>> I'm Dr.

Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., and this is "The Chavis Chronicles."

[ Soft violin music plays ] >> Classical music has a wonderful ability to show the breadth of history, but it also has this unique ability to connect and touch people on an emotional level.

>> Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by the following.

At Wells Fargo, we continue to look for ways to empower our customers.

We seek broad impact in our communities, and we're proud of the role we play for our customers and the U.S.

economy.

As a company, we are focused on supporting our customers and communities through housing access, small-business growth, financial health, and other community needs.

Together, we want to make a tangible difference in people's lives.

Wells Fargo -- the bank of doing.

American Petroleum Institute -- our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental, and sustainability progress throughout the natural gas and oil industry around the world.

Learn more -- api.org/apienergyexcellence.

Reynolds American -- dedicated to building a better tomorrow for our employees and communities.

Reynolds stands against discrimination in all forms and is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

At AARP, we are committed to ensuring your money, health, and happiness live as long as you do.

[ Classical music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ >> We are very honored and pleased to have one of the world's most famous violinists Welcome, Anyango Yarbo-Davenport >> Thank you, Dr.

Chavis, for having me.

It's an honor to be here with you.

>> Listen, I've heard your music.

I've heard you play.

I first want to know, where were you born?

>> I was born in Munich, Germany, actually.

But my mom is from Cleveland, Ohio, Shaker Heights.

>> Oh, wow.

>> My dad from Austria, Graz, Steiermark.

>> And now you live in Bogotá?

>> Bogotá, Colombia, yep.

>> You play, you know, all over the world.

What first interested you in becoming a violinist?

When did you first start playing?

>> I started violin lessons when I was 2 years old... >> 2?

>> ...but only as part of a negotiation because, initially, for my second birthday, I wanted to have an orchestra.

So, the whole thing.

Dream big, no?

And my mother said to me that she cannot make coffee for the entire orchestra, and our living room was just a little bit too small.

So we negotiated I could be then the concertmaster of the orchestra instead of the conductor of the orchestra, which would mean I would have to take violin lessons.

And then when I get older, we would look into getting me an orchestra.

>> At 2 years old?

>> Yep.

>> Oh, my God.

So you really had an early, early interest in music.

And when did you actually start playing the violin in terms of classical music?

>> It started right away after my second birthday.

So, I got a violin, and I started with the Suzuki method, actually, where the parent is playing as well, the parent is also participating in the lessons, and then quickly was moved to Russian training and the Russian violin school.

But, yeah, I started very, very early.

>> There seems to be a return to the importance of classical music.

I think sometimes, you know, different genres of music have their high points.

But across the world, and even in the United States, can you comment on music -- and particularly with violin classical music?

>> Oh, absolutely.

I think classical music, or Western academic music, has been much like a historical time marker.

So many pieces stand for historical occasions, and I think history repeats itself many times and we go back to things that have shaped and formed us, as well as our ancestors.

And we still to this day continue to discover the breadth of classical academic music because many times there have been composers that haven't been given their recognition, like Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who was called the Black Mozart before, but in reality, he was the elder and Mozart the younger, for example.

Or Florence Price -- we find her scores in her home in Chicago years later and realized we need to do more investigating and more recognizing of all the ethnic influences that have shaped classical music, or the academic music, what we're calling classical music, for us.

I believe nowadays, because we have even more resources and more ways to investigate and trace our lineage in history, we have even more opportunities to restore and recognize our historical classical-music repertoire, as well as contemporary classical-music repertoire.

And I think that's really important to continue to develop because Brahms even or Beethoven -- they were contemporaries at one time.

music at one time.

>> Yes.

>> And every contemporary composer that comes with different ethnic backgrounds, those are going to be our future Brahms and Beethovens.

So we need to recognize and continue to explore it.

>> So, the evolution of classical music is increasingly becoming inclusive, a lot of diversity.

>> Yes.

>> You know, there's a debate in the United States and other parts of the world about diversity and inclusion.

From your informed perspective.

how do you see the professionals in classical music?

Are there places for people of color like you?

>> There absolutely are.

And we wouldn't be here if people like my mother, for example, or Gateways Music Festival or Color of Music Festival hadn't paved the way for us to have a stage, especially in classical music.

[ Classical music playing ] ♪♪ The most important thing that we can do nowadays -- because we have more researchers, we have more wider network -- is to make sure we also continue to commission and include the contemporary composers of all ethnic backgrounds, which is a mission of mine.

So I commissioned a lot of pieces by composers of Italian, African-American, German background, the whole breadth so we can celebrate the variety and the breadth of ethnic influences that we have nowadays.

>> I've witnessed some of your performances, The Color of Music, and I saw you perform at Spelman College in Atlanta.

But you've also performed at the Met here in New York.

Tell us about that.

>> Yeah, we -- So, my chamber collective is called Davenport Chamber Players.

That is an ensemble and specifically an artist collective based and formed around the breadth of racial diversity in the world.

>> It's called the Davenport Chamber?

>> Davenport Chamber Players.

>> Okay.

>> Yes, and because representation matters, we strive to show on stage how our society is nowadays and is going to be in the future so that every kid, every young person can see themselves on stage and say, "Okay, so, this classical, academic, baroque, romantic, contemporary music is for me because it's being played by somebody I can identify with who is in the ensemble."

And so we are minority-dominant, it's very important that we don't exclude our friends.

Without Charles Castleman, I wouldn't be here, without many people who have supported us along the way, who have come from different backgrounds, Jewish, German, British, Finnish -- you know, you name it -- in the world that exists.

They have been our friends and our allies.

And so we, in my opinion, should make sure, in our ensembles that are diversity-heavy, we do not exclude our friends and our supporters and our champions.

Davenport Chamber Players aims to represent.

And so last year in 2024, in February, we had our debut, so to speak, at a MetLiveArts production with Terrance McKnight, a New York native, in the production called "Handel: Made in America."

And it was composed together with an orchestra of 18 people, a chamber orchestra.

Harlem Choir sang, as well as Terrance McKnight and some very distinguished soloists on the top of their game.

This was a huge opportunity for us to give our debut with something that celebrated our history and worldwide that made it possible, for example, like composers like Handel, to have the resources, the economic resources, to make his oratorios a success, to make his works heard around Europe, because the sugar, the tobacco, the cotton that financed it were farmed by our ancestors.

>> Yes, yes.

The transatlantic slave trade.

>> Exactly.

And it was combined with the exhibition at the Met Museum.

>> Oh, that's fascinating.

Very historical, but also has contemporary applications to today.

>> Absolutely.

>> You know, as I listen to you, I get a sense of your global consciousness.

You know, you know Europe, you know America, you know, South America.

As you travel the world, what insights can you share about how people have an affinity to classical music?

>> I think classical music has a wonderful ability not only to show the breadth of history through its epochs, through its different styles, its different composers, but also has this unique ability to connect and touch people on an emotional level.

Us as musicians, we are in service of the music, but also in service of the audience we're playing for.

And it's our duty and our privilege, really, to translate what the composer has written on the page to the public, but also in the moment of translating it to the public, to connect with the public and create an emotional connection to the piece, a shared afternoon, a shared hour of communicating and exchanging on a musical, a societal, on a spiritual, on an intellectual level.

And that is really the language that is universally spoken only through music.

>> Can you speak to how faith and spirituality helps inform what you do with the violin?

>> Well, it is a multidimensional practice for me.

First of all, just having the opportunity to play, to study every day, for me, that is my type of meditation process.

And it is a way for me to connect with myself and as well as with what I believe in.

And I believe it's a service, an opportunity to contribute something very beautiful and very productive and very beneficial to the world.

One of my teachers used to remind me when I was little and I was studying a lot of technique, and he was saying, "But never forget the technique is in service of the music and translating the page to the public.

Your technique is only a vehicle."

And so for me, I also remembered very early on playing for an audience and a lady coming up to me afterwards in Germany, in Munich, that was -- She came up to me, and she said, "You know, I spent my last five Deutschmark --" pre-Euro -- "on this concert because I needed some relief from my day, and I've had a terrible day.

But I spent my last five Deutschmark on this concert, and this has lifted my soul.

This has touched me.

This has given back to me."

And at that moment, as a little girl, I understood this is serious business.

We often get distracted with gaining prizes, with winning competitions, with being the best, getting into the best schools, studying with the best teacher.

But at the end of the day, all these 10,000 -- more than 10,000 hours of study, I mean, since 2 years old, studying every day -- all of that is to bring you, in the end, to do your best to serve the community that is this world and to bring something of light and something of positive contribution.

And I believe that is why classical music, especially classical contemporary and historical music, connects with audiences of any age, of any kind, of any creed, of any belief -- because there is a multi-level connection.

>> You got so involved with violin at a very young age.

If young people who are watching this show the violin at whatever age, what would you first recommend?

>> Well, the first thing I want to emphasize is it's never too late to start.

Don't let limiting beliefs that you must start between 2 and 3 years old in order to make it hold you back because that's somebody else defined that, but that person did not make you.

And so it is never too late to start.

Make sure you receive your individual lessons.

The one-on-one lessons are very important to start well.

Don't just start.

Start well with the right teacher, with an informed school.

The most challenging thing many times, always in history and nowadays, is funding.

You need the right instrument, the right setup, the right chin rest, the right shoulder rest, the right bow.

You need to change your strings regularly.

All of those is a huge economic investment.

And that's why it's so important to continue to contribute to foundations, your local music schools, if you have resources to, or create a fund and an organization, to give a donation that can be used specifically to supporting young musicians or aspiring musicians.

That is so important because everybody has a right to music and everybody has a right to education.

Everybody also has a right to develop their talents, their God-given gifts.

And so it is our duty as a society to contribute in the way that we can so everybody can realize their highest potential.

And that will help us in moving forward together.

>> You know, I come out of the Civil Rights Movement, voting rights, civil rights, human rights.

But as I listen to you, music rights, the right to have music, the right to have an opportunity.

I really like that.

It's so broad and, I think, the oneness of humanity.

We're all part of one human family.

Can you talk about how music plays and supports a better realization of the oneness of the human family?

>> I believe the very first thing is it takes away borders and barriers.

You can break out together in song without knowing each other.

[ Classical music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ You can share a piece of music with an audience that doesn't speak your language or you don't speak their language.

And you create unity instantaneously.

Your music is a vehicle to help us connect and transform and transport for this time that we share with the music.

And music many times helps lift our spirits, helps motivate us at the gym [laughs] helps give us courage in the military when we lack strength, helps celebrate when we need support and spirituality.

Music is for everybody and from everybody.

And everybody has a right to participate in the practice of music and the learning of music and the execution of music.

So, for me, that is right up there with the right to education.

>> Yes.

>> Absolutely.

>> Anyango, you know, you've talked about this amazing career you've had.

I want to go back to your parents 'cause obviously, at the age of 2, your parents had to really encourage you or help you fulfill your dream.

Were they both musicians?

Talk to me about it.

>> Yes, well, my dad was a conductor and violinist as well, a violinist-violist.

And my mom is a singer and also a former model, ballet dancer, trained with Alvin Ailey, and model, of course, because she had time.

[ Laughs ] And so at home, there were always rehearsals going on, always discussions about scores, about the -- the meaning behind the music, behind what's written, and looking for the story in the music and how to translate it to the audience.

And so I think I have the bug, especially from my mom.

Probably seeing my dad conduct orchestras, that's where the idea came from that I should have my own orchestra at 2 years old, as well.

But really the role model, the image of the musician as a communicator, comes from my mom's side.

As a singer, I'd always seen her as the soloist, as the protagonist.

And growing up in Munich, Germany, you know, there were not a lot of people who looked like me.

However, I never felt the lack.

I always saw my mother being the leader, being the soloist, being the person in charge to making sure the story of the music and the quality of the music to be rehearsed gets to where it needs to be for her to have a successful performance and connect on a meaningful and on a high-quality level with the audience.

I think that is probably the main reason why I never had a doubt that I had a place in classical music, "A."

But, "B," I needed to be excellent at what I do.

And, "C," share the stage with people who inspire me and drive me to be better at my craft so I can be better in service of the music.

>> Representation matters.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> So, you are now in Bogotá, Colombia.

>> Yep.

>> You're doing some work at the university.

Tell us about the setting, your setting in Bogotá.

>> Yeah, the first question I always get when people know that I live now a large part of my time in Bogotá, Colombia, is, "Are you are you Spanish?

Are you Latina?"

If you hear my Spanish, you know I'm not Latina.

However [laughs] about almost 10 years ago now, a university headhunted me while I was doing my doctorate at the Eastman School of Music with Charlie Castleman and offered me a position.

And I hadn't at that point been to South America at all.

And I flew down.

I spent two weeks there, taught every single violin student.

And it was such a privilege and such an honor to meet people from another culture completely different than mine.

I mean, I'm from Germany and go to Latin America.

Our two stereotypes are very true in many ways.

And it was such a privilege to go and be able to share music with people who are so innately talented and so innately connected with the rhythm of music.

And it is so wonderful to see in a country like Colombia, where everybody is a shade of something from alabaster white to midnight.

The Afro-Colombian population is just as much represented among the kids interested in being professional musicians as any other shade.

And that is, to me, very important.

However, they don't have any reference points -- or didn't have at that point -- of classical musicians with African ancestry representing on their stages, in their universities being their professors.

And I sensed my calling that this is my opportunity to give back what my mom has done for me, either through being a professor at the university where I'm now as the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, which is a wonderful school.

It is a wonderfully forward-thinking school that does not tolerate one ounce of discrimination, which is very important.

It is very proponent in being a diversity vehicle, and they also recognize the need, I believe, to diversify their faculty, not only from the female perspective, but from the ethnicity perspective.

So it's a huge privilege to be able to lead that walk, that movement in Bogotá while it's only three-and-a-half hours from Miami.

So it's not like I'm in a different time zone.

I'm able to do my concerts in the United States, in Europe and Asia.

The flights are very easy from Bogotá.

But I can contribute to an area where there is not yet much influence.

So, it's a privilege.

Yeah.

>> So, Anyango, today, what gives you your greatest hope?

>> What gives me my greatest hope today is knowing that everything is good.

And I mean that in the most broad and most sincere way, that recognizing everything that we encounter nowadays in our daily lives happens for the greater good for ourselves and the opportunity for ourselves to contribute to the greater good of society, of humanity, of civilization, of our times.

And so what gives me the biggest hope, the biggest inspiration is that I know tomorrow I'll do better than I did today and I'll be able to contribute better and same do the people who are around me and same I hope to the people I inspire.

>> Anyango Yarbo-Davenport, thank you for joining >> Thank you, Dr.

Chavis, for having me.

>> For more information about "The Chavis Chronicles" and our guests, visit our website at TheChavisChronicles.com.

Also, follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by the following.

At Wells Fargo, we continue to look for ways to empower our customers.

We seek broad impact in our communities, and we're proud of the role we play for our customers and the U.S.

economy.

As a company, we are focused on supporting our customers and communities through housing access, small-business growth, financial health, and other community needs.

Together, we want to make a tangible difference in people's lives.

Wells Fargo -- the bank of doing.

American Petroleum Institute -- our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental, and sustainability progress throughout the natural gas and oil industry around the world.

Learn more -- api.org/apienergyexcellence.

Reynolds American -- dedicated to building a better tomorrow for our employees and communities.

Reynolds stands against discrimination in all forms and is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

At AARP, we are committed health, and happiness live as long as you do.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪