 Ann Hobson Pilot: Harpist and historian extraordinaire
Erin Washington
Ann Hobson Pilot has played harp for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) for nearly 40 years, and is one of the few African American harp players in the world.
She is also a genuine heroine in the harpists’ community, largely because she went to find the roots of her instrument — in Africa.
Pilot’s musical training began with the piano when she was 6 years old, but when she found a harp in her high school at age 14, something clicked.
She then began a long process of practice and performance that turned into a 38-year career with the BSO. But it wasn’t easy.
“It was one of the most difficult instruments because of all the strings, 47 strings, and also seven foot pedals,” Pilot said. “And there are three notches for each of the pedals. So it’s pretty mechanically complicated.”
The transition from piano was pretty complicated, too. Full story
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Disney could re-release racially charged ‘Song of the South’
Travis Reed
ORLANDO, Fla. — Walt Disney Co.’s 1946 film “Song of the South” was historic. It was Disney’s first big live-action picture and produced one of the company’s most famous songs — the Oscar-winning “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.” It also carries the story line of the Splash Mountain rides at its theme parks.
But the movie remains hidden in the Disney archives — never released on video in the United States and criticized as racist for its depiction of Southern plantation blacks. The film’s 60th anniversary passed last year without a whisper of official re-release, which is unusual for Disney, but president and CEO Bob Iger recently said the company was reconsidering. Full story
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D.C. area’s black residents make chess their game
Avis Thomas-Lester
FORESTVILLE, Md. — It’s 9 o’clock on a Friday night at a Starbucks in Forestville, and Robb Peterbark is glaring across the chessboard at his opponent.
“You better take Barbaro while you got the chance. If not, he’s gonna get you,” Peterbark snarls, referring to a knight he has named after the Kentucky Derby winner.
Across the board, Dwight Dawson frowns as he contemplates his next move. Full story
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