The Knight with
Two Weapons:
The Bow and the Blade
A chamber performance on the life of Joseph Bologne,
Chevalier de Saint-Georges
One of history's most remarkable figures — composer, swordsman, military commander, and free man of color in 18th-century France — told through live chamber music, narration, acrobatics, and projected imagery.
One public performance. April 18, 2026, Atlanta. Reserve Your Place
Official Poster · 2026
What The Knight with Two Weapons is
This is a hybrid chamber production that traces the life of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799): an Afro-Caribbean virtuoso who became one of the most celebrated figures in pre-revolutionary France, then largely disappeared from the historical record.
The April 18 performance is the production's first open public presentation. Separate educational performances have been developed for school audiences. The public event is intended for adult audiences and families.
Works by Bologne alongside compositions by Fela Sowande, Ernest Bloch, and Edmund Dédé
A dramatic text written for the production by writer Michayla Best
Physical performance by acrobat Russell Woo, placed in structural dialogue with the music
Archival imagery and original visual design, supporting the narrative without overwhelming it
Produced by Matthieu Clavé.
Why Joseph Bologne matters
Joseph Bologne was many things that his century could not comfortably hold: the son of an enslaved woman and a French colonial planter, raised in France, educated at the finest academies, and celebrated as the finest swordsman and violinist of his generation.
He composed symphonies and operas, directed the Concert des Amateurs, and commanded the Légion Saint-Georges — the first all-Black regiment in European military history.
His story is not a discovery. It is a recovery.
He was also deliberately erased — by rivals who could not accept that a man of his origins could outperform them, and by a revolutionary moment that redistributed power without resolving its contradictions.
The Knight with Two Weapons does not make an argument about Joseph Bologne. It returns him to the stage where he belongs — as a composer, as a subject of serious artistic attention, and as a figure whose life illuminates the distances between formal equality and lived experience.
What audiences will experience
The performance runs approximately 50 minutes without intermission.
You will hear Bologne's string writing played live — precise, elegant, and genuinely moving in a way that recorded music cannot replicate.
The acrobatic passages by Russell Woo are not decorative; they are structural. Physical virtuosity and musical virtuosity are placed in direct dialogue.
The narration, written by Michayla Best, does not editorialize. It narrates — with clarity, economy, and the restraint that lets an extraordinary life speak for itself.
This is not an event to passively receive. It is a performance that asks something from its audience: attention, patience, and a willingness to hold complexity without resolution.
Partners and Support
The Knight with Two Weapons has been developed with the support of cultural and civic partners whose involvement reflects the project’s artistic seriousness, educational value, and international relevance.
The production is designed not only for public audiences, but also for schools, community settings, and future presenting partners seeking work that is historically grounded, visually strong, and professionally produced.
Support for French cultural presence and international exchange.
Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs
Civic support for the production’s contribution to Atlanta’s cultural life.
Community partnership supporting French language, culture, and family engagement.
Press inquiries, presenting partnerships, school bookings, and conversations with prospective business sponsors may be directed to matt@claventure.com.
Who this is for
- Adults and families who find meaning in live music and the performing arts
- Those with an interest in French history, the Black Atlantic, or 18th-century Europe
- Members of Atlanta's francophone and internationally minded communities
- Audiences who appreciate productions that take their attention seriously
The performance contains no graphic content. Children comfortable with live classical music and physical performance are welcome. An educational version tailored to school audiences (ages 6–12) is available separately — educators may inquire directly at matt@claventure.com.
Matthieu Clavé
Matthieu Clavé is a French-born flutist, teaching artist, and cultural producer based in Atlanta. His work brings together performance, education, and institutionally grounded community programming with a focus on artistic rigor, historical intelligence, and public accessibility.
He is President of Atlanta’s Parisian School of Music, a faculty member at Atlanta International School, and also serves on faculty at Atlanta Music Project. As a performer, he appears regularly in orchestral and chamber settings, including with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra.
The Knight with Two Weapons reflects the convergence of those disciplines. Developed around the life and legacy of Joseph Bologne, the production combines chamber music, narration, acrobatics, and visual storytelling in a format designed for both public audiences and educational presentation.
Through Claventure Ventures, Matthieu develops projects that connect cultural excellence, civic presence, and thoughtful leadership. He is also a bilingual REALTOR® with eXp Realty, bringing the same clarity, discipline, and care to his real estate practice that he brings to his artistic work.
Full Biography →The Creative Team
French-born flutist, teaching artist, and producer shaping the project’s artistic direction, musical curation, and public presentation.
Writer of the original narration, shaping the production’s language with clarity, discipline, and a strong sense of dramatic economy.
Performer bringing acrobatic and musical virtuosity into direct dialogue, expanding the production’s physical and visual language.
Reserve Your Place
The April 18 performance is the only public presentation of this production. Seating is limited. RSVP is required.
Atlanta International School
2890 N Fulton Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30305
Frequently asked
Joseph Bologne (1745–1799) was a French composer, violinist, fencer, and military officer born in Guadeloupe to an enslaved woman and a French planter. He became one of the most celebrated figures in pre-revolutionary French cultural life — composing symphonies, string quartets, and operas while simultaneously excelling in fencing at a level that earned him the title of the finest swordsman in France.
He later commanded the Légion Saint-Georges, the first all-Black regiment in European military history. Despite this record, his work was largely excluded from the European musical canon after his death.
Yes, with some consideration. The performance is designed primarily for adults and older children comfortable with live classical music and physical performance. It contains no graphic content. An educational version developed for school audiences ages 6–12 is available separately.
The narration is in English. The music is instrumental. French-speaking audiences will find the subject matter resonant; no French language fluency is required to follow the performance.
The performance runs approximately 50 minutes without intermission.
No. The educational production for school audiences is a distinct version of the material, adapted for younger audiences in classroom and assembly settings. The April 18 performance is the full chamber production intended for adult public audiences.
The production features narration by writer Michayla Best and performance by acrobat and pianist Russell Woo. It is produced and directed by Matthieu Clavé.
This page will be updated as future performances are scheduled. If you represent a cultural institution, performing arts venue, or educational organization interested in hosting a future performance, please contact us at matt@claventure.com.
Claventure Ventures is the professional platform of Matthieu Clavé — encompassing his work as a musician, educator, cultural producer, and REALTOR®. The production lives here because it is his work. There is no sales agenda attached to this page.
Please write to matt@claventure.com. For school programming inquiries, please include the name of your institution and the grade levels you serve.
Born into a world designed to limit him, Joseph Bologne mastered the disciplines that world reserved for others: music, arms, intellect, command.
The Knight with Two Weapons presents that life not as legend, but as example — rigor against diminishment, excellence against erasure, form against the forces that would reduce a human being to circumstance.
We hope you will join us.