Windsor Symphony Orchestra celebrates Black voices with local singer

It's Black History Month, and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (WSO) will celebrate Black voices this weekend with two live performances in historically significant locations.

Vocalist Florine Ndimubandiwillsingwith the symphony for theCelebrating Black Voices: The Chevalier de St-Georges concertsat the Amherstburg Freedom Museum and Sandwich First Baptist Church.

WSO will play music by Joseph Bologne, known as the Chevalier des St-Georges, an 18th century Black composer from France, and songs from composer Jessie Montgomery and Canadian composer Oscar Peterson.

Ndimubandi sang one of Peterson's songs, Hymn for Freedom, for CBC's Windsor Morning.

Florine Ndimubandi performs a capella at CBC Windsor

2 years ago

Duration 0:49

Vocalist Florine Ndimubandi has two performances this weekend with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra as part of the Celebrating Black Voices: The Chevalier de St-Georges concert series for Black History Month.

Lana Talbot, heritage coordinator with the Sandwich First Baptist Church, said Peterson was "best friends" with her grandfather and used to play piano with him in Talbot's childhood home.

Sheis excited for this weekend's performance.

"I think it's going to be a beautiful," Talbot said.

She said playing Peterson's music in the church is "significant to Black history in this area," adding, "The church itself is a living monument of Black history."

Venues significant to Windsor'sBlack history

Sandwich First Baptist Church in Windsor is a national historic site.

According to Parks Canada's website, the church was one of many border town parishes"built by Black congregations to accommodate the growing communities created by the arriving Underground Railroad refugees."

The website says Sandwich First Baptistis the oldest church of its kind in Ontario.

"This church is very significant to Black history here in the city of Windsor," Talbot said, adding that its history is important"12 months, 365 days, and on that leap year, 366 days," not just duringBlack History Month.

The Amherstburg FreedomMuseum is dedicated to teaching the history and stories of Black Canadian's year-round.

"The WSO wanted to create a concert series celebrating Black voices, and so they wanted to include a classical choice, then a more contemporary choice, and then something that is Canadian," said Mary-Katherine Whelan, thecurator of the museum.

"We're really looking forward to this. It's kind of the first year we've done something like this."

'Full circle moment'

Ndimubandi said singing with the orchestra feels like she is fulfilling a childhood dream.

"I remember even being in grade school and playing the recorder with the Windsor Symphony when I was super young at the Chrysler Theatre, and just having this full-circle moment of me actually performing with a full-body orchestra is insane," she said.

More than that, she said singing with the orchestra for Black History Month means a lot to her.

"Being able to share my talents, my voice, and paying homage to Black artists that wrote songs about freedom and sung songs about freedom."

The Amherstburg Freedom Museum performance starts Friday at 7 p.m. The show at Sandwich First Baptist Church will be Saturday at 2 p.m.Tickets are still available for both events, and cost $30.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.