For nearly 50 years, the Community Music Center of Houston has proven to be an important place of sound, vision and education.
Through their outreach programs that includes classes, lessons, performances, and lectures, they’ve been able to bring music education and appreciation to the mostly minority youth of the Third Ward. And provided opportunities that would not be available elsewhere.
As June is Black Music Month, the organization is reviving its Legacy Project Honors. For 2026 they are recognizing four women whose work has shaped Houston’s musical education through teaching, performance, and cultural memory: Dr. Anne Lundy, Dr. Ruth Stewart, Ina Zellers, and Dr. Gloria Quinlan.
One June 7, part of the festivities include the art exhibition “Music is My Sanctuary” and the ceremony. But the highlight will likely be a live concert by the ensemble the Firey String Sistas. The New York-based collective has performed all over the country with their unique interpretations of jazz and classical standards along with bold original music.
As to how they “Fire Up” cover tunes so to speak, Nioka Workman (cello/vocals) and Founder of the Sistas says it’s about balancing respect for the writer, but also adding your own interpretation.
“Our elders have always said to us that you can’t take a piece of music and just play it the way it’s written, you have to make it your own. And that’s our task,” she says. “Each time we find a standard, we try to put our own feeling on it. And with the [original] music, it’s great fun to try new ideas. Not all of them are great, but some of them are!”
Accompanying her to Houston are the two other core members: Marlene Rice (violin/vocals) and Mala Waldron (lead vocals/piano). All three have deep musical resumes which have taken them to recording studios and concert stages around the world. They will be augmented for this show by two guest “Brothas,” Belden Bullock (bass) and E.J. Stickland (drums).
Though her background was more in classical, years ago Workman founded the group Sojourner, which reflected her new interests in jazz and improvisation. Then she hooked up with Rice and Waldron and a rotating lineup of players and instruments to form the Firey String Sistas around 2018.
Workman knows that when people hear the phrase “string ensemble,” they believe they might be in store for a slow, staid, and overly calm experience. This group is anything but. After all, it’s right there in their name—Firey.
“People wonder well, what is it we do, jazz or classical? They’re not sure what to expect. Some folks are calling what we do Jazz Chamber music. It’s slightly a new term, but we just hope that people enjoy and connect to our music,” she offers. The Sistas recently released their debut record That’s What She Said.
For her part, Dr. Anne Lundy is normally the CMCH Music Director. But here she finds herself among the Legacy honorees. “It’s odd! I’m usually the one organizing the show. But now, this is a rare time I’m supposed to stand there and just say ‘Thank you!’” she laughs. “But I appreciate it!”
Not lost on anyone is that the whole shebang will take place at the Eldorado Ballroom. Opened in 1939 and closed in 1972, it was the epicenter of Houston’s Black musical life. The Eldorado attracted touring musicians like Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Arnett Cobb, Ray Charles, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, and B.B. King. After a $10 million restoration by Project Row Houses, it reopened to much fanfare in 2023 as a cultural event space.
“It changes my approach to be in such a historic place, and I do remember the El Dorado from a long time ago,” Dr. Lundy says. “I’m just so grateful that it was preserved. It’s a beautiful space and represents to me our past while we’re continuing to look toward the future in the Third Ward.”
Both women are also keenly aware of how in music education programs in public schools are being gutted, altered, or eliminated. And especially at institutions serving primarily Black and Brown kids. Dr. Lundy says that CMCH programs can step in and take up the slack, but only to a point.
“Our part of the Houston Independent School District is in the urban area. I’ve got friends who teach in suburban schools and they have more resources, more money, and more everything,” she says. “But when it comes to our kids, we don’t have them. Our programs are being cut. And it’s all about the test scores. I’m sad about that, but all I can do is get angry and keep pushing.”
For her part, Workman hopes that any children in attendance at the concert do have their interests piqued in music and hopes they have questions for her about the music or her instrument.
The Community Music Center Houston’s roots began in 1979 when Patricia Johnson and Ron Scales created The Society for the Preservation of Spirituals to celebrate and preserve the legacy of “American Negro Slave Music.”
They were inspired by the instruction of Clyde O. Jackson, Minister of Music at the historic Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. Two years later, they widened their scope to other black music traditions to become the Community Music Center of Houston. In 1983, Dr. Lundy came on board. The Houston Press wrote about their 40th anniversary in 2019.
Finally, Workman does have a tangential connection to Houston music royalty, and that would be Ms. Beyoncé Knowles. Workman’s played on the single “Baby Boy” from her 2003 record debut, Dangerously in Love.
“We were only in the studio, so we really didn’t get a chance to meet her personally,” Workman says. “but we did a lot of recording playing strings for her!”
The CMCH Legacy Honoree Celebration and Firey String Sistas play at 4:30 pm on Sunday, June 7, at the El Dorado Ballroom’s Dupree Room, 2310 Elgin. Art exhibit opens at 2 p.m. For more information, call 713-523-9710or visit CMCHouston.org. Donations accepted for entry.
For more in the Firey String Sistas, visit FireyStringSistas.info
