Jan 29 (Bloomberg) -- Diva Jessye Norman will host a festival of black music, everything from blues to jazz and gospel, at New York's Carnegie Hall and other venues in March 2009.

``Honor! A Celebration of the African-American Cultural Legacy,'' will comprise about 20 concerts at Carnegie Hall, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights and the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall's executive director, unveiled the 2008-09 season at a press conference today in Manhattan. Bank of America will sponsor the hall's new season.

``I've been wanting to do a concert series like this all my life,'' the African-American Norman said in an interview at Carnegie Hall.

Norman is putting the program together and will sing at a Duke Ellington tribute concert.

The festival is the first in recent memory organized by the 117-year-old concert hall to focus on different genres of black music.

``There is so much extraordinary African-American music, I didn't feel it was appropriate to do a single concert,'' Gillinson said. ``It pervades so many other music forms that were developed in America.''

Bernstein Tribute

Carnegie Hall also will pay tribute to the late conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein's 90th birthday from September to December 2008 with more than 30 events. Three of his symphonies, a semi-staged production of his musical, ``On the Town'' and performances of one of his most famous works, ``Mass,'' will be performed in different venues in New York. Bernstein died in 1990.

``Bernstein: the Best of All Possible Worlds'' starts with a gala concert featuring the San Francisco Symphony led by his protege Michael Tilson Thomas on Sept. 24.

The season also includes a series of concerts selected by pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim; tabla player Zakir Hussain and a week-long residency by Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Cole in New York at pcole3@Bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 29, 2008 16:47 EST