Music for the Soul
“Divine music… warm and casual vibe”
Music for the Soul is a concert series that grew out of my love for under-appreciated composers that are somehow “different,” or outsiders in some way. Often featuring creators of color and women, it is a continuation and expansion of my work with Nathaniel Dett’s music. My vision is to combine these wonderful works with well-known masterpieces, bringing them together as artists that influence each other and breathe the same air.
Now in its sixth season, Music for the Soul was born during the chaotic beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the world needed the bonding of the human community that music provides more than ever – online then, and now presented in a hybrid format, both in-person and streamed. Conversation with in-person and online audience members allows me and my guests to dive deeper into these extraordinary works and provide an interactive experience.
The Music for the Soul series also expands into recording projects that bring these works to an even broader listening world. The lush and moving “Sonata in E minor” by Florence Price, a piano sonata in the grand tradition written by an African-American woman, is scheduled for release in February 2026 on the Navona label.
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For information about upcoming Music for the Soul concerts, subscribe to our newsletter!
Full Music for the Soul Presentations
Bronze, Ebony & Ivory:
Music for the Soul’s First Hybrid Concert
Performed on Saturday, August 14th, 2021
With Risë Kagan-Erickson, solo handbells
Clara & Robert:
The Romance & Romanticism of a Timeless Power Couple
Performed on June 6th and June 12th, 2021
With Lenuta Ciulei, violin and George Atanasiu, cello
Works by Clara and Robert Schumann
Chopin in Context:
The Women Before and After
Performed on March 7th, 2021
Works by Chopin, Szymanowska, and Chaminade
Troubled Water: Black Voices in Classical Music
A Concert and Conversation
In Collaboration with the Voter Participation Center
Performed on Sunday, May 2nd, 2021
With works by R. Nathaniel Dett, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Tania León
Music for the Soul’s Debut Concert
Performed on April 5th, 2020
Two Nocturnes, Op. 23 – F. Chopin
Enchantment – R. Nathaniel Dett
Sonata in C, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”) – L. van Beethoven
The Music of R. Nathaniel Dett
Performed July 8th, 2020
Princeton Summer Chamber Concert Series
In the Silence of the Secret Night:
An Evening of Russian Tragic Romances
Performed on November 29th, 2020
“The Lark” (from A Farewell to Saint Petersburg) – M. Glinka
“Daisies” Op. 38, No. 3 – S. Rachmaninoff
“In the Silence of the Secret Night” Op. 4, No. 3 – S. Rachmaninoff
Sonata No. 5 (2020), world premiere – D. Finko
Moment Musicaux in Db, Op. 16, No. 5 – S. Rachmaninoff
Prelude in C minor, Op. 23, No. 7 – S. Rachmaninoff
The Diaries of Maria Bashkirtseva (2018), world premiere – D. Finko