Tuesday, October 16, 2012; 7 p.m.

Location: Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, ME

Contact: Elizabeth Nash; 774-1822

Website: mainehistory.org

Tuesday, October 16, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

In partnership with the Longfellow Chorus

Roundtable Discussion: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and His Music in America, 1900–1912

Moderated by: Charles Kaufmann, Director, Longfellow Chorus

Some say that Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s single claim to fame rests on his opera-like setting of Longfellow’s epic poem, Song of Hiawatha, which was performed numerous times during the composer’s lifetime. But 100 years after his death on September 1, 1912, Afro-English composer Coleridge-Taylor’s larger impact and influence on American culture remains largely unsung. The list of his musical works includes over 100 compositions written in the classical style of the late-Victorian and Edwardian periods—nearly two dozen are settings of Longfellow’s poetry.

Join us as six noted historians and scholars gather in a roundtable discussion to answer this question: “Who was Samuel Coleridge-Taylor?” The event will be filmed as a scene for Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912) and His Music in America, 1900–1912, a documentary being produced by The Longfellow Chorus for premiere in Portland during the March 12–17, 2013, Longfellow Choral Festival.