Bio
Vienna Carroll
Vienna Carroll is a Griot, a singing storyteller.
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Vienna learned music from the Black Ladies of her youth including her fearsome great grandmother who enjoyed playing country guitar every Saturday night but only strictly Pentecostal chords on Sundays. Vienna formalized her cultural studies with a BA in African American Studies at Yale University.
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Vienna's art challenges deeply held stereotypes about the realities of Black family, love and resistance during slavery, and explores the role of music as a part of that everyday life.
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Her newly released CD Harlem Field Recordings grew out of her project Folk First: Black Roots Music, celebrating early Black music and features Vienna on vocals with Stanley Banks (George Benson) on bass, Newman Taylor Baker (Billy Bang) on washboard and Keith Johnston (Lisa Lisa) on guitar.
Other Projects
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SHALLOW BROWN: Thessalonia and the Free Sailor, a musical play featuring the pivotal role of Black sailors in the pre-Civil War freedom struggle. First Langston Hughes Playwright Showcase, Harlem NY.
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Civil War Series: The Life and Times of the Hills Community - commemorating the valor of a local African American community's response to the Civil War, as Teaching Artist in Residence, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY. Award for Excellence in Civil War Focused Public Programs, Greater Hudson Heritage Network.
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First NYC Underground Railroad Festival Juneteenth Celebration - partnering with Plymouth Church of the Pilgrim, a nationally certified Underground Railroad site, and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Sold out crowd and broadcast on NYC’s WBGO FM
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Singin Wid A Sword In Ma Han - a musical docudrama about a family escaping slavery. NYC Fringe Festival Audience Favorite Award
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Residencies
Ragdale Foundation
Virginia Center for Creative Arts
Heck Family Estate
Artist in Residence, Hudson River Museum
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Grants
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow
Garner Glaser Foundation
Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone
Lower Manhattan Community Council