Two violinists are revolutionizing the way people think about classical music.
Black Violin will be performing at Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Auditorium on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The event, which is a part of the Performing Arts and Concert Series, is open to the public.
According to the Performing Arts Series website, Black Violin consists of violinists Wil Baptiste and Kev Sylvester, as well as a drummer and a DJ. The site mentions that the group has played alongside various prominent artists such as Kanye West and Aerosmith, and also performed for President Obama at the Inaugural Ball.
Dominique Francisco, a former OU student, plans on attending the concert and is interested in the group’s multi-genre performing style.
“I think it will be a mix of classical and hip-hop, pretty much a mix,” she said.
The act’s rising fame has lead to their music being featured on the HBO series Ballers and the Fox series Pitch. They have also been the subject of interviews by NPR Morning Edition and Uproxx.
Andrew Holzaepfel, senior associate director for Student Affairs, has been interested in booking the increasingly popular act over the past few years.
“For me, it was a great opportunity to show our audiences, both our regular performing arts series audiences as well as our student audiences, a different approach to classical music, and they do that,” Holzaepfel said. “I think they kind of break down that kind of stereotype of what classical music is, and the constraints of what it can be.”
The Athens performance is a part of the group’s nationwide Unity Tour, which commenced in August. Baptiste and Sylvester announced the tour with a statement on their website.
“We’ve taken this opportunity to spread a message to challenge the world’s view of what it means to rise above labels, be daring enough to follow their passion and most of all, be true to themselves,” according to the announcement. “We realize that every opportunity to connect our diverse fans is an opportunity to break down the barriers that separate us, empower individuality and encourage progress.”
In an effort to spread this message to younger audiences, Black Violin is dedicated to playing for school children across the country. Before their public performance on Wednesday, they will be giving a free morning show to 800 middle school students from across southeast Ohio.
“They’ve performed to well over 100,000 school kids, so that’s one of their strengths,” Holzaepfel said. “It’s an opportunity to introduce classical to a 10-year-old. Instead of maybe boring, she or he as far as their first taste of classical. This actually really gets them excited about classical music and playing instruments.”
As far as the public show that evening, Holzaepfel is anticipating a large and lively student audience. “There’s a ton of tickets being purchased right now so I think there’ll be a lot of students there,” he said. “I think it’s going to be an extremely diverse crowd.”
