Programs
Videmus has continued to develop dynamic programs to assist performers and scholars. We created two programs, the Lynn Bridges Memorial Award and the George Shirley Vocal Competition to encourage the study of African American composers by the next generation of performers and composers. These programs have helped countless students explore and incorporate this repertoire into their musical programming.
Videmus also encourages research, and has curated several conferences in the United States and Europe. We are also the creator of the research tool African Diaspora Music Project (ADMP), a searchable database encouraging the exploration of hundreds of composers. We have shared this free database widely, partnering with organizations such as the Minnesota Orchestra and the League of American Orchestras to present concerts of repertoire contained within the database.
Videmus is the current copyright holder for Perry and has formed an alliance with Boosey and Hawkes to publish all of her unpublished works over the next five years. Directed by Toppin, and conductors James Blachly (Experiential Orchestra) and Christopher Wilkins (Akron Symphony Orchestra and Boston Landmarks Orchestra), and supported by Kellen Gray, Jean Bernard Cerin, Renée Gilliand, Ashleigh Gordon, Julius Williams, and research assistance, ADMP/Videmus will oversee the curation, editing, and release of new publications of Perry’s works in December of 2024.
Videmus has been at the forefront of assessing the concert music industry and responding with initiatives that provide quality materials to advance study and performance.
2024 National Association of Teachers of Singing Summer Intern Program with Louise Toppin and the Videmus publication "An Anthology of African and African Diaspora songs”
Recognizing the lack of available scores of music of African American composers and initiated a program to create anthologies for singers, cellists, and pianists in 2021. Since then, we have published Margaret Bonds’ choral work St. Francis’ Prayer with Hildegard Press, released twelve anthologies with Classical Vocal Reprints Publishing – Rediscovering Margaret Bonds a series in five volumes (one with Michael Cooper), Songs of Adolphus Hailstork (five volumes), Song of the Seasons by Valerie Capers, 47 Art Songs by Harry T. Burleigh (high and low volumes) with Jean Snyder and Ann Sears, and An Anthology of African and African Diaspora Songs, intended for use by university students.
We released An Anthology of Songs of the African American Diaspora, Vol. I for the Denyce Graves Foundation, Shared Voices project in Fall of 2024. Currently we are completing an anthology of the songs of Undine Smith Moore with Carl Fischer Publishing (due for release Spring, 2025) and an anthology of African American art song for Hal Leonard (due for release Fall, 2025).
St. Francis’ Prayer – University of Utah Chamber Choir