Dearest Readers,

Now, just a show of hands--how many of you do a quick scan of the photos before reading?  Me too.  :)

I'm going to keep it short this month. I'd just like to thank MHS's most recent patrons, Patricia E. Tyson and Dr. David E. Morrow, for their generous gifts.  If you have not already done so, please consider contributing to MHS. Donations benefit our efforts to attract  new and diverse audiences to this vibrant community.

Thank you so much for your continued support! Wishing you all the best this holiday season.

Dulcetly,
Rashida N. Black
Founder/Executive Director

P.S. Remember, January 2008 is the final month for you to be considered a Founding Sponsor in this inaugural year of MHS. 

Make a Tax-Deductible Contribution

Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS) presents soprano Kathleen Battle with pianist Joel Martin and the WPAS Children of the Gospel Choir in an evening of celebration, inspiration, and hope on December 7 at 8pm. Tickets: $25.00 - $85.00. The show is selling out fast so order now!

The title, "Concert and Afterglow Gala" says it all, n'est-ce pas? Opera Noire will be the red-carpet/black-tie event of the season! New York City's midtown will be the hottest place on the East Coast when an orchestra comprised of rising-star musicians and a stage full of internationally-acclaimed vocalists under the baton of Maestro Willie Anthony Waters take over for one amazing night of music and fabulousness.

Opera Noire was established by Kenneth Overton, Robert Mack and Barron Coleman "to empower members to achieve their full potential in a mutually supportive, honest and positive environment which promotes effective training, constructive sharing and unselfish generosity. Our vision is to provide every member the opportunity to develop vocally, dramatically and artistically, which in turn fosters self-confidence and personal growth."   

This is the season of Handel's Messiah. No matter where you reside, it's almost guaranteed to be in your city. In Cincinnati? You're in luck! Support tenor John Wesley Wright as he performs the opera twice this month on the same day. (And if you're feeling bold, ask him to join you in a rousing game of tennis.)

Catch the first show in the morning. Handel’s Messiah (Christmas portion) at St. John’s Unitarian Church Sunday, December 16 at 11am.

The second show: Under the baton of conductor Neal Gittleman, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra presents Andrea Chenoweth, so­prano; Steven Rickards, countertenor; John Wesley Wright, tenor; Elias Mokole, baritone and the Dayton Philharmonic Chamber Choir in Handel's Messiah. Sunday, December 16 at 4pm, Westminster Presbyterian Church. Single Ticket Prices: $24 General Admission.

The Washington Post referred to Eric Owens as "bronze-voiced." A native of Philadelphia, Owens began his music training as a pianist at the age of six, followed by formal oboe study at age eleven under Lloyd Shorter of the Delaware Symphony and Louis Rosenblatt of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He later studied voice while an undergraduate at Temple University and then as a graduate student at the Curtis Institute of Music, and currently studies with Armen Boyajian. He serves on the Board of Trustees of both The National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and Astral Artistic Services. The bass-baritone will make his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as General Leslie Groves in Doctor Atomic. "The Bomb. It changed our lives and our world forever. Hard to fathom a bigger — or more personal — subject." Sounds menacing, but it's nothing for this man in uniform.

Catch Eric Owens at Chicago's Lyric Opera on December 14, 17 & 19. All shows begin at 7:30pm. Shows run until January 9, 2008. Check site for more information.

photo: Sunny Scwab

Los Angeles Opera presents Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème. "Against the festive holiday backdrop of 19th-century Paris on Christmas Eve, starving artists in the Latin Quarter engage in high jinks, high spirits and high romance. A chance meeting between the young poet Rodolfo and his neighbor Mimi leads to love while that other bohemian Marcello and his coquettish amour Musetta find that breaking up is hard to do. As the saying goes, the course of true love never did run smooth, and carefree happiness can turn to heartbreak in the twinkling of an eye." Soprano Nicole Heaston sings the role of Musetta under the baton of Maestro Placido Domingo. This is her LA Opera debut!

Laquita Mitchell also debuts in the role of Musetta. Go and you'll see one of them. Either way, it's a win-win! Saturday December 1, 2007 7:30 p.m. Wednesday December 5, 2007 7:30 p.m. Saturday December 8, 2007 7:30 p.m. Sunday December 9, 2007 1:00 p.m. Tuesday December 11, 2007 7:30 p.m. Friday December 14, 2007 7:30 p.m. Sunday December 16, 2007 1:00 p.m.

Recitalist and concert artist Terrance Brown is a native of West Blocton, Alabama. His performance credits include: Salieri in Rimsky Korakov's Mozart and Salieri, Jake/Robbins in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Le Baili in Massenet's Werther, Le Marquis in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Dashwood in Adamo's Little Women. This month, he will be featured in Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra's production of George Frideric Handel's Messiah, the best know and most performed choral work of the season. 

Saturday, December 8 at 7pm at the First Baptist Church Downtown. Also featuring Dr. Kenneth Fulton, Chorusmaster; Kathryn Drake, Soprano; Jennifer Crippen, Mezzo-Soprano; Jin Hin Yap, Tenor; and the Baton Rouge Symphony Chorus.

See this diva perform Christmas favorites at The Peace Center Concert Hall on December 17, 18 & 19 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $15 - $35 (children 12 & under $10). Visit site for more information.

Tenor Steven Cole made his San Francisco Opera debut in 1980 and returns to the stage in an opera by Igor Stravinsky, The Rake's Progress, as Sellem the auctioneer. The SFO's opera compendium: "a reckless young Englishman is seduced by the Devil—or is it his own shadow?—into abandoning his true love for a life of shallow pleasures." How intriguing!

Cole has also graced the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and Washington Opera. He performs regularly in Europe. Catch him and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves on Saturday, December 1 at 8pm; Tuesday, December 4 & 7 at 8pm (high-definition video projection screens will be featured on the balcony level for these performances); and Sunday, December 9 at 2pm.

Another star who needs no introduction... Named one of Glamour's Women of the Year, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves joins Maestro Timothy Muffitt and the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra for a Christmas celebration of holiday favorites for the whole family.

Thursday, December 20 at 7:30pm. Visit site for more information.

I think the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra web site says it best: " Don't miss the holiday concert of the season! Along with the amazing 200-voice Festival High School Chorale, your RPO performs holiday favorites with vocalist Kevin Deas in a concert filled with fun and festivity." Right on. This season, Deas appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Opera Boston, Houston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, the Washington Chorus, The Collegiate Chorale (NY) and Staatskapelle Weimar.  He also sang Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (Op.125 "Choral") under the baton of Maestro Barenboim with Filarmonica della Scala in Accra celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the founding of Ghana.

You have four opportunities to experience this amazing show: December 20-23, 2007 at 8pm at the Eastman School Theatre or call 585-274-1100 for more information.

The Metropolitan Opera will stage its production of Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) by Giuseppe Verdi featuring soprano Michèle Crider as Amelie.  The opera is based on the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden, but due to its political nature, composer Verdi was asked by the government to change the names as protection. Quel risqué!

Few vocalists are rewarded the prestige of winning the esteemed District Metropolitan Opera Auditions. Crider has done it twice. Be sure to check out her vocal skills on December 17, 21, 24 & 29 at 8pm; Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 8pm; and Saturday, January 5 at 1:30pm.

compiled by Lisa Bryce, soprano

Arizona, this Handel's for you! Philadelphia-native Kenneth Overton of Opera Noire fame (see above) will be the featured baritone for this Messiah. He has also been heard on the stages of Connecticut Opera, Metro Lyric Opera (NJ), Houston Ebony Opera Guild, OperaDelaware, Nashville Opera, Opera Broadway Boheme and City Center Encore. An advocate of modern opera works, Mr. Overton was a winner of the Liederkranz Competition, as well as a national winner of the Leontyne Price Vocal Competition.

Watch the Phoenix Symphony Chamber Ochestra and Chorus perform under the baton of Maestro Michael Christie. December 14-20, 2007 at 7:30pm at the Central United Methodist Church ( 1875 N Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85004). Also featuring soprano Nathalie Paulin, mezzo-soprano Stacey Rishoi, and tenor John McVeigh. Tickets: $28 General Admission.

The Santa Rosa Symphony will feature Theresa Santiago, soprano; Susan Platts, mezzo-soprano; Richard Clement, tenor; and Dean Elzinga, bass baritone with the Santa Rosa Symphony Honor Choir performing Giuseppe Verdi's huge Requiem Mass. (Seriously--soprano, alto, tenor, and bass soloists, mixed chorus, two flutes and piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, four bassoons, four horns, four trumpets, four more trumpets offstage, three trombones, tuba (replacing the obsolete ophicleide), timpani, bass drum, and strings. You can't tell me that's not huge.) SRS says: "Like the operas for which Verdi is celebrated, and true to the composer's passionate Italian heritage, Messa da Requiem is full of vigorous rhythms, sublime melodies and powerful contrasts. Imagine the SRS Honor Choir fronted by renowned operatic stars in a complex weaving of themes of life and death. The Requiem is by turns hushed, sorrowful, agitated, consoling, thundering and angelic. So monumental it comprises the entire program for our holiday concert set."

Native New Yorker Theresa Santiago is near and dear to the heart of MHS. She recently issued her first solo CD featuring works by Spanish composers on the Musical Heritage label. See this soprano perform live on December 8 & 10 at 8pm and Sunday, December 9 at 3pm, Wells Fargo Center. Tickets: $27 - $50.

Under the baton of Darin Atwater, the Soulful Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will open its season with A Great Joy. This holiday treat will have you giddier than spiked eggnog. Every time I make the trip out to Baltimore, I wonder if the musicians on stage have as much fun as the chair-dancing audience they captivate. My guess? They do!

These performances are always sold out. Make sure you're not left out in the cold. Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 8pm at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

Winner of two competitions, Licia Albanese/Puccini Foundation and the Bellini International Voice Competition, baritone Leonard Rowe is a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia and a graduate of North Carolina School of the Arts. He started this season performing with the New York City Opera in Margaret Garner by Richard Danielpour and Toni Morrison. This past season, Rowe performed with the Cape Town Opera in South Africa, the Michigan Opera Theater in Detroit and the Israel Kibbutz Orchestra in Tel Aviv. Leonard sang the role of Jake on the World Premiere Recording of the Original 1935 Production version of Porgy and Bess on the Decca Label released in September of 2006. He has also performed various roles throughout the US with companies including Mobile Opera, Atlanta Opera, Nashville Opera, Grand Rapids Opera, Piedmont Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Company of North Carolina, Roanoke Opera, Opera Tampa, New Orleans Opera, and Virginia Opera.

Rowe will perform with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic when they present the Polar Express Holiday Show at the Kirby Center, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on December 7 & 8 at 7pm. 

photo: Rick Stockwell

See her perform at the Comdata Special Event on Thursday, December 20 at 7pm and December 21 & 22 at 8pm. Under the baton of George Mabry, the Nashville Symphony and Chorus will perform Handel's perinnial masterpiece. Also featuring mezzo-soprano Jennifer Dudley, tenor Thomas Cooley and baritone Weston Hurt.

Shows begin Wednesday, December 12 at 7:30pm, Basilica of St. Mary (Tickets: $26-$49). Thursday, December 13 at 7:30pm, Cathedral of St. Paul * (Tickets: $20-$49). Sunday, December 16 at 2pm, Orchestra Hall (Tickets: $20-$49). Sunday,December 23 at 2pm, Orchestra Hall Sing-Along (Tickets: $25). Stephen Layton, conductor; Jennifer Dudley, mezzo; Thomas Cooley, tenor; Nathan Berg, bass; Minnesota Chorale.

Having performed with a number of high-profile musicians including Jessye Norman, Natalie Cole, Gloria Estefan, and Tricia Yearwood, the Morehouse Glee Club will be featured artists when the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra presents their annual Christmas with the ASO. I love to see them rush in an produce glorious sounds that make me sway in my seat. This group is captivating!

December 7 & 8 at 8pm and December 9 at 2 & 8pm The program is a mystery. Attend the concert and be surprised.

In addition, The Glee Club also presents 81st Annual Morehouse - Spelman Christmas Carol Concert Series. You must hear the mellifluous voices of the men and women of these adjoining HBCUs.

Saturday, December 1 at Sisters Chapel, Spelman College (350 Spelman Lane, SW) and Sunday, December 2 at Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel, Morehouse College (830 Westview Drive, SW) . Showtimes are 8pm each evening. Please arrive early as these concerts are popular and fill up quickly! For more information regarding this concert, please contact either the Morehouse College Department of Music at 404-215-2601 or Spelman College Department of Music at 404-270-5476.

Timothy Jones is back! You remember him... He's a native of Shreveport, Louisiana. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in piano and voice at Centenary College and earned his Masters and Doctorate degrees from the University of Michigan, where he studied under the tutelage of distinguished professor George Shirley. He was the winner of the Alice Baird Award, the Joy Whitman Weinberger Award, the Virginia Kilpatrick Shehee Award for academic study and the Friends of Opera Competition. He was also awarded a fellowship at the Aspen Opera Theater Center where he was a winner in the Concerto/Aria Competition. He serves on the faculty of the University of Houston. Yes, THAT Timothy Jones. 

Watch him perform with The Cleveland Orchestra in the 2007 Holiday Festival of Handel's Messiah on Sunday, December 16 at 7:30pm. Severance Hall. Robert Porco, conductor. Ellie Dehn, soprano. Marie Masters, soprano. Ellen Rabiner, mezzo-soprano. Scott Scully, tenor.  Cleveland Orchestra Chamber Chorus. Program includes Vivaldi's Gloria.

Soprano Veronica Chapman-Smith has sung roles with Natchez Opera Festival, Shaker Mountain Opera, Opera Colorado, Opera Theater of The Rockies, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, Center City Opera, Elysium Concert Opera of Philadelphia, New York Opera Project, Delaware Valley Opera Company, and Opera Birmingham. Ms. Chapman-Smith's solo appearances have included Colorado Symphony, Gulf Atlantic Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, Mendelsshon Club of Philadelphia, and Orquestra Sinfonica Municipal de Caracas. She is currently on the roster of several local professional and semi-professional singing choruses: Opera Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Singers, and Choral Arts Society.

She will appear in Work: Home For The Holidays under the baton of Scott Speck and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, December 1 at 8pm at the Cannon Center For The Performing Arts. She will do a second performance of the same "Work" on Friday and Saturday, December 14-15 at 8pm with Maestro Speck and the West Shore Symphony at the Frauenthal Theater. Check respective sites for more information.

Residents of Charleston, consider yourselves lucky! Soprano Jennifer Bynum, Maestro Vincent Danner, and vocalist Kenneth Alston are teaming up in your city for an amazing concert tonight! These musicians are at the top of their game. The acclaimed Charleston Symphony Orchestra Gospel Choir will once again bring to life the sounds of the season.

Saturday, December 1, 8pm in Gaillard Auditorium. Program includes traditional gospel arrangements and beloved Christmas favorites. Kick off your holiday season the right way: at the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Gospel Christmas of course!

Two New Reviews!
MHS Principal Advisor, Dominique-René de Lerma, has reviewed a new CD and a new book: The music of Ulysses Kay (Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra; Kevin Scott, conductor) and How to become a great creative genius by Judith Anne Still. Make sure to check out the reviews. Both items make terrific stocking-stuffers for the holidays!!!

William Henry Curry, conductor
William Henry Curry is currently in his eleventh season with the North Carolina Symphony. He came to the North Carolina Symphony by way of New Orleans where he served as Resident Conductor of the New Orleans Symphony. Maestro Curry serves as the artistic director for Summerfest and all North Carolina Symphony summer programs. He also conducts classical, educational and pops concerts throughout the state. Concerts begin Saturday, December 1 at 8pm, then continue December 8-9 & 22 at various times. Check the calendar of events for more information.

Sinfo-Nia goes to Ghana
The Youth Sinfo-Nia of Atlanta have adopted the Tamale Children's Home Orphanage in Ghana. This orphanage consists of mostly babies and children whose parents have died of the pandemic of AIDS. Sinfo-Nia is accepting funds for this trip as well as to assist the orphanage which will receive diapers and clothes among other needs. The baby clothes may be dropped off (or shipped to) at Providence Missionary Baptist Church (2295 Benjamin E. Mays Dr. SW, Atlanta, GA 30311). Please indicate "Sinfo-Nia (c/o David Robinson)" on the package.  Monetary donations can also be left at the church in Sinfo-Nia's mailbox or you can mail them (no cash) to: Still Waters Youth Sinfo-Nia, P.O. Box 42732, Atlanta, Georgia 30311-0732. The group is scheduled to travel to Ghana on Saturday, December 22, 2007 and return on January 4, 2008. Please keep them in your prayers.

Measha B. in Ebony
Check out the wonderful article in Ebony magazine on soprano Measha  Brueggergosman. (The front page is great too!) You'll remember that Measha was highlighted in the November MHS eNewsletter. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

Check it out.

Ritz Chamber Players
One of the most sought-after chamber ensembles in the country, the Ritz Chamber Players, announce their 2007-08 season, which kicks off Thursday, December 6 at 7:30pm at the Jacoby Hall, Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, Downtown! The premiere program includes Bohuslav Martinu Three Madrigals for violin and viola; Bruch Trio Pieces, for clarinet, viola & piano Op. 83 and Mozart Piano Quartet in E-flat major, K.493. If you've been sleeping on them thus far, wake up! These four concerts of the RCP season will be the hottest tickets de l'année!

Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Both the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Music School and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra share Maestro Thomas Wilkins this month. Check him out in Rhode Island with featured guest pianist Helen Huang on Saturday, December 1. Then at the Canadian Brass Holiday Concert on Friday, December 7 at 8 pm* (State Theatre in New Brunswick) and Saturday, December 8 at 8 pm (NJPAC in Newark) with the NJ Symphony.

THE CHOCOLATE NUTCRACKER
Life Force Cultural Arts Academy presents The Chocolate Nutcracker. Apparently, this production has been going on for a few years now (6 years at least) and is widely successful. I just happened upon a flier of the group during my Thanksgiving holiday in St. Pete, FL. I'm so interested to see what they're up to. If anyone goes, send me an email and let me know what it's all about. Life Force "has provided outreach cultural performing arts programs and activities to several organizations throughout the community." Take the family to see this production on Sunday, December 2 at 2pm & 7:30pm, Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre. Buy Tickets: $26-$46. Then at the Progress Energy Center on Mahaffey Theater Saturday, December 8 at 1pm & 7:30 pm.

Hot Topic! articles
My amusing weekly musings on any number of topics related to the classical community of color. Leave a comment. Share an opinion. Let's talk! Or if you'd like to publish your own article on the MHS site, simply send me an email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it