The Linking Legacies Project is a collective of African-American classical musicians based in Northeast Ohio, performing works by composers with direct ties to this region. Because of its legacy as part of the Underground Railroad and its role in African-American education and musical training, this area is connected to a diverse range of composers such as Hale Smith, Howard Swanson and Dolores White, who attended The Cleveland Institute of Music; Nathaniel Dett, George Walker, Nkeiru Okoye, and H. Leslie Adams, who attended Oberlin Conservatory; and local composers who live and work in the area, such as Jeffery Mumford. Through education and performance, our group raises awareness of the music and stories of these composers, and also of the legacy of this area in the development of African-American musical culture.
While our organization began during Covid as a collaboration between three Black classical musicians on faculty at The Music Settlement, it has since expanded to include four vocalists, three string players, a pianist and a brass player. Our members are internationally prestigious, including Grammy-winners, two Sphinx Competition laureates, faculty at local institutions such as Baldwin-Wallace, Lorain County Community College, Oberlin Conservatory, and graduates of institutions such as Oberlin, CIM, The University of Cincinnati-Conservatory of Music, Juilliard and Harvard University. Our members also have deep ties to Northeast Ohio. Of our nine members, seven are musicians who reside in the Greater Cleveland area, and the other two have deep family ties here. Our deep emotional connection to this area is a motivating factor in our commitment to enriching the musical life of our neighbors and in excavating the histories of composers who made their homes here.