Marques Jerrell Ruff

As far as I’m concerned, every day is my Mother’s Day!

💐

Three years ago today, I had the honor of spending a week with Michael Tilson Thomas and his beloved husband, Joshua Robison. They welcomed me into their Miami home with a warmth that made me feel like an old friend.

It’s impossible to trace the story of American music over the past three decades without feeling MTT’s imprint—his artistry, his care, his intention, and that quiet insistence on excellence that called you higher.

My spirit rejoices in his triumphant return to God and reunion with Josh… but there’s no denying the world feels a little dimmer without him.

Carnegie Hall debut.

Some stages you dream about.
Some moments you pray through.
Some arrivals feel bigger than you.

This is all three. ✨
———

Intention. Presence. Awakening.
Meet us at This Place next weekend in Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri.

BLK History Month

If Black History Month is not
viable then wind does not
carry the seeds and drop them
on fertile ground
rain does not
dampen the land
and encourage the seeds
to root
sun does not
warm the earth
and kiss the seedlings
and tell them plain:
You’re As Good As Anybody Else
You’ve Got A Place Here, Too

-Nikki Giovanni

I’m looking forward to this evening as my colleagues and I in the Arkansas State University Department of Music present a recital entitled From Harlem, with Love.

I curated this program as a celebration of the intellectual and creative brilliance of the Harlem Renaissance. Luminaries such as Claude McKay, H. T. Burleigh, Florence Price, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Margaret Bonds helped shape American culture and redefined representations of Black life in America through their contributions to poetry, music, and art.

Throughout the recital, poetry serves as a thread—guiding us between instrumental and vocal works and culminating in a collective reading of James Weldon Johnson’s epic poem, The Creation. We are especially honored to welcome the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Communication at Arkansas State University, Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch, as our narrator.

If you’re able to join us in person, the recital begins at 7:30 p.m. (CST). A YouTube livestream link is included below.

Faculty Recital Series Showcase: "From Harlem, With Love" A-State Faculty Recital Series Showcase"From Harlem, With Love"Program:Reading: Passion Zora - Neale Hurston (1891-1960) Dean Cherisse Jones-BranchThe G...

ᒪᙓT’S ᙅᗩᒪᒪ TᕼIS Tᕼᙓ ᕼOᙏᙓᙅOᙏIᑎᘜ!
I am elated to return home to Connecticut —the place where it all began— to share in this special collaborative event. This will be a concert like none other. Get your tickets now!