AIR Grantees Uplift Stories of Women Musicians in Arlington
Published on August 27, 2025
Suite for Sweethearts and Killing Me Softly
Arlington’s historically African American Green Valley neighborhood was undoubtedly fertile ground for women musicians of color. The community was home to both the legendary vocalist/pianist Roberta Flack as well as the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, an all-female, multi-ethnic big band that toured to national acclaim in the 1930’s and 40’s. Now, two contemporary women musicians uplift the legacies of these Arlington legends with a weekend showcase at Theatre on the Run, at 3700 South Four Mile Run Drive, in Arlington, Virginia 22206.
The world premiere of Suite for Sweethearts by Amy K. Bormet takes place on Friday, October 3, 2025. The following evening vocalist Munit Mesfin and the First Take Band offers Killing Me Softly: A Love Letter to Roberta Flack, on Saturday, October 4, 2025. There are two shows each evening, at 7:00pm and 9:00pm. Reservations for this FREE are available on Eventbrite (links coming soon).
Additionally, Bormet and Mesfin will each offer youth-oriented presentations at the same location on Sunday, October 5. Bringing Flack’s children’s book, The Green Piano, to life via an interactive performance, Munit and z Lovebugs Celebrate Roberta, Music and You! occurs at 11:00am. Amy K. Bormet offers an improvisation workshop for all experience levels (Age 14+) at 2:00pm. Bormet also invites the public to two free Open Rehearsals (Free) on Thursday and Friday, October 1 and 2 (8:00-10:00 pm).
Receiving one of the top awards from the National Endowment for the Arts American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant, Arlington Arts’ launched a competitive Artists In Residence (AIR) Grant which awarded $20,000 grants to four different Arlington artists. The winning artists-in-residence are: Jazz musician Amy K. Bormet; visual artist MasPaz (Federico Frum); visual artist Adam Henry; and vocalist Munit Mesfin (Sefanit Mesfin-Champagne). The work of the two visual arts winners will be realized over the coming months.
Suite for Sweethearts by Amy K Bormet
At the height of the Swing Era, a racially integrated women’s big band called the International Sweethearts of Rhythm attracted the finest women jazz instrumentalists and toured to national acclaim in the 1930s and 40s. From 1942 through 1949, the band’s home base was at 908 South Quinn St (no longer extant) in Arlington’s historically African American Green Valley neighborhood. Inspired by the Sweethearts, Ms. Bormet has composed a suite of new music for her large ensemble, Bitter Sweethearts. In addition to the performance, the rehearsals of “Suite for Sweethearts” will be open to the public in the Theatre on the Run. The project will include a zine of ephemera from the Washington Women in Jazz Archives and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm collection at the Smithsonian American History Museum.
Watch the International Sweethearts of Rhythm in a 1946 'soundie' on YouTube.
Amy K. Bormet is a performer, composer, and director who tours the US, Europe, South America, and Asia. Amy was an artist-in-residence for Betty Carter Jazz Ahead, and a Mary Lou Williams Emerging Artist at the John F. Kennedy Center. An advocate for women musicians, Amy is the founder and artistic director of the Washington Women in Jazz Festival. Her 17-piece jazz orchestra, Celestial Spang-A-Lang, co-led with Baritone Saxophonist Dr. Leigh Pilzer, premiered at the Atlas Performing Arts Center for the Washington Women in Jazz Festival in March 2023. A proud graduate of DC’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Howard University, Amy is the chair of the alumni board at University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance where she studied with Geri Allen.
Image (left): Four members of International Sweethearts of Rhythm, one of whom is Rosalind "Roz" Cron. Black and white photoprint. Image from the International Sweethearts of Rhythm Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Killing Me Softly: A Love Letter to Roberta Flack by Munit Mesfin
In celebration of the genius that is Roberta Flack, in remembrance of her genre-defying, bold and brilliant artistry, and in honor of her social justice and love centered messages, Munit Mesfin and the First Take Band convey the story of Roberta Flack. Using both original compositions as well as music from Flack’s canon Mesfin explores the Arlington legend’s journey, her friendships that shaped her music, the way she invented and reinvented herself as she killed us softly with her song. It is significant that this 5-time Grammy-award winning musician who passed away on February 24, 2025, lived her formative years in Arlington’s historically African American Green Valley neighborhood. She grew up playing organ at Macedonia Baptist Church and Lomax African Methodist Episcopal Zion, and attending the Hoffman-Boston High School, where she was voted “Most Musical”! This project will celebrate Roberta Flack’s place in Arlington’s history using her music, her social justice activism, and her children’s book for a multi-generational, multi-disciplinary experience. Prior to her passing, Munit had the tremendous honor of having played for Roberta Flack at her apartment in New York in 2023 and 2024.
Munit Mesfin is an award-winning Ethiopian American singer, songwriter, teaching artist, MC, and a Pan-African who uses her art to advocate for peace, human rights and justice. Munit has performed in Ethiopia, Egypt, South Africa, Germany, Spain, and across the US. Regionally she has appeared at the Smithsonian National Museum for African Art, the Kennedy Center, Mr. Henry's, and Blues Alley. She has been featured on Voice of America, SABC in South Africa, and Deutschewelle Radio among other media outlets. Mesfin loves creating community through music for all ages in her own soul, jazz or reggae band, with her children as Munit and Z Lovebugs and through the global music collective, Project Locrea!