The African American Composer Initiative (AACI) presents the works of living and historical African American composers in concert, shares video of these live concerts online, and commissions new compositions.
Upcoming Concerts:
Stay tuned for 2026 Concert dates.
Video of our 2025 Eastside College Preparatory Benefit Concerts is now available from the Concerts Tab of this website. Please share the link with others.
The 2025 program reflects the multi-generational sharing of musical traditions, from spirituals and songs to concert music and jazz. Composers represented are inheritors of these traditions, as well as creative innovators: Regina Baiocchi, Margaret Bonds, Valerie Capers, Jacqueline Hairston, Joshua McGhee, Lena McLin, Zenobia Perry, William Grant Still, and Dolores White.
Featured Video selections:
Jazz
Instrumental
Spiritual
Art Song
AACI Commission
Piano Solo
Freedom Song
Jazz
Duke Ellington’s “In a Mellow Tone” was performed by the company on Saturday, January 25, and Sunday, January 26, 2020 during the concert “Hold Fast to Dreams“ which took place at the Eastside College Preparatory School Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA.
Instrumental
“Nobody Knows the Trouble I Seen”, arranged by William Grant Still, was performed by Josephine Gandolfi, Susan C. Brown, Victoria Ehrlich, Rufus Olivier, and Carol Somersille on January 24 & 25, 2015, during the concert “Walk Together: A Musical Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr, and the 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965” at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA
Spiritual
Zenobia Powell Perry’s I Gotta Move When the Spirit Say Move, based on Spirituals from her opera Tawawa House, was performed by the company on Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29, 2017 during the concert “Let the Knowing Speak“ which took place at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA.
Art Song
Dolores White’s Give Birth to the Dream was performed by the company on Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29, 2017 during the concert “Let the Knowing Speak“ which took place at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA.
AACI Commission
Joshua McGhee “The Color of Love” was performed by Josephine Gandolfi, Susan C. Brown, Victoria Ehrlich, and John Robinson on January 24 & 25, 2015, during the concert “Walk Together: A Musical Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr, and the 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965” at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA
Piano Solo
Zenobia Powell Perry’s Nocturne was performed by the company on Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29, 2017 during the concert “Let the Knowing Speak“ which took place at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA.
Freedom Song
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize, arranged by Valerie Capers was performed by the entire company on January 30 & 31, 2016 during the concert “A Musical Celebration of Valerie Capers” at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA
Dizzy Gillespie’s Night in Tunisia was performed by the company on Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29, 2017 during the concert “Let the Knowing Speak“ which took place at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqdREle6WiY “Nobody Knows the Trouble I Seen”, arranged by William Grant Still, was performed by Josephine Gandolfi, Susan C. Brown, Victoria Ehrlich, Rufus Olivier, and Carol Somersille on January 24 & 25, 2015, during the concert “Walk Together: A Musical Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr, and the 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965” at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA
Zenobia Powell Perry’s I Gotta Move When the Spirit Say Move, based on Spirituals from her opera Tawawa House, was performed by the company on Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29, 2017 during the concert “Let the Knowing Speak“ which took place at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA.
https://youtu.be/i0EGYIJ6_Y8 Dolores White’s Give Birth to the Dream was performed by the company on Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29, 2017 during the concert “Let the Knowing Speak“ which took place at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA.
Joshua McGhee “The Color of Love” was performed by Josephine Gandolfi, Susan C. Brown, Victoria Ehrlich, and John Robinson on January 24 & 25, 2015, during the concert “Walk Together: A Musical Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr, and the 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965” at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA
https://youtu.be/cspRJPDkunI Zenobia Powell Perry’s Nocturne was performed by the company on Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29, 2017 during the concert “Let the Knowing Speak“ which took place at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA.
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize, arranged by Valerie Capers was performed by the entire company on January 30 & 31, 2016 during the concert “A Musical Celebration of Valerie Capers” at the Eastside College Preparatory School, Performing Arts Center in East Palo Alto, California, USA
One hundred percent of concert ticket proceeds and donations designated to benefit Eastside College Preparatory School go directly to the school. AACI seeks donations through this website to help further its mission of commissioning new works from African American composers and to assist with concert production and recording expenses. To date, every concert has included premieres of new works, a manifestation of AACI’s commitment to today’s composers.
Acknowledgments
Website design and construction: Allen Simon
Sound Recording: Mark Dalrymple, Phil Fox
Video recording and editing: Kurt Loeffler, Jesse Chandler, and Justine Gesell, Tylor Bohlman
Video recording: Walter Mooney, Kealani Kitaura, Eve Sutton, Dailon Weiss
