Speaker: Samantha Ege

Combining a mix of lecture and recorded performance, Samantha Ege brings the story of the South Side impresarios to life. She delves into the ways that Chicago's early 20th-century Race women (i.e., Black women intellectuals and creatives committed to the entwined tasks of racial uplift and gender equality) operated out of their South Side base and shaped a new vision for classical music that transformed the city and beyond.

You can find more information on Samantha Ege’s wide-ranging career as a musicologist, performer and storyteller on her website. Her recent book, South Side Impresarios: How Race Women Transformed Chicago's Classical Music Scene, is published by University of Illinois Press. Recent radio work includes 'Undine Smith Moore: Dean of Black Women Composers’ for Radio 3, an appearance on Woman’s Hour for Radio 4. You can see her perform in a concert entitled ‘Her Stories’ at the Barbican on 1 December 2024.