Mr. Speaker, this is Black History Month, and I want to tell you about a cause that Léo Koby Véro, a South Shore resident, is fighting for.
Mr. Véro has always fought a number of fights to promote his community, and currently, he is trying to gain recognition for a great black artist of the 18th century whom history has forgotten, black classical composer Joseph Bologne de Saint-Georges, also known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Mr. Véro is the founding president of the Circle of the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
In addition to being a phenomenal violinist, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges was a talented composer of music for string quartets, symphonies and quatuor concertants. In addition to being a composer, he was also a conductor.
Some have called him the “black Mozart”, while others prefer to call Mozart the “white Saint-Georges”. Regardless, Saint-Georges will take his rightful place in black history thanks to the tenacity of the members of the Circle of the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.