New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Rhiannon Giddens's book debut, Build a House, is out today, published by Candlewick Press. The picture book was inspired by, and features the lyrics of, a song that Giddens wrote and recorded with Yo-Yo Ma to commemorate Juneteenth in 2020. A newly recorded version of "Build a House" with Ma and Francesco Turrisi, is also out today on Nonesuch and can be heard here.
Build a House tells the story of an enslaved family that will not be moved, and the music that sustains them. Giddens will be reading the book and performing this month: a community outreach book reading at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on October 22, and at the Brooklyn Children's Museum on October 13.
In addition to the book release, Giddens' fall includes key concerts as a Carnegie Hall Perspectives Artist for the 2022-23 season, including a duo performance with Turrisi in Weill Recital Hall on October 15 and with Our Native Daughters in Stern Auditorium on November 4.
Her appearances continue at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on November 12 as part of the Rock My Soul festival; and the LA Opera debut of Omar on October 22. Omar was created by Giddens with composer Michael Abels (Get Out). It was inspired by the autobiographical writings of Omar Ibn-Said (1770-1864), a Muslim scholar forcibly taken from his native Senegal and enslaved in North and South Carolina. Omar will be performed by five more top opera companies in the US over the next two years. You can watch her discuss the piece on CBS Sunday Morning.
Giddens has also scored music for Questlove's new film Descendants coming out this month. She performed with
Paul Simon at Newport Folk Festival, and at the Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon, which was taped earlier this year and will air on CBS this fall.
Black Lucy and the Bard, the Nashville Ballet production scored by Giddens, recently aired on PBS' Great Performances and was deemed "marvelous television" by the Wall Street Journal. Giddens was named the Artistic
Director of the Silkroad Ensemble and spoke about her work with PBS Newshour. She is the
Music Director for the 2023 Ojai
Music Festival.
RHIANNON GIDDENS ON TOUR
Oct 13 Brooklyn Children's Museum Brooklyn, NY
Oct 14 The Bushnell Hartford, CT
Oct 15 Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall New York, NY
Nov 4 Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall New York, NY
Nov 5 Belk Theater Charlotte, NC
Nov 12 Walt Disney Concert Hall Los Angeles, CA
Jan 15 Perelman Theater Philadelphia, PA
Jan 24 Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall New York, NY
Mar 10 Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall New York, NY
Apr 27 Music Hall Aberdeen, UK
Jun 8-11 Ojai
Music Festival Ojai, CA
