THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 23, 1996 TAG: 9610230459
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 78 lines
At Andy's Barber Shop in Lamberts Point, the names Tupac Shakur and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony roll off young men's tongues like honey.
But what about Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn? Those old artists and that music - classical music - won't be heard blaring from the radio.
On Tuesday, the young African-American men who hang out at the shop on 38th Street put aside the music from their hip-hop heroes and heard ``The Octet'' by Mendelssohn - unusual music in an unlikely place.
Amadi Hummings, a 26-year-old assistant music professor at Old Dominion University, brought a group of African-American classical musicians to play - not at Chrysler Hall, but at the barber shop.
``I just wanted to bring classical music into the African-American community,'' said Hummings, who grew up appreciating such music played by his mother, a pianist.
Hummings is part of a national group organized to raise the visibility of African-American classical musicians. Members of the group, the Gateways Music Festival, meet in a different city each year to spread their message.
Many African-Americans convene at beauty salons and barber shops, often using them as community centers. Andy's, Hummings said, presented the perfect scenario to play with no educational levels, no dress codes and no age limits.
The three women and five men who performed Tuesday - and who hail from such places as Alaska and Boston - started heads rolling from the first strums from their violins, cellos and violas.
The idea was not to draw an audience or to see how many people would stop, the musicians said. It was to send a musical message.
``Music is music,'' said Ashley Horne, 33, a free-lance musician from Los Angeles. ``Music is about making a statement, whether it is rap or be-bop or Bach. It all speaks to the heart.''
The music was a spark that kindled a flame of appreciation for many who listened.
``I'm not a big fan of it, but they are trying. It's a powerful effort,'' said Jeff Smith, 24, one of the barbers who enjoys listening to rap music.
A security guard in the parking lot of NationsBank across the street stopped patrolling for a bit to gaze at the octet sending beautiful sounds into the air.
Vehicles slowed, one by one, to catch a glimpse of the musicians, most standing on concrete under the warm autumn sun. A man in a silver Mercedes did a double-take, made a U-turn and headed to where the group was playing.
``This is awesome,'' said Barlen Guess, a passer-by. ``I just stopped. I saw them out, and I just stopped.''
Hummings, a violinist, said he has played concerts in Japan, Israel, Canada and India.
Lamberts Point, a drug-riddled community, may not be the highest-ranked place on his tour roster, but ``I find it to be spiritually motivating. I consider it a privilege be involved with something positive, and which I happen to love,'' he said.
Some listeners weren't surprised to hear classical music in the community. Music of all kinds, said a 25-year-old barber shop patron named Earl, can touch a chord.
``Hip-hop is classical,'' Earl said, adding that he didn't ``have a problem'' with the performance Tuesday.
But he said, ``I'm not going to Chrysler Hall to see them. I'll pay to go see Nas,'' a rap artist.
Hummings said there are stereotypes that come with an appreciation for classical music.
``Some would think that maybe this type of music is for mostly white people, to put it bluntly,'' he said. ``That's the impression an African-American would get and would have no interest.
``When you see an orchestra member who is black, you see maybe one or two,'' he said.
But Hummings, who listens to classical music extensively and teaches it at ODU, begs to differ. ``Music is for everyone.''
``I learned right there,'' at the barber shop, ``we are capable of appreciating a wide range of music no matter what your background is.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
The Virginian-Pilot
Reginald Smith, 5, reads inside Andy's Barber Shop on 38th Street in
Norfolk while a string octet plays classical music outside. by CNB