Raíces Negras

Dr. Mitchell leads Raíces Negras, a Baltimore-based music collective celebrating Black and Latine voices across the Americas with chamber music repertoire spanning from contemporary classical music to contemporary Pan-American jazz. The group respects traditional genres while also bending and blending them with improvisatory intersections.

Programs include:

• Brazilian Classical: The Music of Clarice Assad
• Brazilian Choro: The Musical World of Pixinguinha
• Contemporary Cuban Classical: Leo Brouwer, Tania León, Paquito D’Rivera
• The Cuban Charanga Flute Evolution: Richard Egües, Orlando Maraca Valle

This dynamic and unique flute-led ensemble ranges from the rich timbral colors of modern Pierrot ensemble works, to the Afro-Brazilian swing of choros, to the polyphonic rhythmic framework of Afro-Cuban jazz, and everything in between. The collective consists of world-class musicians hailing from the United States, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Brazil, Bulgaria, Haiti, and beyond. Providing musical curiosity, virtuosity, and creativity to the collective, they each maintain busy schedules as sidemen and solo artists in their own right.

Origin: During National Hispanic Heritage Month 2019, flutist Ceylon Mitchell II and his acclaimed chamber music ensemble presented a concert series of Afro-Latin music at venues throughout Prince George’s County, Maryland. The classical crossover performances highlighted African and Latinx cultures, demonstrating the unique development of Western-European classical flute music in the Latin American countries of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Brazil. This project was made possible due to a 2019 Prince George’s Arts and Humanities Council Artist Fellowship Grant.

Photos by Andre C. Horton, Arts Laureate, Margot Schulmann, M3 | Mitchell Media & Marketing LLC, and Reyna Abigale.