Musician’s talents celebrate her authentic life

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Tona Brown is violinist with the Aida Strings Ensemble.

Updated: June 10, 2011 9:43AM

Audiences will learn a lot about Tona Brown when she appears at the Skokie Theatre this weekend.

Both her lecture on Saturday afternoon and her performance on Sunday evening are entitled, “This Is Who I Am.” That’s also the title of her debut album due out this summer as well as a memoir that she plans to complete by the end of this year.

The Washington, D.C. based multi-talented performer is an African American transgender violinist and mezzo-soprano, who performs extensively across the country and in Europe. A founding member of the Aida Strings Ensemble, she frequently serves as principal violinist with the Radiance String Ensemble. Brown also works with the Baltimore Vocal Arts Foundation, both as a violinist and singer.

Early success

Brown began playing the violin at the age of 10, and was winning competitions by the time she was 14. She won more awards while attending Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia. She performed with the school’s orchestra and quartet in England and France.

In addition to her musical accomplishments, Brown, who transgendered when she was around 22, is an active advocate for transgender rights and devotes a lot of time to working with LGBT young people, “making sure that the youths are empowered. That’s really important to me,” she said. “You have to give back to the community.”

Brown reported that the June 12 concert is “primarily going to be repertoire of African American composers, as well as European composers.” She hadn’t finalized her program at press time but indicated that there will be some Negro spirituals and most likely a full length sonata, probably by Beethoven.

A number of selections will be from Brown’s upcoming album. “’This Is Who I Am’ is about the music of African-American composers, art songs and instrumentals, as well as vocals,” Brown said.

Explaining her life

Brown said she is really looking forward to the June 11 lecture. She plans to explain “what it was like to be born African American and transition from male to female.”

Brown hopes that young people will attend the lecture because she wants to encourage them to follow their dreams. “You can’t let anything stop you,” she emphasized. “I didn’t let anything stop me and this is where I’ve gone.”

She will explain how she “was able to achieve success being ‘out’ as a transgender woman. That’s what I really want to focus on — that we’re all people, just like everyone else. It’s possible to be successful being your authentic self.”

There will be a question and answer period following the lecture.

“I’m living my dream,” Brown declared. That includes being able to “perform internationally. Not having to feel that I need to be in the closet to do so is my dream. That’s what makes my journey so special and unique.”