral Adaptation of Undine Smith Moore's Watch and Pray and the Juneteenth Day Celebration"

11:45am-11:50am - Break

11:50am-1:20pm - Panel 4: Song, Jazz, and Pedagogy

Moderator: Kristi Brown Montesano

Scott G. Douglass, "The Jazz Education Legacy of Virginia State College Music Professor Undine Smith Moore"

Zoe Coker, "Spring Can Really Hang Us Up the Most: Temporality, Tonality, and Trance in Defining a New Standard Amongst Black Female Jazz Vocalists"

Samantha Reavis, "Between Art Song and Activism: The Black Feminist Legacy of Bonds and Hughes"

1:20pm-2:30pm - Lunch Break (lunch provided for in-person Symposium Presenters and VSU faculty and students)

2:30pm-3:30pm - Panel 5: HBCU Histories

Moderator: Jordan Hugh Sam

Ethel Haughton, The Virginia State University Music Department and Undine Smith Moore

VSU Student presentations on oral histories

3:30pm-3:45pm - Break

3:45pm-5pm - Workshop with Craig Robertson

Dr. Robertson, Director of Choral Studies at VSU, leads an interactive workshop exploring the history, performance practice, and pedagogy of concerted spirituals and gospel music, two deeply rooted traditions in Black cultural heritage. These genres emerged from the African American experience and reflect a legacy of oppression, resilience, and hope.

Within the tradition of American choral music, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have played a pivotal role in shaping performance practices, nurturing composers, and fostering ensembles whose artistry is inseparable from activism. The Fisk Jubilee Singers challenged racial stereotypes through their powerful renditions of concert spirituals, while choral traditions on HBCU campuses became central to organizing efforts during the civil rights movement. Black choral music has long been a force for both artistic excellence and social change.

In this 75-minute workshop, Dr. Robertson draws on his expertise as an educator, conductor, and HBCU faculty member to examine the historical roots of these genres before shifting to practical considerations of style and performance. He will address common challenges encountered in teaching and conducting these musical forms, both in academic settings and as a clinician. Each section of the workshop will feature live demonstrations by the choir and invite audience participation, allowing attendees, regardless of musical background, to engage with and experience these vital Black musical traditions firsthand.

5pm-5:15pm - Break

5:15pm-6:30pm - Keynote: Fredara Hadley, "Claiming Our Space: Citing and Celebrating the Presence of HBCUs at The Juilliard School"

The event was made possible through the Professor Ciro Zoppo Graduate Student Award in Music (UCLA), Chancellor Arts Initiative (UCLA), Center for Musical Humanities (UCLA), the Dean of Humanities (UCLA), the UCLA Department of Anthropology, the UCLA Music Library Davise Fund, the Virginia State University Department of Music, the Virginia State University Concert Choir-Alumni Association, and the generous support of donors and sponsors to the Virginia State University Concert Choir Foundation. This program is made possible by the Joyce S. and Robert U. Nelson Fund. Robert Uriel Nelson was a revered musicologist and music professor at UCLA, who, together with his wife, established a generous endowment for the university to make programs like this possible.