African American spirituals are a part of our collective culture, but their roots and true meanings are not universally known, even within the African American community.

Yolanda F. Johnson, who is working to build understanding of the genre, will share her expertise on the subject during “A Spirituals Experience,” a special event this Saturday, April 2, presented by RiverArts at First Baptist Church in Tarrytown, where Johnson is the music director.

Yolanda F. Johnson to Perform “A Spirituals Experience” in Tarrytown. This program, which is part-lecture, part-recital, first premiered in Harlem in February 2011 for Black History Month. Yolanda offers unique insight on traditional spirituals and illuminates their hidden meaning through performance and conversation. RiverArts’ Producer, Marie-Louise Miller, leads a conversation with Yolanda. There will be an opportunity to take audience questions.

From the imagination of writer Melanie Hoopes of Hastings comes “Kindness Committee,” a new play that explores the question, “What do those people in the audience really think about?”
Presented by RiverArts, the play will be performed on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19 at 7 p.m., at South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry.

Top 5 Art Pick of the week by ArtsWestchester: Can music be translated? If it’s a song, the words can be translated from the original language. But one might think that a note is a note, and it can’t be changed without altering the composition. Well, a musical translation is exactly what the audience will experience at the world premiere of a new arrangement of Richard Strauss’s Last Four Songs at St. Barnabas Church in Ardsley on March 6.