Black Violin at Fox Theater

Name: Black Violin at Fox Theater
Start: 2024-10-13T19:30:00-07:00
Location: Fox Theater - Oakland

Schedule

Sun Oct 13 2024 at 07:30 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Fox Theater - Oakland | Oakland, CA

Black Violin is bringing BV20: Then & Now to the historic Fox Theater in Oakland on October 13th, 2024!
The Another Planet Entertainment presale begins Wednesday, May 22nd at noon (password = heron) via TheFoxOakland.com.
The general on sale begins Thursday, May 23rd at 10am!
Please note presale tickets are only available online.
LISTEN TO BLACK VIOLIN:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4zeHJ3kiJyjYXlIOcG4MA7?si=cNQmWgYpR2OrJlyZMmPXYQ
WATCH BLACK VIOLIN:
https://www.youtube.com/user/BlackViolinTV
ABOUT BLACK VIOLIN:
For nearly two decades, Black Violin has been merging string arrangements with modern beats and vocals and building bridges in communities along the way. Members Kev Marcus and Wil Baptiste first met in orchestra class at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, becoming classically trained on the violin and viola through their high school and college careers. Post-college, they reconvened to produce beats for South Florida rappers, and began building an audience in local clubs. They later went on to win Showtime at the Apollo in 2005, and eventually sold out headline performances at venues across the country, including a sold out two-night headline run at The Kennedy Center in 2018. NPR took note and declared “their music will keep classical music alive for the next generation.” Black Violin’s 2019 album release, Take the Stairs, earned a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album”. The band also recently received their second ever Grammy Award nomination for the track “The Message” as Best Americana Performance, in collaboration with The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Black Violin has plays roughly 200 shows a year; many of which are performances for young, low-income students in urban communities. In the last year alone, the group has played for over 100,000 students with the goal of challenging stereotypes and preconceived notions of what a “classical musician” looks and sounds like. “The stereotypes are always there, embedded so deep in our culture,” says Wil. “Just by nature of our existence we challenge those ideas. It’s a unique thing that brings people together who aren’t usually in the same room, and in the current climate, it’s good to bring people together.”

In 2019, the group launched the Black Violin Foundation Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth by providing access to quality music programs in their community. BVF believes that music and access to music programs should not be determined by race, gender, or socio-economic status. Black Violin Foundation’s inaugural program the Musical Innovation Grant for Continuing Education will provide scholarships to young music students to attend a program of their liking that fosters musical creativity and innovation.