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10/22/2020 12:01 AM

Challenging Societal Expectations Through Songwriting


James Weldon Johnson, along with his brother, musician J. Rosamond Johnson, and showman Bob Cole, made up one of the most successful songwriting teams of the first decade of the 20th century. Photo courtesy of The Beinecke

The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library’s Monday at Beinecke continues with The Songs of Cole and Johnson Brothers with Lisa Williamson on Monday, Oct. 26 from 4 to 4:30 p.m.

The program is free and open to all.

James Weldon Johnson, along with his brother, musician J. Rosamond Johnson, and showman Bob Cole, made up one of the most successful songwriting teams of the first decade of the 20th century.

The trio actively worked to elevate Black stage performance away from minstrelsy, the only avenue available for Black performers at the time, by challenging societal expectation at the turn of the century through their popular songs and stage shows.

Zoom webinar registration is available at bit.ly/2GIZw06.

Lisa Williamson is a soprano vocalist and music scholar. She performs opera, concert, musical theater, and art songs and has sung with the Harford and New Haven Symphonies, Washington National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, the Ivoryton Playhouse, and The United States Coast Guard Band, among others. She holds degrees from the Yale School of Music and the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at UConn, focusing on the music of Black American composers. Williamson lives in Connecticut with her husband, Commander Adam Williamson, the director of the United States Coast Guard Band, and their son. Find out more about her work and upcoming performances at LisaWilliamsonSoprano.com.