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THE AMERICAN SPIRITUAL ENSEMBLE ~ Soloist Biographies ~ The American Spiritual Ensemble was founded by Everett McCorvey in 1995. This summer the American Spiritual Ensemble celebrates its tenth consecutive tour of Spain. In Spain alone the American Spiritual Ensemble has performed over 90 concerts. Its members have sung in theaters and opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and abroad in Italy, Germany, Britain, Scotland, Spain and Japan. The repertoire ranges from opera to spirituals to Broadway. The members of the American Spiritual Ensemble are soloists in their own right and the vocalists have thrilled audiences around the world with their dynamic renditions of classic spirituals, jazz and Broadway numbers highlighting the Black experience. The mission of the American Spiritual Ensemble is to keep the American Negro spiritual alive. The repertoire of the American Spiritual Ensemble ranges from spirituals to classical to Broadway and dance. The American Spiritual Ensemble has presented diverse concerts throughout the United States, Europe and South America. Its founder, Everett McCorvey, is a native of Montgomery, Alabama. He received his degrees from the University of Alabama, including a Doctorate of Musical Arts. As a tenor soloist, Dr. McCorvey has performed in major centers around the world including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, Radio City Music Hall in New York and in England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, China, Hungary, Poland and the Czech and Slovak Republics. During the summers, Dr. McCorvey is on the artist faculty of the American Institute of Musical Study (AIMS) in Graz, Austria and the Intermezzo Opera Program in Palm Beach, Florida. Dr. McCorvey holds an Endowed Chair Voice and is Director of Opera at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Alfonse Anderson, Tenor Tenor/Alfonse Anderson is an Associate Professor of Voice and Coordinator of Vocal Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in music from Texas Southern University, and holds a D.M.A. in voice from the University of Arizona. Dr. Anderson has performed in the United States with such notable organizations as the Houston Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Oakland Opera, Opera South, Opera North, Chicago Opera, and as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Symphony, Warsaw Symphony and Krakow Symphony. Dr. Anderson has performed recitals in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. He has also performed throughout Europe, South America and Poland, and with operatic greats Leontyne Price, Grace Bumbry, Jerome Hines and John Vickers. Most recently, Dr. Anderson performed with Opera Columbus, the Grant Park Festival in Chicago, and in concerts in Bloomington, Illinois, with Illinois State University, and in Philadelphia with Opera North. Before coming to UNLV, Dr. Anderson taught Voice and Opera Theater at Illinois State University. Sonya Gabrielle Baker, Soprano Soprano/Sonya Gabrielle Baker, noted for her performances of American music, has been heard in concert both nationally and internationally, including recent appearances in Canterbury Cathedral, England, Carnegie Hall, NY and her city of residence, Murray, KY. Her debut recording, SHE SAYS, featuring art songs of American Women composers was released in October 2004. Dr. Baker made her Carnegie Hall debut with renowned conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and she appeared as soloist on the Yale Alumni Chorus tour to Moscow singing at the Kremlin. Highlights of Dr. Baker’s operatic roles include Elisabetta in Verdi’s DON CARLO, Donna Anna in Mozart’s DON GIOVANNI, Monisha in Joplin’s TREEMONISHA, and the title role in the U.S. premiere of Mascagni’s PINOTTA. Dr. Baker is currently Associate Professor of Voice at Murray State University and Kentucky State Governor for the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Along with a Doctor of Music from Florida State University, Baker holds degrees from Indiana and Yale universities. Her lecture recital on Marian Anderson’s historic 1939 Easter Concert has been presented at several universities, high schools, and conferences. She has received numerous academic and vocal awards and is a frequent guest artist and teacher, having Thomas R. Beard, Jr., Baritone Baritone/Thomas R. Beard, Jr., from Fayetteville, North Carolina, currently resides in Washington, DC. Mr. Beard recently completed 2 years as a resident artist with the Placido Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program of the Washington National Opera. He served as the only Baritone young artist and the first African-American male. Mr. Beard received his Bachelors of Science Degree from Winston-Salem State University where he began his formal vocal training with D’Walla Simmons-Burke. Mr. Beard has performed the bass/baritone in such oratorios as Handel’s Messiah, Verdi Requiem, Faure’ requiem, the Ordering of Moses (Detts), Magnificant (Pergolesi), and the seven last words of Christ( Dubois). Mr. Beard made is Operatic Debut as “Bonzo” in the Muncipal Opera company of Baltimore’s Madame Butterfly ( 1999). Since then, he has appeared with various companies as Marcello in La Boheme, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Escamillo in Carmen, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Conte di Luna in concert excerpts of Il Trovatore and Crown, Porgy, and Jake in excerpts from Porgy & Bess. As a member of The Washington Opera, he has performed with the Company over 90 times, including its recent Tour of Japan Mr. Beard recently made his Pittsburgh Opera Theatre debut in the recent World Premier of the Jazzopera “Just Above My Head.” In November of 2002 Thomas made his John F. Kennedy Center debut as Corporal Morrel in Carmen Jones staring Vanessa Williams and conducted by Placido Domingo. As a member of the Domingo-Cafritz program, Mr. Beard has performed for several Senators and Governors and recently performed for First Lady Laura Bush as a guest at the White House. Gretha Denise Boston, Contralto Contralto/Gretha Denise Boston is the 1995 Tony Award
winner for Best Featured Actress In a Musical (Showboat) and Theater World Award
for Outstanding Debut Artist. She is also a Tony Award and Drama Desk Nominee
for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and nominee for the Helen Hayes Award for
Best Actress for the 2000–01 season at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
(It Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues). In 2002, she portrayed the role of Bloody
Mary in the national tour of South Pacific, starring Robert Goulet. In 2003,
she performed at the Charlotte Rep Theater in the musical Let Me Sing and
returned to Charlotte that same year to portray the role of Lola in the play Jar
the Floor. Janinah Burnett, Soprano Soprano/Janinah Burnett encompasses a versatility which allows her to cross between classical, jazz and pop styles. Her performances in the World Premier of the sister group to Three Mo’ Tenors entitled Three Mo’ Divas was rated a “must see show” by the Art’s Alive entertainment news of San Diego. A recent graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Spelman College, Janinah’s success as Mimí in Baz Luhrman’s production of Puccini’s La Bohème in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theater won her the prestigious 2005 Ovation award. She was with Lurhman since the inception of the show in San Francisco and throughout the Broadway run. She can be heard on the Original Cast recording as well as seen on the 2004 Tony awards. Since Janinah’s Broadway debut, she has made solo performances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, as Pamina in W.A. Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with the Opera Company of Brooklyn and international performances in Austria, Sweden, Japan, Italy, Denmark, and Germany in the Gershwins’Porgy and Bess singing Clara and Bess. Last fall, Janinah sang Mimí in La Bohème with Manitoba Opera in Winnipeg, Canada and in the Montreal Opera annual Gala. This year, Janinah sang Micaela in the Peter Brook adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen with the Skylight Opera Theater which she later reprised at the Todi Music Festival during the summer. She also sang Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with Connecticut Opera, Mimí in La Bohème with Baltimore Opera, Violetta in Columbus Opera's production of LaTraviata and Bess in Michigan Opera Theater's production of Porgy and Bess. In 2007, Janinah looks forward to singing Norina in Don Pasquale with Connecticut Opera and Violetta in a concert version of La Traviata with the Quad City Symphony. Barron Coleman, Tenor Tenor/Barron Coleman, has performed in the best opera theaters in the world entertaining audiences from Milan to Paris to Sydney and Japan. A native son of the lone star state, he also has many important national debuts to his credit including Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera and Dallas Opera. Mr. Coleman spent 2000-2002 in Barcelona singing at the LICEU lending his voice to the roles of the messenger in AIDA, le premier Philistin in SAMSON et DALILA and Maintop in BILLY BUD. During the fall of 2003, Mr. Coleman had the pleasure of singing his first zarzuela in a new production of the Spanish favorite LUISA FERNANDA by Toroba with Los Amigos de la Zarzuela in New York City. Mostly recently, Mr. Coleman returned to the NY concert stage singing revivals of REVELATIONS and RAINBOW with the American’s leading dance company Alvin Ailey, in addition to concerts with Opera Noire of New York in both Washington, D.C. and New York City. Mr. Coleman’s repertoire choices stretch from the title role in Monteverdi’s ORFEO to the demanding role of Tony in Henze’s masterpiece ELERGY FOR YOUNG LOVERS. An alumnus of The Juilliard School, The Manhattan School of Music and Southern Methodist University, Mr. Coleman holds degrees in Vocal Pedagogy, Music Education and Psychology. Jeryl Cunningham-Fleming, Soprano Soprano/Jeryl Cunningham-Fleming, a native New Yorker, has performed in Europe, Japan, and the United States. She made her debut, while still an undergraduate student, with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra in a concert version of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, and has since then gone on to sing the roles of Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare) at the Ernen Musikdorf Festival in Switzerland; Zerlina (Don Giovanni) with the Mannes Opera in New York; Clara (Porgy and Bess) in Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan; and most recently, the Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), the Flower Woman (Andre Previn’s A Street Car Named Desire), the Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro), La Fortuna (L’Incoronazione di Poppea), and most recently, the Queen on the Night (The Magic Flute) with the University of Kentucky Opera Theater. An artist of great sensitivity, Ms. Cunningham-Fleming has appeared in recital and as a concert soloist in venues that include the United Nations and New York’s Lincoln Center. She has also recorded Schubert’s Mass in G major as soloist with the Boy’s Choir of Harlem. In addition to the classical repertoire, Ms. Cunningham-Fleming Jeryl is an outstanding interpreter of traditional music from the rich African-American heritage. She is a regular soloist with the American Spiritual Ensemble and has toured with them through out Europe and the United States. She is also an alumna of the Girls Choir of Harlem. Furthermore, her innovative recital programming frequently includes works by African-American composers. Ms. Cunningham-Fleming holds a Master of Music from the Mannes College of Music in New York, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Kentucky under the supervision of Dr. Everett McCorvey. Calesta A. Day, Soprano Alteouise de Vaughn, Mezzo Mezzo Soprano Alteouise deVaughn is well known to audiences throughout the United States and Europe. She has attracted attention as one of the stars of an exciting new generation of American singers. A native of Altadena California, Ms. deVaughn attended the Eastman School of Music, Rochester N.Y. and The Juilliard School in New York City. Ms. deVaughn made her professional debut in 1975 with the Rochester Philharmonic, and her Carnegie Hall debut in 1979. In 1983 She made her debut with the Atlanta Symphony under the direction of Robert Shaw in Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time and was the focus of widespread press attention for her starring role in Gluck’s Orfeo and Euridice at the Opera Theater of St. Louis. It was that same opera in which she made her European debut at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy in 1984. She has performed a wide variety of major roles with opera companies in the United States and abroad, including the New York City Opera, Washington Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Virginia Opera, Chautaqua Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Lake George Opera Festival, Opera Omaha, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Arkansas Opera Theatre, Eugene Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Orchestra of New York, Teatro Municipal, Teatro Cagliari, Rio de Janeiro, Teatro Giuseppe Verdi, and appeared in the New York City’s Opera’s nationally televised production of Carmen. She was the winner of the 1986 Lucciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition, Silver Medal-George London Career Grant 1985, Stanley Tausend Award, New York City Opera 1984, Leontyne Price Award, National Negro Business Women’s Association 1983, Recently she has toured Europe with the New York Harlem Productions performance of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Keith Dean, Baritone Baritone /Keith Dean has been heralded as a baritone with range, timbre and power that belies his young age. A winner of the 1999 Metropolitan Opera District Auditions Encouragement Award, Mr. Dean is at home with opera, oratorio and American folk music in particular the American Negro Spiritual. In 2001 Mr. Dean was a semi-finalist at the Macallister Awards and also made his professional debut with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis in the role of the Baron in Verdi's La Traviata. Various roles include, Grandpa Moss, in The Tender Land by Aaron Copland; Elder McLean, in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah; Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss and recently as the Commandatore in Don Giovanni, coached and directed by international baritone star Sherrill Milnes. Other roles include, Il Re, from Ariodante, by Handel, the Judge in Trial By Jury by Gilbert and Sullivan and Porgy in concert versions of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, among others. Teachers and Coaches have included Marlena Malas, Everett McCorvey, Gail Robinson, and Cliff Jackson. Recent performances included concert versions of Porgy and Bess with the Acadiana Symphony in Lafayette, LA as well as concerts in Warsaw, Poland. Roderick George, Tenor Tenor/Roderick George is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, AL. A native of Mobile, AL, he earned the D.M. in voice performance from Florida State University, a M.M. in opera and music theater from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and baccalaureate degrees in music and English from Stillman College. Dr. George received additional training at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. He was a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and the NATS Artist Awards, and also a national finalist in the Orpheus Competition. Recent opera performances included the role of Rodolfo in La Bohéme with Union Avenue Opera in St. Louis, and Alfredo in La Traviata with Amarillo Opera. Earl Hazell, Jr, Bass Baritone/Earl Hazell, Jr. is a native New Yorker and a Renaissance Man. Earl Hazell is a bass-baritone singer, actor, composer/arranger and author of the forthcoming book of poetry They Is Our Women Now, a celebration of the iconic women performers of the Gershwins’ PORGY AND BESS, and the political thriller screenplay Pandora Jones. A former student of jazz musician/arranger legends Jimmy Heath and Donald Byrd; the late great Hal deWindt, founder of the American Theatre of Harlem; and voice teachers Benjamin Matthews, Wayne Sanders and Drs. Robert White & Everett McCorvey, Earl has performed with many of the great artists of our time: from Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln to James Levine and the New York Philharmonic; from Jessye Norman to Elton John. As a character bass-baritone, along with Colline of LA BOHEME, Sparafucile of RIGOLETTO, Joe of Jerome Kern’s SHOWBOAT, Booker T. Washington of RAGTIME and several others, Earl continues to perform the roles of Jake, Jim, Robbins, Lawyer Frazier and the Undertaker of the Gershwins’ PORGY AND BESS as he has throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, Canada, Western Europe and the Pacific Rim—including the Royal Albert Hall of London; the Teatro dell’ Opera of Rome; and the Lyric Theatre of Sydney. He has been a proud member of the American Spiritual Ensemble under his mentor Dr. Everett McCorvey since 1998. Hope Koehler, Soprano Soprano/Hope Koehler has appeared with many opera companies and orchestras, such as Nashville Opera, Tennessee Opera Theatre, Blair Opera Theatre, MTSU Opera Theatre, University Opera Theatre in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Northland Opera Theatre Experience, Lyric Opera of the North, Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra, Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, Lexington Symphony Orchestra, and Itasca Symphony Orchestra. With these companies she has appeared in such productions as Carmen, Il Trovatore, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, The Impressario, The Old Maid and the Thief, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Gianni Schicchi and many others. At the Northland Opera Theatre in Duluth, Minnesota, she has appeared in the title roles of Tosca, Carmen, Fidelio, and Madama Butterfly. In addition, she has appeared in La Bohème(Musetta), Der Freischütz(Agathe), The Tales of Hoffmann(Giulietta), and others. Dr. Koehler’s other stage credits include operetta and musical theatre. She has appeared in such productions as The Mikado, The Sound of Music, The Pajama Game, Oklahoma, Fiddler on the Roof, and West Side Story. Dr. Koehler has performed as soloist in oratorio and other choral orchestral works, such as Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Vesperae solennes di confessore, Rossini’s Stabat Mater and many others. Dr. Koehler is a regular performer and featured soloist with the American Spiritual Ensemble, a group that performs all over the world, and whose mission is to keep the American Negro Spiritual alive and vibrant. She has also been on the faculty of the prestigious Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts for six years and now serves as chair of the vocal music department. In addition, in July and August of this year she was a member of the voice faculty at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Dr. Koehler received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Performance and Music Education at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, and her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her Doctor of Musical Arts degree was completed at the University of Kentucky in Lexington where she studied with soprano Gail Robinson. Currently, she teaches voice and opera at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Ricky Little, Baritone Bass/Ricky Little, a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina received a Bachelors of Arts degree in music from Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. Dr. Little continued his education at Ohio State University as a University Fellow having earned the Master of Arts degree in vocal pedagogy and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance. Dr. Little completed studies in opera at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Dr. Little has toured the U.S., Europe and Asia extensively as a soloist and choral conductor, recently returning from Taiwan where he presented a series of recitals and master classes. Currently, Dr. Little holds the position of Associate Professor of Voice at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. Dr. Little is the Assistant Conductor of The American Spiritual Ensemble. Tedrin Blair Lindsay, Pianist Pianist/Tedrin Blair Lindsay was raised in Rome, Italy and has been a professional accompanist since the age of ten. He performs well over one hundred recitals annually, boasting a huge repertoire of vocal and instrumental chamber works, with specialties in 20th century French and American music. Mr. Lindsay is presently on the opera faculty at the University of Kentucky, where he works as vocal coach and musical director. His UK productions have included Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land, Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, Andre Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, and seven incarnations of UK’s annual Broadway revue It’s a Grand Night for Singing. Additionally, he played the harpsichord continuo for UK’s Mozart productions, Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro. He also teaches the popular course “Introduction to Opera” for the Lexington Opera Society, and for several years has hosted the Opera Quiz intermission feature for the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions at both the district and regional levels. While in Kentucky, Mr. Lindsay has collaborated several times with Actors’ Guild of Lexington – as award-winning musical director for Sondheim’s Assassins and William Finn’s Falsettos, and as composer of an elaborate score for Angels in America: Perestroika by Tony Kushner. Mr. Lindsay has also worked with such New York companies as Bel Canto Opera, Golden Fleece Opera, Westchester Opera, Rockwell Productions, and the off-Broadway Lamb’s Theatre Company. In the early 1990s, he traveled as musical director of the first two national tours of Randy Courts and Mark St. Germain’s The Gifts of the Magi, and another national tour of Roger Miller’s Big River. Mr. Lindsay is a Ph.D. candidate in Musicology at UK, completing a dissertation on the topic of mid-20th century American opera. He also occasionally appears as an actor, with credits including the 1978 Bernardo Bertolucci film Luna starring Jill Clayburgh and Matthew Barry. Kenneth Overton, Baritone Baritone Kenneth Overton has consistently received
accolades for his rich gleaming voice and his many layered, powerful
interpretations. He recently toured the British Isles as Porgy in Living Arts’
Porgy and Bess, and will perform this role for the first time in North America
with Opera Memphis in 2007. He also makes his debut this season with
Stadttheater Klagenfurt as Jake in Porgy and Bess. He recently sang his first
Escamillo in Carmen with the Missouri Symphony Society, and he has been heard
recently as Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera Memphis, Ping in Turandot with
Sacramento Opera, Bello in La Fanciulla del West with Tampa Bay Performing Arts
Center, as the Bass soloist Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Annapolis Symphony
Orchestra, and as the Baritone soloist in Vaughn Williams’ 5 Mystical Songs with
the Oratorio Society of New Jersey. Last season Mr. Overton returned to
Connecticut Opera for Taddeo in L’Italiana in Algeri, and appeared as Sharpless
in Madama Butterfly and Schaunard in La Boheme with Metro Lyric Opera (NJ). He
also appeared as soloist in the Schubert Mass in Ab with the Summit Chorale
Festival (NJ) and last August he traveled to Spain where he toured with the
American Spiritual Ensemble.
Andrea Jones-Sojola, Soprano Soprano/Andrea Jones-Sojola hails from Louisville, KY. She is currently touring with the critically acclaimed trio 3 Mo Divas in cities such as Buffalo, Washington DC and Edmonton, Canada. She has been seen recently on the stages of Dayton Opera in the roles of Frasquita in Carmen and Papagena in Die Zauberflöte. Ms. Jones-Sojola performed in Muhammad Ali: Outside the Ring for Kentucky Opera. She sang the role of Lonnie (Ali’s wife) and had the honor of singing it for the “Champ” himself. She has also performed all over Europe, Africa and the Middle East. She performs in music festivals across Spain as a featured soloist in concerts with the American Spiritual Ensemble. In Poland, she sang the role of Clara in Porgy and Bess under the baton of Maestro Mariusz Smolij. In Italy, she sang Zerlina in Don Giovanni under the baton of Maestro Mark Gibson. Ms. Jones-Sojola also sang the role of Despina in Cosí fan tutte in Cairo, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Other roles include Fanny in La Cambiale di Matrimonio, Ninetta in La Finta Semplice, Ms. Honey in Three’s Company and Adele in Die Fledermaus, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking. Ms. Jones-Sojola has participated in several music festivals such as the Young Artist Program with Cincinnati Opera, Aspen Opera Theater, Banff 20th Century Opera and Song Program, Opera Theater of Lucca, Italy and Chautauqua Institute of Music. Most recently she was an Artist-in-Residence with Dayton Opera. She received her Artist Diploma in Opera from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, her MM in voice from the University of Kentucky and her BA in voice from Lincoln University. Competitions include the District Winner of The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, First Place in the National Opera Association Voice Competition, First Place in The Pro Arts Society of Philadelphia, Finalist in The MacAllister Awards Competition, Mathais Winner in The MacAllister Awards, Finalist in the Palm Beach Atlantic Voice Competition, Finalist in the National Federation of Music Clubs Voice Competition, Semi-Finalist in the Palm Beach Opera Competition and Semi-finalist in the Oratorio Society of New York Competition. Ms. Jones-Sojola can be heard as Laurie on the Albany recording of The Tender Land, recorded in the Czech Republic with the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra. Her signature piece, “Lord, I Have Seen” can be heard on the American Spiritual Ensemble CD Ol’ Time Religion. She has recently performed with Morehead University’s Symphonic Band, Bach Choir of Pittsburgh as well as the Riverside Symphonia in New Jersey and The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. Future engagements include Handel’s Messiah with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and a CD recording of the 3 Mo Divas. Peggy Stamps, Dancer, Stage Director Peggy Stamps is a native of Detroit, Michigan. Peggy began studying dance and drama at an early age and has had the opportunity to study under many world renowned choreographers and acting coaches including Sara Yarborough and Keith Lee (former soloists with The Alvin Ailey Dance Company), Robin Wilson (founding member of Urban Bush Women), Barbara Sullivan (Atlanta Dance Theatre), and Mike Lemmon (casting director, The Sixth Sense). Peggy has used her training while landing roles in “Ain’t Misbehavin”, “A Chorus Line”, and as Linda Loman in “Death of a Salesman”. Peggy is also an accomplished product spokesperson and has appeared on cable networks in the US and Canada on over 200 occasions. Under the encouragement of her mentors, Peggy began focusing on choreography and stage direction. Over the past 15 years, Peggy has choreographed and /or directed over 100 stage productions and concert works. Peggy, however, has always maintained her love for the performance of modern dance to the spiritual (the performance style danced by her first mentor). This propelled her to join the American Spiritual Ensemble in its’ second year. Peggy has since this time served as a solo dancer, stage director, and assistant tour manager for the group. Peggy is a freelance choreographer / director and is also an instructor of stage movement for the University of Kentucky Opera Performance Program. Peggy is a graduate of Purdue University. Kevin Thompson, Bass Bass/Kevin Thompson has performed operatic roles such as Sarastro, Grandpa Moss, Colline, Il Commendatore, Sparafucile and covered Frank Maurrant. He has been the bass soloist in such orchestral works as: Dubois’s Seven Last Words of Christ, Hadyn’s The Creation (Die Schopfung), Lord Nelson Mass, Handel’s Messiah, Stravinsky’s Les Noces sung in Russian and most recently his first Verdi’s Réquiem. Mr. Thompson was born in Washington, D.C. and graduated in 2002 from The Juilliard School. Mr. Thompson has performed at the Barns of Wolftrap, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Pentagon, and with the United States Naval Band. He has won numerous awards, most recently in the International Don Giovanni Competition in Verona, Italy. He was also a finalist in the National Symphony Competition, and a full scholarship recipient in the AIMS Music Festival in Graz, Austria. This past summer he was awarded Honorable Mention in the International Meistersinger Competition in Austria. In 2005 he was commissioned by artist Janet Cardiff to record for the Smithson, Hirshborn Gallery in Washington D.C. in an audio walk project entitled "Words drawn in Water. " You can hear him singing the famous "Old Man River" in its permanent collection on the National Mall. “The voice booms, roars, rumbles through his 6’5” frame and bellows forth when he sings even when he speaks a Basso Profundo” Washington Post. Ervy “Whit” Whitaker, II, Tenor Tenor/Ervy L. “Whit” Whitaker, II, tenor, is originally from Detroit Michigan. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, and though he began his music career as a violinist, he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in voice under the study of Dr. Everett McCorvey. He has performed in several local and regional operas, including Gianni Schicchi (Betto), The Consul (Mr. Koffner) and Falstaff (Bardolfo). Much of his early career as a performer was as a violinist in orchestras but later as a solo vocalist and a performer and choreographer in musical theatre and theatre. Some of his theatre and musical theatre endeavors include Ain’t Misbehavin’, Man of La Mancha (Don Quixote), Big River (Jim), Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell (Judas), and To Kill a Mockingbird (Tom Robinson). Whit was invited to become a member of the American Spiritual Ensemble in 1996 and has enjoyed the experience and blessing of being a part of educating the world about the American Negro Spiritual through song. In his “spare” time he holds a full time job as a Patient Care Coordinator and Employee Health Liaison at the University of Kentucky Health Services, works as a part time Group Exercise and Personal Fitness Instructor at the YMCA, sings in 2 church choirs, practices martial arts, performs in local theatre, and volunteers for two homeless ministries and Habitat for Humanity. John Wesley Wright, Tenor Tenor /John Wesley Wright is known for his artistic and soulful interpretations of music from baroque to Broadway. In addition to singing a nationally televised Christmas Eve concert at the Royal Palace for the Belgian Royal Family, he has performed in opera houses, concert halls, and festivals throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. With a host of opera and oratorio roles, art songs, spirituals, and cabaret music in his repertoire, Wright’s current season includes performances of Handel’s Messiah with the Dayton Philharmonic and Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestras; Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings at James Madison University and the University of Georgia; engagements at the Metropolitan Choral Festival of Detroit; and tours with the internationally acclaimed American Spiritual Ensemble. Mr. Wright is highlighted in the PBS documentary film, The Spirituals: Featuring The American Spiritual Ensemble, released nationally in February ’07. Special guest artist for the 2006 Mississippi Music Teachers Association, Wright is gold medalist and top prizewinner of the Savannah Music Festival American Traditions Vocal Competition 2000. He has also claimed top prizes from the National Federation of Music Clubs, Metropolitan Opera National Council, Bel Canto Regional Artists, Ohio’s Vocal Resource Network Art Song Competition, and the International Schubert Competition in Vienna, Austria. John Wright is a native of Rome, Georgia, and holds degrees from Maryville College and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He is an active vocal consultant, clinician, and leader of workshops on "Singing in the African American Tradition" in schools, churches, and colleges. John served eight years as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Dayton and now resides in Salisbury, MD where he is Instructor of Voice at Salisbury University
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