Trillium and Friends to honor America’s 250th through a concert of music by Black composers
Feb. 18, 2026
Maryville College will present a performance by Trillium and Friends at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, in the Harold and Jean Lambert Recital Hall of the Clayton Center for the Arts. Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend.
The performance, featuring the piano trio Trillium with guest flutist Shelby Shankland, will commemorate this year’s historic semiquincentennial through a program honoring the rich contributions of Black composers to American classical music.
“The program will celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States,” said pianist Dr. Robert Bonham, professor emeritus of music at Maryville College. “For this program, we have chosen to also celebrate the incredibly rich and vibrant contributions of our Black composers.”
Bonham notes that while American music includes a wide array of traditions — from Sousa marches to jazz and ragtime — this concert highlights composers whose works blend spirituals, dances and jazz influences with European classical forms.
Referencing Antonín Dvořák’s 1890s visit to the United States, Bonham explained that the composer recognized the depth of musical material rooted in American soil. Dvořák encouraged American composers to draw inspiration from native traditions — particularly Black spirituals — to shape a distinct national voice.
“The Black composers included in this program had access both to the source materials of the rich Black culture and were as gifted and well-trained as the more well-known men and women,” Bonham said. “They deserve to be heard. We have enjoyed learning their music and are glad to give them voice.”
The program will feature works by R. Nathaniel Dett, Florence Price, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Carlos Simon and David Baker — composers whose music spans symphonic, chamber, operatic and jazz traditions. Several blended spirituals and folk influences with classical forms, while others incorporated jazz idioms and contemporary social themes.
Now celebrating its 13th year, Trillium has performed for audiences across multiple states, including Maryland, North Dakota, Virginia and North Carolina, as well as throughout East Tennessee.
The ensemble includes:
- Kari Lapins, violin, who holds degrees in Suzuki Pedagogy and violin performance from Northern Arizona University and has performed with orchestras including the Knoxville Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony and Phoenix Symphony;
- Alicia Randisi-Hooker, cello, an internationally performing artist and educator whose students have earned national and international recognition;
- Bonham, a lifelong educator who also received the Maryville College Outstanding Teacher Award; and
- Shelby Shankland, flute, former instructor of flute at Maryville College and principal flutist of the Oak Ridge Symphony.
Admission to the March 7 performance is free, and seating is first-come, first-served.