5 / 10
5
< > CONTENTSSarastro’s entrance in Act 1 design by Dale Ferguson
Berry, many post-Parker musicians passed through his music on the way to
finding their own voices. Today, bebop remains the principal style through
which improvisation is taught in colleges and universities. Aspiring musicians on
college campuses study Parker’s improvisations and play his compositions. As a
testament to his genius, recordings by Parker are still being issued or re-issued.
His influence is felt and heard both inside and outside of the jazz community.
Evidence of that is
Charlie Parker’s Yardbird
, the opera that you are here to
witness this evening. What was written on walls in New York City after his passing
in 1955 remains true today – “Bird Lives.”
George L. Starks, Jr., Ph.D. is Professor of Music and Director of the Jazz Orchestra
at Drexel University
Soprano Rachel Sterre berg as Chan Parker
c. Dominic M. Mercier - Opera Philadelphia
Bird Lives