A Celebration of Afro American Music

The times are changing, and the music is changing with them. Many types of musical art could be lost, but styles founded by African American artists are here to stay, thanks to the vision and dedication of Grambling alumnus Dr. James T. Johnson, founder of the Afro American Music Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We get to reap the benefit of his foresight in this enthusiastic celebration of jazz, blues, gospel and Negro spirituals as we enjoy A Celebration of Afro American Music with the Boys Choir of the Afro American Music Institute at the Lincoln Parish Library on Saturday, July 25 at 7:00 p.m. in the Library Events Center. This event is free and open to the public, so all lovers of African American music heritage can come and enjoy this moving event. The Afro American Music Institute of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the brain child of Dr. James T. Johnson, an alumnus of Grambling State University and The University of Pittsburgh. As an ethnomusicologist, Dr. Johnson was keenly aware of the strength of the African American musical heritage in the United States, as well as its rapidly disappearing performance. In 1982, he and his wife Pamela began to run music classes at the St. James AME Church with a curriculum he designed as part of his doctoral studies in ethnomusicology, a study of music in different cultures. Now, over thirty years later, the Afro American Music Institute is a thriving school that includes classes in a wide range of instruments that includes theory, ear training, and jazz improvisation, performance groups such as the Boys Choir and Jazz Lab, and the Summer Music Intensive, a two-week camp that uses an immersive experience to teach music fundamentals. Through their long-term commitment, the incredible heritage of the African American people is being taught and continued in a new generation.