Full Concerts 

Harry T. Burleigh Society’s 2018 Saint Day Celebration at St. Philip’s Church

On Sunday, September 9, 2018, the Harry T. Burleigh Society celebrated Burleigh’s Saint Day with a special program. September 11th is Harry T. Burleigh’s Saint Day in the Episcopal Church. In honor of his relationship with St. Philip’s Church, his first church home when he came to New York City, the Society reflected about Burleigh’s spiritual life, heard performances of his music, and had fellowship with the St. Philip’s community.

Rev. Terence Lee, Rector, St. Philip's Church offered a prayer to musicians and Ms. Eugenia Clark, Founding Chair, St. Philip’s Church Culture Committee reflected on the role of music and culture at St. Philip’s. Baritone, Mr. Jonathan Green, and St. Philip’s keyboardist Mr. Erik Carlson, performed two pieces that Burleigh made famous. Dr. Jean Snyder, Ethnomusicologist and Burleigh Biographer and Ms. Lynne Foote, President-Harry T. Burleigh Society remarked on the how the Episcopal Church shaped Burleigh’s life.

Harry T. Burleigh's Annual Service of Negro Spirituals at St. George's Church: A Tribute

In 1924, St. George's Church choir performed a service of Negro spirituals featuring Burleigh's compositions and arrangements. This innovative program was so popular it became a signature event for the church, the highlight always being Burleigh's solos and arrangements of the spiritual.

The Harry T. Burleigh Society, co-founded by Lynne Foote and Dr. Marti Newland, proudly presented a tribute to Burleigh and this historic program on Friday, March 31st, 2017 at St. George's Church in New York City.

Speakers Randye Jones, Gabriela Nguyen, Marcia Behrmann, Dr. Jean Snyder and Rev. Jacob Smith provided background and context for the Negro spiritual. Burleigh's arrangements and compositions were performed by Artis Wodehouse, Marti Newland, Amanda Finch, Omar Bowey, Steven Kirby, Kamel Boutros and Alex Nguyen.

The event illuminated the significance of Burleigh at St. George’s Church and his influence on American musical culture.

"Lineage and Heritage” a concert produced by the Harry T. Burleigh Society and the Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra, presented works by Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949) and S. Coleridge Taylor (1875-1912) to foreground the friendship of these African American and African English men.

Conducted by Dr. Thomas Cunningham, who also did the arrangements for the Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra, artists Haerim Elizabeth Lee, Marti Newland, Lucia Bradford, Chauncey Packer, Sidney Outlaw, Roy Jennings, Eddie Pleasant and scholars Dr. Horace Maxile and Lynne Foote participated in the event. The concert took place on Friday, March 9, 2018 at Calvary Church, of the Calvary-St. George’s Parish where Burleigh was baritone soloist for over 50 years.

Promo Video for “Lineage and Heritage” featuring Soprano Marti Newland and Maestro Thomas Cunningham