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Black Music Seen

Black Music Seen

By: Black Orchestral Network
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About this listen

The Black Music Seen Podcast highlights and celebrates Black musicians in genres where Black people are seldom seen. Produced by the Black Orchestral Network, Black Music Seen serves to lift our voices and tell our stories.Copyright 2022 All rights reserved. Music
Episodes
  • Rosalyn Story, Violin
    Jun 26 2025

    On today’s episode, we’re joined by violinist, writer, and cultural historian Rosalyn Story.

    For more than 30 years, Rosalyn Story has performed violin with the Fort Worth Symphony — but her artistry doesn’t stop there. She’s also a novelist, a journalist, and a passionate keeper of Black musical history. Whether chronicling the legacy of opera trailblazers like Sissieretta Jones or guiding students through the soundscape of African American music, Rosalyn brings a rare kind of dual fluency — one grounded in both performance and storytelling.

    In this episode, she shares how a $0.75 violin class in Kansas City sparked a lifelong passion, what it meant to be the only Black musician in the room, and how music — especially jazz — continues to sustain her in moments of grief and resistance.

    It’s a conversation about resilience, reverence, and the many ways we remember who we are — through sound, through stories, and through one another.

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    46 mins
  • Quenton Blache, Cellist and Composer
    May 29 2025

    In today’s episode, we’ll meet 23-year-old Quenton Blache, a remarkable cellist and composer. Quenton has performed with prestigious groups like the National Youth Orchestra of the USA and Sphinx Virtuosi. He has also been commissioned to create works for the Sphinx Virtuosi, North Carolina Chamber Music Institute, and Little Orchestra Society.

    Quenton is particularly passionate about composing for visual media and has scored numerous short films and documentaries. Today, he joins us to discuss his latest project, "To Whom I Pray," an audiovisual piece.

    We'll explore Quenton's journey, listen to some of his works, and, at the end of the show, premiere his brand-new piece.

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    40 mins
  • Beverly Kane Baker, Viola
    May 22 2025

    On today’s episode, we’re talking with Beverly Kane Baker—a pioneering violist whose career has spanned decades, stages, and generations. From her early training at Juilliard to her role as principal violist with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Beverly has carved out a legacy grounded in excellence, community, and spiritual purpose.

    In our conversation, she reflects on growing up in a music-filled neighborhood, the mentors who shaped her, and the values of discipline, service, and joy that continue to guide her life. We also talk about what it means to show up—fully and authentically—as a Black woman in classical music spaces, and how she continues to inspire the next generation.

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    1 hr and 13 mins
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