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Crosstown Arts presents the Mahogany Chamber Music Series: “Mahogany Magic” at Crosstown Theater.
Crosstown Theater
Sunday, April 30, 2023
Doors at 5:30 pm | Concert at 6 pm
Tickets: $20 | $5 students
The Mahogany Chamber Music Series is a series of three chamber music concerts curated by Dr. Artina McCain, spotlighting Black and other underrepresented composers and performers.
Featuring:
Titus Underwood, oboe
Cremaine Booker, cello
Caitlin Edwards, violin
Artina McCain, piano
Titus Underwood, oboe
Titus Underwood is Principal Oboe of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music associate professor, Emmy Award winner, and 2021 recipient of the Sphinx Medal of Excellence award. He received his Master of Music from The Juilliard School and bachelors from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Also, he has played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Miami Symphony Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Puerto Rico Symphony, and San Diego Symphony. Mr. Underwood has also played principal in Chineke!, Gateways Music Festival, and Bellingham Festival of Music. Underwood serves as teaching artist for Aspen Music Festival and the National Youth Orchestras program at Carnegie Hall. He also teaches and mentors for the National Alliance for Audition Support program maintained by the League of American Orchestras, The Sphinx Organization, and New World Symphony. His latest project was a short film he directed entitled “A Tale of Two Tails”.
Caitlin Edwards, violin
Violinist Caitlin Edwards began her musical journey at the age of eight within a non-profit organization in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. She later attended the University of Louisville (BM) and DePaul University (MM). Caitlin is a 2022 Esteemed Artist Award recipient from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, a 2021 3Arts/Walder Foundation awardee, 2018 Gateways Music Festival Rising Star, a co-curator with the Fulcrum Point New Music Project, and a former fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta. In addition, she has received Grammy certificates for recordings on Disney’s “The Lion King” and for albums by John Legend and PJ Morton. She released her debut album, “Exhale,” in 2021. Caitlin is a classically trained violinist, but she’s inspired by gospel, jazz, hip-hop, and neo-soul. She composes original music and intentionally performs the works of Black composers to help ensure that these composers and their compositions are remembered and spotlighted for aspiring young BIPOC musicians and the world as a whole. Caitlin is a proud member of D-Composed and Ensemble Dal Niente.
Cremaine Booker, cello
Nashville based cellist, Cremaine Booker (also known as ThatCelloGuy), has performed extensively in the United States in addition to being a highly accomplished studio cellist. He currently serves as a cellist in the Iris Orchestra and is former principal cellist for the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra and The Jackson Symphony. He has also made appearances with the Trevecca Symphony, the Sewanee Symphony, Roy “Futureman” Wooten’s Black Mozart Ensemble, and the Nashville Concerto Orchestra. He has performed with the likes of Hans Zimmer, Carrie Underwood, India.Arie, Mickey Guyton, Martina McBride, Jewel, Lindsey Stirling, Michael W. Smith, LeAnn Rhimes, Mike Hicks, and many others. In addition to his live performances he has recorded cello on projects such as Geostorm (2017), The Lion King (2019), and The Ruined King (2021).
Cremaine has performed masterclasses with teachers such as Natalia Koma, YeonJin Kim, Julia Tanner, Eric Kutz, Peter Sheppard, and Yo-Yo Ma. Cremaine holds degrees from Middle Tennessee State University.
Cremaine plays on a modern cello gifted to him by William H. and Judith Scheide.
Artina McCain, piano
Hailed by the New York Times as a “virtuoso pianist” Artina McCain, has built a formidable career as a performer, educator and speaker. As a recitalist, her credits include performances at Wigmore Hall and Barbican Centre in London, Weill Hall at Carnegie and Merkin Hall in New York City and more. Other highlights include guest appearances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, she was the mistress of ceremony for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
Dedicated to promoting the works of Black and other underrepresented composers, McCain curates Underrepresented Composers Concerts for multiple arts organizations. She is an American Prize winner for her solo piano recordings of these works and won a Gold Global Music Award for her recent album project Heritage. In 2021, Hal Leonard published her transcriptions of Twenty-Four Traditional African American Folk Songs.
McCain was a featured inspirational leader in the award-winning PBS documentary series Roadtrip Nation: Degree of Impact in an episode exploring the real-world impact of professionals with doctoral degrees in and outside of academia.
McCain’s performances have been heard on the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Germany’s WDR and television appearances including features on CSPAN for the MLK 50 Commemoration. McCain is a three-time Global Music Awards winner including collaborative projects I, Too (Naxos), with soprano Icy Monroe, focused on African American Spirituals and Art Songs and Shades, a collaboration with her husband and duo partner Martin McCain.
After not performing for 6 years while battling a performance injury, she now enjoys a prolific concert career with more than 10 years of full injury recovery. She uses her recovery to serve as an advocate of musicians’ wellness–curating articles, lectures, and forums to educate teachers and students. Most recently the BBC featured her on the podcast Sideways telling her miraculous story of injury to recovery. McCain has written and presented on wellness and other topics in the Piano Magazine and at multiple universities, Music Teachers National Association Conference and the National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy.
McCain graduated cum laude from Southern Methodist University. She received her Master of Music from Cleveland Institute of Music and holds a doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Currently, she is Associate Professor of Piano and Coordinator of the Keyboard Area at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis and Co-Founder/Director of the Memphis International Piano Festival and Competition.
In her spare time, Artina enjoys boutique shopping, traveling internationally and is an avid tea aficionado.
Artina McCain is a Yamaha Artist.
