Fifth Annual Giving Voice Concert

Free, Ticketed Event to Celebrate Black Women Artists in Opera and Song

Giving Voice Free, Ticketed Event to Celebrate Black Women Artists in Opera and Song

Courtesy: Houston Grand Opera | Photo: Latroya Brooks

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will stage the fifth annual Giving Voice in partnership with Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church (WABC). The concert will be presented at the historic Third Ward church for the second year running.

This year the Giving Voice series, created in 2019 by American tenor Lawrence Brownlee, will highlight the artistry and contributions of Black women in opera and the Houston community. The event, to be held on International Women’s Day, will also mark Women’s History Month, celebrated throughout March.

Hosted by ABC13 journalist and WABC congregant Melanie Lawson, Giving Voice will feature arias and songs sung by operatic soloists including incredible Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano and HGO honoree Marietta Simpson; soprano Latonia Moore (whose three Grammy Awards include a 2024 win for Best Opera Recording for Terence Blanchard’s Champion); tenor Limmie Pulliam; baritone Justin Austin; and two current members of HGO’s Butler Studio, soprano Renée Richardson and tenor Demetrious Sampson, Jr.

The concert will feature choral works by a mass choir of singers from WABC, the Houston Ebony Opera Guild, and the HGO Chorus, as well as a special performance from Houston’s emerging spiritual ensemble, Voices of Houston. It will also bring the world premiere of four songs by HGO Composer in Residence Joel Thompson, based on poems by U.S. poet laureate emeritus Rita Dove and written for Richardson, who will perform them.

WABC will be honoring its First Lady Audrey Cosby, Founding First Lady Audrey Lawson, First Female Minister of Music Juanita Nash, and several of the Charter Members.

When:

Friday, March 8, 2024, at 7:30 P.M.

Where:

Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
3826 Wheeler Ave.
Houston, TX 77004

Tickets:

Tickets are free to the public but require a reservation; two tickets per person. For more information and to reserve tickets, visit HGO.org or call the Box Office at (713) 228-6737.


For more Talk of the Town, visit LivingMagazine.net

You May Also Like

Portrait of cheerful young happy woman doing Christmas shopping Christmas shopping people concept

Have a Holly Jolly Time

Join the Junior League of Fort Worth for a week full of shopping, food, ...

Dressing for Success

Everyone deserves a second chance, and that’s what One Man’s Treasure does. It gives ...

IMG 0641

Turning the Tassel

The Class of 2024 marked a significant milestone as they gathered for their graduation ...

Outdoor Oasis

The park within a park concept transforms the largest parking lot on the Fair ...

Treasured Vessels Foundation

BY MIMI GREENWOOD KNIGHT THESE ARE THE WORDS OF JUST ONE SURVIVOR OF SEX ...