The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Georgetown University Celebrate the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. With a Free Musical Tribute
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Georgetown University celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a free musical tribute on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The program, part of the free daily performance series on the Millennium Stage, features acclaimed mezzo soprano and Washington, D.C. native Denyce Graves
(Media-Newswire.com) - The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Georgetown University celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a free musical tribute on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The program, part of the free daily performance series on the Millennium Stage, features acclaimed mezzo soprano and Washington, D.C. native Denyce Graves, hip hop violin duo Nuttin’ But Stringz, the Let Freedom Ring Choir, with Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr., Music Director, and Master of Ceremonies Tony Perkins from WTTG’s “Fox 5 Morning News”.
Recognized worldwide as one of today's most exciting vocal stars, Denyce Graves continues to gather unparalleled popular and critical acclaim. Her signature roles in Carmen and Samson et Dalila have brought Ms. Graves to such opera companies as the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera – Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Washington National Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opernhaus Zürich, Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and more. Denyce Graves has worked with leading symphony orchestras and conductors throughout the world in a wide range of repertoire. She has participated in numerous other benefit concerts, and RCA Records released a recording of patriotic songs by Denyce Graves. In 2003 she was appointed as a Cultural Ambassador for the United States, and she now travels around the world under the auspices of the State Department appearing in good-will missions of musical performances, lectures, and seminars.
Brothers Damien and Tourie Escobar, known as Nuttin' But Stringz, blend classical music, jazz, R&B, and hip hop. The violin duo studied at The Juilliard School and Bloomingdale School of Music. They have performed at the world famous Apollo Theater, and on the television programs The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Ellen. Their debut CD is titled Struggle from the Subway to the Charts.
The “Let Freedom Ring” Choir, comprised of both Georgetown University students, faculty, staff and members of the Washington DC community, is under the direction of Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr.. Williams, in his fifth year as Music Director, is the Chief Music Editor of the African American Heritage Hymnal and Minister of Music at the historic Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, DC.
Georgetown University honors the memory and mission of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the annual “Legacy of a Dream” award and the “Legacy of a Dream” scholarship. With the 2008 John Thompson Legacy of a Dream Award, Georgetown University is proud to honor Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, now in her ninth term as the Congresswoman for the District of Columbia. Named by President Jimmy Carter as the first woman to chair the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, she came to Congress as a national figure who had been a civil rights and feminist leader, tenured professor of law, and named one of the 100 most important American women and one of the most powerful women in Washington. Past honorees include Rosa Parks, Colin and Alma Powell, Hall of Fame Basketball Coach John Thompson, and Former Congressman and United Negro College Fund President, William H. Gray III.
This concert is the sixth jointly hosted by the Kennedy Center and Georgetown University as part of the University’s ongoing “Let Freedom Ring” initiative honoring the legacy of Dr. King. This performance builds on the success of the first joint program in January 2003, which featured the legendary Roberta Flack and attracted more than 5,000 patrons. The second, held in August of 2003, commemorated the 40th anniversary of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and featured veteran actor, civil rights leader, and 2004 Kennedy Center Honoree Ossie Davis, the Metropolitan Music Ministry of Metropolitan Baptist Church, and the Georgetown University Gospel Choir. The 2004 concert featured 1997 Kennedy Center Honoree and world- renowned opera singer Jessye Norman; the 2005 concert featured Grammy Award-winning vocalist Aaron Neville; and the 2006 concert featured R&B singer and songwriter Brian McKnight.
Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs on its three campuses. For more information about Georgetown University, visit www.georgetown.edu. Georgetown University annually celebrates and commemorates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a series of academic, artistic and extracurricular activities during the month of January. A link to the University’s full schedule of events this year is available at http://mlk.georgetown.edu/. This program kicks off Georgetown’s 2007 Let Freedom Ring Initiative. Georgetown’s annual Let Freedom Ring Initiative honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through a series of academic, artistic, and extracurricular programs that examine Dr. King's life and work and address the contemporary challenges our nation faces in order to fulfill his dream of justice and equality for all people.
Millennium Stage The Millennium Stage, underwritten by James A. Johnson and Maxine Isaacs, is brought to the public by Target and Fannie Mae, with additional funding provided by American Legacy Foundation, The Meredith Foundation, Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A.J. Stolwijk, Temple-Inland, Inc., The Washington Post Company, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, The Cora and John H. Davis Foundation, the Millennium Stage Endowment Fund, and the Kennedy Center Washington Committee on the Arts.
Millennium Stage Endowment Fund: James A. Johnson and Maxine Isaacs, Fannie Mae, James V. Kimsey, Gilbert and Jaylee Mead, Mortgage Bankers Association of America, and Anonymous and other gifts to secure the future of the Millennium Stage.
Performing Arts for Everyone The Center’s Performing Arts for Everyone ( PAFE ) program is designed to make the performing arts accessible, affordable, and available to everyone. The Millennium Stage is a vital part of PAFE. Not only does it host a performance every single day, it is a showcase of diversity, is broadcast daily over the Internet, and every performance is free to the public. No tickets required.
Transportation The Show Shuttle, Kennedy Center’s link to Metro’s Foggy Bottom/GWU Metro station and the Columbia Plaza parking garage, provides free daily transportation every 15 minutes to and from the Center. The Show Shuttle operates this service from the Metro from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. until 11:45 p.m. on Sundays. On federal holidays the hours are 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. The Shuttle’s Columbia Plaza hours are 6 p.m. to 11:45.p.m. weekdays and weekends from 11 a.m. until 11:45 p.m. There is no Columbia Plaza service on federal holidays or on Open House day.
Internet Broadcasts Internet broadcasts of Millennium Stage events allow anyone with Internet access to view both live performances, and past performances in the archives of the Web site, by visiting http://www.kennedy-center.org.
Performance Schedules Millennium Stage schedules are available throughout the Kennedy Center, and on the Internet at http://www.kennedy-center.org.
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