Homegrown / Verde: An Evening of Music

In celebration of the Tampa Museum of Art’s exhibition Verde: Poetics of Shade, the Museum and its NextGen Committee present an evening of music, art, and networking. The evening’s highlight includes world premiere musical performances of original works by Black women composers Alana Scott, Jordan Davidson, and Crystal Birdsong in response to the exhibition Verde. The composers will introduce their original compositions and discuss how they collaborated with Homegrown New Music Ensemble to create the arrangement for the performance.

The event will include a cocktail hour on the terrace, live music performances, and an opportunity to meet some of the composers for the evening music, the artists of Verde, and the musicians from Homegrown. Attendees will get a chance to participate in a Q&A to learn more about the works performed and visit the galleries to view the exhibition before it closes on July 24.

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About the Composers

Crystal Birdsong

Dr. Crystal Birdsong is a native of Shreveport, Louisiana. She is a classically trained pianist who strives to be well versed in all instrumentation through the study of Composition. Ms. Birdsong received her PhD in Music Composition with a minor in Piano Performance under the tutelage of the Boyd Professor of Music, Dr. Dinos Constantinides at LSU. Her dissertation was entitled, “Old School for the New School: Discussing the Importance of Motown Records in American Music History.” She attended and received a Bachelor’s of Music in Theory and Composition at The Centenary College of Louisiana. Ms. Birdsong has also received a Masters of Music in Composition at The Louisiana State University.

Before her graduate studies, Ms. Birdsong was an instructor at the Noel Community Arts Program in Shreveport, Louisiana, which helped children in the surrounding neighborhood become more exposed to music and the arts. She is also the current piano faculty at Center Stage Performing Arts Academy in Gonzales, LA.

She has always been a huge fan of collaboration, and has been highly active in the music community in Baton Rouge. She has written and performed for the LSU Chamber Singers, as well as providing her voice for the Red Stiff Riffs vocal jazz ensemble, and various choirs in the area. She is currently an educator, piano teacher and choir director in the Baton Rouge area.

Jordan Davidson

Jordan Davidson, B.M. ’22, is a composer, cellist and artist raised in Oberlin, Ohio. Davidson grew up improvising on the keyboard in church. As a high school student, she began composition lessons at Lorain County Community College (LCCC), where she studied with Jeffrey Mumford. During the same period, Davidson studied cello with Kathy Wainwright at Oberlin Conservatory’s Community Music School. In the fall of 2016, she continued her cello studies with Wainwright and her composition work with Mumford as a student at LCCC. Davidson is now a senior at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she studied composition with Marti Epstein her first year, Eun Young Lee her second year, Tina Tallon her third year, and now Jonathan Bailey Holland in her fourth year. In tandem with her composition studies, Jordan also studies cello with Patrice Jackson-Tilghman. Additionally, as a senior, she has taken private conducting lessons with Vimbayi Kaziboni. In the fall of 2022, she will commence a Ph.D. program in Integrative Studies at the University of California—San Diego. Learn more: creativitybyjordan.com

Alana Scott

Alana Scott graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge with a degree in Vocal Music Education and studies in Composition.

Instagram: @alanascott.music

Facebook: @alana.scott.315

About Homegrown New Music Ensemble

Homegrown New Music Ensemble is a group of musicians specializing in creative placemaking and community partnerships. We work closely with composers and curators to present exciting, innovative music to audiences of all kinds. Our concerts feature a wide spectrum of styles, which reflect our community’s voices and share the artistic vision of our collaborators. Through live performance, documentation, commissions, and strategic collaborations, we work to share the music of our communities. Our collaborations and artistic programming seek to foster a deep appreciation for art-making and community citizenship through exciting music and exceptional performances. Homegrown was founded in 2019 by award-winning artists Michelle Kim-Painter, Michael Standard, Albina Khaliapova, and Eduard Teregulov, and is a registered nonprofit organization based in Tampa, FL. Learn more: homegrownnewmusic.org

About NextGen at the Tampa Museum of Art

NextGen at the Tampa Museum of Art is a vibrant initiative to create inclusive opportunities for Tampa Bay community members in their 20s, 30s, and 40s to meet and mingle around a shared interest in art and culture. Whether you consider yourself an art connoisseur or it’s your first time ever visiting an art museum, NextGen events let you spend a fun evening chatting with friends, discovering something new inside the Tampa Museum of Art, and enjoying the best sights of Tampa’s Riverwalk with a cocktail in hand. Learn more about NextGen

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