FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 22, 2019
MEDIA CONTACT: KIRA CALM LEWIS - 301-446-3327; Kira.CalmLewis@pgparks.com - or -
IYANA MOORE - 301-446-3313; Iyana.Moore@pgparks.com
Women in Music:
M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation’s Spring 2019 Lecture Series
Riverdale, MD – Explore the vibrant history of African American women in music during M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation’s lecture series. Discover the barrier breakers, earth shakers, and hitmakers who paved the way for today’s artists.
WHAT: The Music of Portia Washington Pittman
WHEN: Saturday, February 23, 2019, 1 PM
WHERE: Marietta House Museum, 5626 Bell Station Road Glenn Dale, MD 20769
COST: $5/person
Portia Washington Pittman, 1883-1978, was the oldest and only daughter of Booker T. Washington. She had become an accomplished pianist by age 10 and completed her college degree in music at Bradford Academy in Massachusetts. October 1907, she married architect William Sydney Pittman, and settled with him in Fairmount Heights in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The Pittman family moved to Dallas Texas in 1913, and Portia began teaching music in a Dallas high school named for her father. After retirement, she devoted herself to recognition of her father’s place in history, and died in Washington, D.C., in 1978.
WHAT: The Music of Pearl Bailey
WHEN: Saturday, March 9, 2019, 1 PM
WHERE: Marietta House Museum, 5626 Bell Station Road Glenn Dale, MD 20769
COST: $5/person
Pearl Bailey, 1918-1990, was a singer and actress. She toured during WWII with the USO, and after many Broadway productions, hosted her own variety series in 1971. Pearl Bailey received the Screen Actors Guild’s “Life Achievement Award” and was appointed Special Ambassador to the United Nations in 1975. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988.
WHAT: The Music of Ella Fitzgerald
WHEN: Saturday, April 6, 2019, from 1 PM
WHERE: Marietta House Museum, 5626 Bell Station Road Glenn Dale, MD 20769
COST: $5/person
As we celebrate International Jazz Month, we bring you Ella Fitzgerald, “The First Lady of Song,” 1917–1996. It is noted that Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the U.S. for more than half a century. She won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums. In her rendition of “You Have to Swing It”, she began experimenting with scat, and her improvisation and vocalization wowed her fans. In 1987, Ella was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
WHAT: The Music of Aretha Franklin
WHEN: Saturday, June 8, 2019 from 1 PM
WHERE: Marietta House Museum, 5626 Bell Station Road Glenn Dale, MD 20769
COST: $5/person
Aretha Franklin, “Queen of Soul”, 1942-2018, was the first female artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2008, she won her 18th Grammy Award. Aretha Franklin performed at the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and at the presidential inaugurations of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. She received both a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Kennedy Center Honor, and in 2005, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Light refreshments will be served during a meet and greet following each lecture program. To reserve a space and for additional information, please call 301-464-5291.