How The Illharmonic’s mix of hip-hop and classical builds community, one show at a time

Kaleb Cabell, Andrea Coln McNeill and Jeffrey McNeill perform as part of The Illharmonic Orchestra at NPR’s Washington headquarters. Brianna Scott/NPR

Brianna Scott/NPR

Vocalist and composer Jeffrey McNeill says it was back in 1987, when he was still a kid, when he first started hearing the links between hip-hop and classical music.

“I was put in flute and piano lessons as a child, and my father introduced me to The Sugarhill Gang, ‘Rapper’s Delight,'” McNeill