(Photos: © Sasha Cooke press / Jasmine Barnes press) The pending arrival of 2026- the country’s Semiquincentennial, got mezzo- soprano Sasha Cooke thinking about what it means to be an American in these times of unrest and division, and what the country has represented these 250 years. Her five-city “Of Thee I Sing” recital tour begins November 4th and features {…}
Vocal Arts DC has announced its 2025-26 season, “35 Years of Song.” Soprano Erin Morley and tenor Lawrence Brownlee perform a recital titled “Golden Age” with pianist Gerald Martin Moore. Performance Date: September 28, 2025 The world premiere of a new song cycle by composer Jasmine Barnes is presented by mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and pianist Myra Huang. Performance Date: November {…}
The Apollo Chamber Players are set to present “REVISED” on Feb. 17, 2024 at the Holocaust Museum Houston and at the Unity of Houston on Feb. 18. The event, a collaboration with Jasmine Barnes, features “a genre-fusing statement on poetry, peace, historical revisionism, and Black censorship.” Audiences will get a chance to experience the world premiere of “Revise?” for poet, {…}
“The poem with this music is complete.” The final line to composer Shawn E. Okpebholo’s “Romance” reveals, in essence, the method behind Lawrence Brownlee and pianist Kevin J. Miller’s newest release, “Rising,” on Warner Classics: Setting poetry from the Harlem Renaissance to song. With its 29 tracks, the album includes texts from writers such as Langston Hughes, Alice Dunbar Nelson, {…}
Jasmine Barnes’ new work, commissioned by Aural Compass Projects “The Greatest Personal Privation” will make its premiere next month. Countertenor Key’mon Murrah and pianist Donald Lee III will bring to life Barnes’ score and Poet Laureate (2017-2019) and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy K. Smith’s words. Also on the program is Barnes’ song cycle “Might Call You Art” for Soprano and {…}
Lawrence Brownlee has announced “Rising,” a project aimed at commissioning new works by African-American composers. Per an official press statement, Brownlee has commissioned new works by such composers as Damien Sneed, Brandon Spencer, Jasmine Barnes, Joel Thompson, and Shawn E. Okpebholo. Writers of the Harlem Renaissance inspired their works, including Alice Dunbar Nelson, Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, and James Weldon {…}
Tulsa Opera has announced an additional performance of its “Greenwood Overcomes” program on May 2, 2021 at 2:30 p.m. CT. The program is also being performed on Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. That first showcase will be streamed on the company’s official website. In a press release, the company cited “high demand” as the reason for adding its {…}