Summerville Orchestra Teams up with Saturday Night Live Musician to Perform World Premiere

Press Release

The Summerville Orchestra (S.O.) in a very special collaboration with Saturday Night Live pianist and keyboardist Tuffus Zimbabwe is performing the world premiere of “Charleston Revue” by Edmund Thornton Jenkins’ on May 19th and 20th in Summerville.

Zimbabwe is the grandnephew of Jenkins, whose international career as a conductor, composer and musician started in Charleston as a member of the legendary Jenkin’s Orphanage Band, the band that first produced the catchy rhythms of “The Charleston” in the 1920s.

While attending the Conductor’s Guild Conference last year, S.O.’s Music Director Wojciech Milewski learned about Tuffus’ commitment to orchestrate and arrange his great uncle’s music. When he heard that Tuffus was orchestrating “Charleston Revue,” Milewski reached out to him. The result:  the fully orchestrated piece from its original voice-piano format will be performed at the S.O.’s upcoming concert “A New World” on May 19 and 20 at Summers Corner Performing Arts Center in Summerville.

Said Milewski, “It’s always special to perform a world premiere but the most special world premieres are the ones that tie into your local community. With Jenkins being a Charleston native and his influences referencing Summerville, it hits a special place in our community, and we are so thrilled to foster his legacy and perform this special work.”

Edmund Thornton Jenkins, Charleston native and son of Reverend Daniel Jenkins who founded the Jenkins Orphanage, was a multitalented musician who gained his footing playing with and eventually leading the Jenkins Orphanage Band up and down the east coast during the early 1900s. The band’s originality, musical talent, costumes and showmanship quickly found adoring audiences.

Jenkins attended Morehouse College from 1908-1914, where he studied clarinet, piano and violin.  After he graduated, Jenkins served as the band’s assistant conductor during successful tours of the United States, which included a performance at the St. Louis World’s Fair and overseas in London in 1914 for the Anglo-American Exposition. Jenkins would remain in London, enrolling in the prestigious Royal Academy of Music, winning every award and scholarship the school offered, and eventually becoming a professor of clarinet and an important contributor to the rise of jazz in popularity.

Jenkins often included the folk music of Charleston in his compositions, notably in his “Charlestonia,” which the S.O. performed last year. He included several local songs and dances in his 1924 operetta Afram, from which “Charleston Revue” is taken, most notably those distinctive rhythms of James B. Johnson’s “The Charleston.”

Tickets to see this performance are $22 for adults and $2 for those under 18. Livestream access tickets are $20 for Saturday night. To purchase tickets, visit SummervilleOrchestra.org/tickets.

The Summerville Orchestra (S.O.) in a very special collaboration with Saturday Night Live pianist and keyboardist Tuffus Zimbabwe is performing the world premiere of “Charleston Revue” by Edmund Thornton Jenkins’ on May 19 and 20 in Summerville.

Zimbabwe is the grandnephew of Jenkins, whose international career as a conductor, composer and musician started in Charleston as a member of the legendary Jenkin’s Orphanage Band, the band that first produced the catchy rhythms of “The Charleston” in the 1920s.

While attending the Conductor’s Guild Conference last year, S.O.’s Music Director Wojciech Milewski learned about Tuffus’ commitment to orchestrate and arrange his great uncle’s music. When he heard that Tuffus was orchestrating “Charleston Revue,” Milewski reached out to him. The result:  the fully orchestrated piece from its original voice-piano format will be performed at the S.O.’s upcoming concert “A New World” on May 19 and 20 at Summers Corner Performing Arts Center in Summerville.

Said Milewski, “It’s always special to perform a world premiere but the most special world premieres are the ones that tie into your local community. With Jenkins being a Charleston native and his influences referencing Summerville, it hits a special place in our community, and we are so thrilled to foster his legacy and perform this special work.”

Edmund Thornton Jenkins, Charleston native and son of Reverend Daniel Jenkins who founded the Jenkins Orphanage, was a multitalented musician who gained his footing playing with and eventually leading the Jenkins Orphanage Band up and down the east coast during the early 1900s. The band’s originality, musical talent, costumes and showmanship quickly found adoring audiences.

Jenkins attended Morehouse College from 1908-1914, where he studied clarinet, piano and violin.  After he graduated, Jenkins served as the band’s assistant conductor during successful tours of the United States, which included a performance at the St. Louis World’s Fair and overseas in London in 1914 for the Anglo-American Exposition. Jenkins would remain in London, enrolling in the prestigious Royal Academy of Music, winning every award and scholarship the school offered, and eventually becoming a professor of clarinet and an important contributor to the rise of jazz in popularity.

Jenkins often included the folk music of Charleston in his compositions, notably in his “Charlestonia,” which the S.O. performed last year. He included several local songs and dances in his 1924 operetta Afram, from which “Charleston Revue” is taken, most notably those distinctive rhythms of James B. Johnson’s “The Charleston.”

Tickets to see this performance are $22 for adults and $2 for those under 18. Livestream access tickets are $20 for Saturday night. To purchase tickets, visit SummervilleOrchestra.org/tickets.

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