The lyrical poems and lively jazz music of the Harlem Renaissance have always been a source of comfort for Taylor Burgess.<\/p>\n
For the soprano singer from Wading River, the era is a reminder of how powerful art can be during difficult times.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of parallels” to the present day, Burgess said.\u00a0“It’s\u00a0relatable. It’s really just shaped a lot of who I am as a person and as an artist.”<\/p>\n
Burgess, a graduate of Riverhead High School, recently wrapped up a run in the chorus<\/a> for the Metropolitan Opera\u2019s production of “Porgy and Bess<\/a>.” Before flying back to Amsterdam, where she lives full time, she\u2019s returning to her hometown to perform Sunday in a\u00a0Harlem Renaissance tribute at the Jamesport Meeting House.<\/p>\n Her vision to bring classical music, opera and jazz to new audiences aligns with an effort by the Jamesport Meeting House to infuse the nearly 300-year-old space with modern programming.<\/p>\n The Black History Month program is inspired by Black poets and composers and titled \u201cWinter Moon,\u201d named for the Langston Hughes\u00a0poem<\/a>. Burgess’ recital includes Hughes\u2019 poems set to music by composer<\/a> Ricky Ian Gordon, an Oceanside native\u00a0The performance\u00a0will feature\u00a0other works including\u00a0poetry by\u00a0James Weldon Johnson and music by Harry T. Burleigh<\/a> and Duke Ellington. She will be accompanied by pianist Eunha So.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely going to be a mix of worlds,\u201d Burgess said. \u201cSometimes we think of winter as cold and lonely and dark, but there\u2019s this warmth that this poem brings.\u201d<\/p>\n Burgess, 29, got a bachelor\u2019s degree in jazz from Purchase College and in 2023, completed her master\u2019s at the Dutch National Opera Academy, becoming its first Black graduate.<\/p>\n She debuted at the Met during a 2024 revival of Terence Blanchard\u2019s \u201cFire Shut Up In My Bones.\u201d\u00a0It\u00a0was the first time the storied opera house had put on a performance from a Black composer.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really didn\u2019t hit me until I finished the show,\u201d Burgess said. \u201cThere\u2019s so much history attached to it. You hear people singing in the hallways and it sounds like the gates of heaven have just busted open. I was so shocked by all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘It’s for everyone’<\/p>\n