Zodiac Suite by Mary Lou Williams at Paine Hall - Harvard University

In 1945, composer and pianist Mary Lou Williams premiered her landmark Zodiac Suite at New York's Town Hall. Scored for chamber orchestra with jazz rhythm section, the suite presented twelve musical portraits inspired by the signs of the Zodiac. Despite the concert's success, the arrangements were never performed again.

In celebration of the 2010 Mary Lou Williams centennial, Harvard's Dudley House Jazz Band is proud to present the first large ensemble performance of the entire suite since its 1945 debut. The performance will feature new big band orchestrations of all twelve movements, based on Williams' original 1945 parts. By using archival copies from the Mary Lou Williams Collection at the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies, the concert will even include movements omitted from the original 1945 performance, allowing listeners to hear Williams' full musical vision for the first time....

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In 1945, composer and pianist Mary Lou Williams premiered her landmark Zodiac Suite at New York's Town Hall. Scored for chamber orchestra with jazz rhythm section, the suite presented twelve musical portraits inspired by the signs of the Zodiac. Despite the concert's success, the arrangements were never performed again.

In celebration of the 2010 Mary Lou Williams centennial, Harvard's Dudley House Jazz Band is proud to present the first large ensemble performance of the entire suite since its 1945 debut. The performance will feature new big band orchestrations of all twelve movements, based on Williams' original 1945 parts. By using archival copies from the Mary Lou Williams Collection at the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies, the concert will even include movements omitted from the original 1945 performance, allowing listeners to hear Williams' full musical vision for the first time.

The evening will open with a performance by the Dudley Jazz Combo, which will include Williams' 1929 composition "Messa Stomp."

For more information, please email director Michael Heller at mheller[at]fas.harvard.edu

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