"One of the things I wanted to do in this recording is to salute the unsung heroes of music composition by people who are African-American," he explains. "And this recording is dedicated to those composers that I've had the pleasure of working with or those composers that I've admired over the years." -Marcus Eley 

Throughout his academic and professional career, esteemed clarinetist Marcus Eley has been an advocate for music by African American composers for clarinet. Join us as Eley presents the songs, research and stories behind his album But Not Forgotten: Music by African American Composers for Clarinet. The majority of the pieces in this collection get their world première recording exposure as it presents hidden musical gems from clarinet composers spanning a time period from 1868 to the present day, from ragtime to the purely impressionist. The presentation will conclude by a live solo performance by Eley not to be missed!

Marcus Eley is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Music in clarinet, and studied at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria. Eley has performed as a soloist with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra (Germany), the Louisville Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton (Canada) Wind Sinfonia and the National Army Military Band of the People’s Republic of China (Beijing). He has also given numerous recitals in major cities of the United States. On his New York debut recital in Weill Recital Hall, The New York Times cited his performance as “ ...expert, songful, and straightforward.” As a special honor, Eley was chosen to perform on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago and Los Angeles.