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The Folger Spotlight

ENCORES: Jazz Funeral for Shakespeare (2016)

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Folger ENCORES, red theater seats fading into darkness
Folger ENCORES, red theater seats fading into darkness

Folger Public Programs is pleased to present ENCORES, a weekly online series highlighting past performances and recalling the rich history of programming on the historic Folger stage. As many arts and cultural institutions remain closed during this time, these ENCORES provide a way to connect and revisit the breadth of Folger offerings with a wider audience.

ENCORES presents

“The Bourbon Street Parade”
Composed by Paul Barbarin
Performed by the Liberty Brass Band
Led by Dr. Michael White
Performed as part of the Free Folger Friday: Jazz Funeral for Shakespeare
October 7, 2016

To hear the full performance, visit us on SoundCloud.

Special thanks to Stuart Rose, who made possible the exhibition of Shakespeare’s First Folio at Tulane University, part of the 2016 Folger-wide program, The Wonder of Will.

Read the introduction by clarinetist and band leader Dr. Michael White:

Hello and welcome to Folger ENCORES. I’m Dr. Michael White and I’m happy to speak with you today. The Folger has been sharing selections from their plays, music, talks, and readings with you in this ENCORES series.

This week, we are bringing you a piece from the Jazz Funeral for Shakespeare that the Liberty Brass Band, which I lead and also play clarinet in, performed at the Folger. This concert served as a final moment in a yearlong celebration, led by the Folger Shakespeare Library, marking the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. What better way to note a passing than with an authentic New Orleans style jazz funeral?

When the Folger brought one of Shakespeare’s First Folios to put on display at Tulane University, the Liberty Brass Band came together in our hometown of New Orleans to celebrate the occasion. Later that year, we were invited to Washington DC to recreate this magic performance at the Folger.

Right now you’re going to hear one of the most popular songs in all New Orleans music, “The Bourbon Street Parade,” which was composed by the great drummer Paul Barbarin, who was the uncle of one of our band members, trombonist Lucien Barbarin.

Please be sure to join us again for these weekly episodes of ENCORES, highlighting all that the Folger has to offer. Thank you.

Encores LogoCheck back each Friday for a new “from the archives” performance, introduced by some of our favorite artists, showcasing the best of Folger Theatre, Folger Consort, O.B. Hardison Poetry, and lectures.

Folger Theatre

Folger Theatre is the vibrant center piece of the Folger’s public programs. With a focus on Shakespeare, Folger Theatre produces plays reflecting the breadth of the library’s peerless collection. In this unique setting, with collaborations between artists and experts, Folger Theatre produces innovative stagings that have been commended as “breathtakingly original...strikingly contemporary” (The Washington Post). Led since 1991 by Artistic Producer Janet Alexander Griffin, Folger Theatre has received 135 nominations and 23 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in acting, direction, design, and production. During the recent seasons Folger Theatre has received the Outstanding Resident Play Award for its productions of Measure for Measure in 2007, Hamlet in 2011 and The Taming of the Shrew in 2013. Other highlights from Folger Theatre’s producing history include these Helen Hayes Award recipients or nominees for outstanding production: Romeo and Juliet (2013), Orestes: A Tragic Romp (2010), Henry VIII (2010), Arcadia (2009), Macbeth (2008), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (2006), Melissa Arctic (2006), She Stoops to Conquer (2002), Shakespeare’s R & J (2001), Much Ado About Nothing (1998), and Romeo and Juliet (1997). — View all posts by Folger Theatre