Giving Voice Program 2024

The Fifth Annual

Presented by Houston Grand Opera and Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church

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WELCOME TO THE FIFTH ANNUAL GIVING VOICE !

What a joy it is to be back at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church for the fifth annual Giving Voice. This is our second time to present Houston Grand Opera’s annual celebration of Black artists in opera and song inside this stunning cathedral. If you were here for last year’s event, you will not have forgotten what a special night we shared.

We are here to mark not only Women’s History Month, but International Women’s Day, gathering to honor mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson, one of the world’s great interpreters of vocal art. Simpson’s voice and spirit have inspired many thousands, and I am proud to say, our own history is intertwined with hers. She is a graduate of our training program for young artists, the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio, and her storied performances at HGO remain an important part of our company’s proud history.

In addition to welcoming Marietta home, we are thrilled to be collaborating with several of tonight’s soloists for the very first time. Native Houstonian and soprano Latonia Moore is enjoying an incredible career that just saw her win her third Grammy Award—in the Best Opera Recording category, for Terence Blanchard’s Champion. Adding to the star power are two commanding performers, tenor Limmie Pulliam and baritone Justin Austin, both of whom we are thrilled to welcome for this monumental occasion.

They will be joined by our very own soprano Renée Richardson and tenor Demetrious Sampson, Jr., two wonderful artists-on-the-rise currently training with our Butler Studio, with Richardson debuting new music by HGO Composer-in-Residence Joel Thompson, based on poems by U.S. poet laureate emeritus Rita Dove. Finally, tonight also brings the extraordinary opportunity to experience songs performed by a mass choir of singers from the HGO Chorus, WABC, and the Houston Ebony Opera Guild, as well as a performance from Voices of Houston.

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee created the Giving Voice concert series for HGO in 2019. It has been humbling to watch this tradition evolve and take root in our city. Today Giving Voice is all about legacy: about honoring the incredible pioneers who have given the world so much, from our 2023 honoree, the tenor George Shirley, to the Rev. William A. Lawson, Founding First Lady Audrey Lawson, and all the trailblazing WABC honorees. We are grateful that ABC13 journalist Melanie Lawson—part of the WABC founding family and another leading light in Houston—will serve as tonight’s host.

What a remarkable evening we have in store! Here’s to the rich history of music-making in our community that has made this beautiful occasion possible.

Khori Dastoor

General Director and CEO, Houston Grand Opera Margaret Alkek Williams Chair

IN PRAISE: THE FOUNDING WOMEN

Today we honor the women who helped to found Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. Your tireless service, generosity, and spirit through the decades have made WABC into the glorious house of worship it is today. We salute you!

CREDIT:

WELCOME BACK, HOUSTON GRAND OPERA!

It is with great delight that Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church once again opens its doors to greet our friends at the Opera. For months we have anxiously anticipated your return to this place. We are honored that you would choose to share with us yet again as we Give Voice to the several people who have prepared themselves to inspire us through music.

We are grateful that you have chosen to honor several women who are very special to the Wheeler Avenue family and experience. The wives of the pastors of Wheeler Avenue have both made indelible impressions in the life of our church and as patrons of the arts. We celebrate the memory of Mrs. Audrey Ann Hoffman Lawson, and what she contributed to our church and to the theater arts, most especially. Her labors of love will not soon be forgotten.

I personally extend my gratitude for your decision to recognize and honor Mrs. Audrey Marie Cosby. Although more of a quiet personality, her reverberating love for the visual and performing arts has added much to the life of our family and countless other individuals she has influenced, as a result. So, we celebrate her this evening, along with you.

We will never be able to say enough about the women who helped to charter our church 62 years ago. But, suffice it to say, we will likewise never forget the sacrifices and commitments that each of these women contributed to what neither of them ever dreamed would become the Wheeler Avenue of today.

So, during this month when we intentionally celebrate the women in our lives and in our world who have made both better, we honor, salute, laud, and applaud these precious women who have made Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church so much better by their presence and their progressive leadership.

We welcome you back to a place that has unapologetically and overtly celebrated the worth and witness of our women throughout the lifespan of our church. We welcome you back to the place whose two pastors would have never been as effective as they have been, were it not for the women who stood with and worked beside them to accomplish such effect. We welcome you back to the place that has for six decades given voice to women who were otherwise suppressed and subjugated. And we welcome you to give voice with us as together we recognize and remember these wonderful women of Wheeler!

Welcome back, Houston Grand Opera!

Dr. Marcus D. Cosby, Senior Pastor Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church

PROGRAM

Total Praise

God Is a Great God

Welcome

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Dove Songs (world premiere)

Scarf

Heart to Heart

Exit

Dawn Revisited

“Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour,” from Les contes d’Hoffmann

“Parigi! È la città dei desideri,” from La rondine

“L’altra notte in fondo al mare,” from Mefistofele

“What Makes a Man a Man,” from Champion

“Vesti la giubba,” from Pagliacci

Richard Smallwood (b. 1948)

Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church

Choirs and Band

Min. Leon C. Lewis, Conductor

Leon C. Lewis (b. 1967)

Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church

Choirs and Band

Min. Leon C. Lewis, Conductor

Sr. Pastor Rev. Dr. Marcus D. Cosby

Khori Dastoor

J. Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954), arr. Rollo Dilworth

Joel Thompson (b. 1988) and Rita Dove (b. 1952)

Jacques Offenbach (1819-80)

Giving Voice Choir

Joel Thompson, Conductor

Byron Burford-Phearse, Piano

Renée Richardson, Soprano

Joel Thompson, Piano

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

Arrigo Boito (1842-1918)

Terence Blanchard (b. 1962) and Michael Cristofer (b. 1945)

Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919)

HGO Women’s Chorus

Richard Bado, Conductor

Byron Burford-Phearse, Piano

Demetrious Sampson Jr., Tenor

Byron Burford-Phearse, Piano

Latonia Moore, Soprano

Byron Burford-Phearse, Piano

Justin Austin, Baritone

Byron Burford-Phearse, Piano

Limmie Pulliam, Tenor

Byron Burford-Phearse, Piano

PROGRAM

Humming Chorus, from Madame Butterfly

Honoree Acknowledgments

Strange Fruit

Genius Child

“Over the Rainbow,” from The Wizard of Oz

To Sit and Dream

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

Giving Voice Choir

Richard Bado, Conductor

Byron Burford-Phearse, Piano

Melanie Lawson

Abel Meeropol (1903-86)

Robert Owens (1925-2017)

Harold Arlen (1905-86)

Marietta Simpson, Mezzo-Soprano

Tyron Cooper, Guitar

Justin Austin, Baritone

Byron Burford-Phearse, Piano

Latonia Moore, Soprano

Byron Burford-Phearse, Piano

Rosephanye Powell (b. 1962) Voices of Houston

Christopher C. Carter, Conductor

Rolethial McKelvey, Piano

My God Is a Rock Arr. Stacey V. Gibbs (b. 1962) Voices of Houston

Christopher C. Carter, Conductor

Steal Away

Ride On, King Jesus

“You’ll Never Walk Alone,” from Carousel

Traditional Spiritual

Arr. Hall Johnson

Richard Rodgers (1902-79) and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960)

Marietta Simpson, Mezzo-Soprano

Tyron Cooper, Guitar

Limmie Pulliam, Tenor

Byron Burford-Phearse, Piano

Soloists and Giving Voice Choir

Richard Bado, Conductor

Byron Burford-Phearse, Piano

The performance lasts approximately 90 minutes.

WHO’S WHO

MELANIE LAWSON EMCEE

Journalist Melanie Lawson is the anchor of Live at 5 and ABC13’s midday show, Eyewitness News at 11 a.m. Lawson is known for her indepth interviews with a wide range of notables, including three U.S. presidents, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Dalai Lama, Maya Angelou, and many more, in addition to reporting stories from across Houston’s rich, multi-ethnic community. She has won numerous awards for her reporting, including three Emmys, and has lifetime achievement awards from the Houston Press Club, Women in Film and Television, and the Houston Association of Black Journalists. She is a member of the Texas Lone Star Chapter of the Emmys, Women in Film and Television, and the American Leadership Forum. She has worked with Houston community organizations including Houston Ballet, SHAPE Community Center, Asia Society, the Rothko Chapel, the Houston Museum of African American Culture, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Children’s Defense Fund, Volunteer Houston, the Ensemble Theatre, and the Houston Association of Black Journalists. She has been honored as the YWCA’s “Outstanding Women of the Year,” named a “Women of Distinction” by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, and received the Ben and Julie Rogers Ecumenism Award from the Anti-Defamation League. Lawson received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University, and a joint degree in Law and Journalism from Columbia University. She is a proud member of the church founded by her parents, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church.

LAWRENCE BROWNLEE FOUNDER, GIVING VOICE

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a singer on the world’s top stages, and as a voice for activism and diversity in the industry. In addition to creating and performing in HGO’s Giving Voice

concert series, Brownlee has performed lead roles in HGO’s La favorite (2020), The Pearl Fishers (2019), The Abduction from the Seraglio (2017), The Italian Girl in Algiers (2012), The Barber of Seville (2011), and La Cenerentola (2007). During the 2023-24 season, Brownlee’s engagements include the role of Tonio in La Fille du régiment with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville at Vienna State Opera, and Oreste in Ermione at Washington National Opera. Additional recent appearances include the title role of Le comte Ory at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Elvino in La Sonnambula at Teatro Real in Madrid; Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden; and Tamino in The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera. Brownlee is a Distinguished Visiting Faculty Member at The Juilliard School and the artistic advisor for Opera Philadelphia. He is a winner of numerous awards and distinctions including “Male Singer of the Year” (2017 International Opera Awards), the Kennedy Center’s Marian Anderson Award, and the OPERA NEWS Award (2021).

MARIETTA SIMPSON MEZZO-SOPRANO, HOUSTON GRAND OPERA HONOREE

Marietta Simpson is one of the most sought-after mezzo-sopranos today. An alumna of the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio, Simpson most recently performed with the company as Queenie in Show Boat (2013). Her latest engagements include Maria in Porgy and Bess for Washington National Opera and Martha in Sky on Swings at Opera Saratoga. She has sung with every major orchestra in the United States, under many of the world’s greatest conductors, and many of the major European orchestras, including the philharmonic orchestras of London, Prague, Berlin, and Vienna. She has performed on many of the great operatic stages of the world. Her many television appearances include her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in a televised production of Porgy and Bess. Simpson has an extensive discography and has performed on several Grammy-nominated recordings. She is featured on the album recording of Porgy and Bess, and on the 2006 Grammy-Award-winning recording of William Bolcom’s

Songs of Innocence and Experience. Her many awards include the Temple University Certificate of Honor for Distinguished Alumni, the Leontyne Price Award, and the Chisholm Award as an outstanding African-American woman from Philadelphia’s National Political Congress of Black Women. She is the Distinguished Rudy Professor of Music in Voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she has served on faculty since August 2005.

LATONIA MOORE SOPRANO

A Houston native, Latonia Moore is an acclaimed soprano with a career spanning over 20 years. This season Moore returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking and Billie in Fire Shut Up in My Bones

Other recent performances include the title role in Aida and Musetta in La bohème at the Metropolitan Opera (2022) and Cio Cio San in Madame Butterfly at both the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the Berlin State Opera (2023). Additional highlights include appearances as Cio Cio San at the Metropolitan Opera; Liù in Turandot at Royal Opera Covent Garden; the title role in Tosca and Elisabeth in Don Carlo with Opera Australia; Cio Cio San, as well as Mimì in La bohème, with Semperoper Dresden; Cio Cio San at the Hamburg State Opera, Micaëla in Carmen, Liù, Elvira in Ernani, and Lucrezia in I due Foscari in Bilbao; Desdemona in Otello at Bergen National Opera, Serena in Porgy and Bess at both English National Opera and De Nationale Opera Amsterdam; and an appearance on the 50th Anniversary Gala of the Metropolitan Opera. Moore is a recipient of the Maria Callas Award from The Dallas Opera, a Richard Tucker Foundation grant, first prize in the Marseilles Competition, first prize in the International Competition dell’Opera in Dresden, and two Grammys for recordings of Porgy and Bess and Fire Shut Up in My Bones with the Metropolitan Opera.

WHO’S WHO

LIMMIE PULLIAM TENOR

This season acclaimed tenor Limmie Pulliam takes the stage as Canio in Pagliacci with the Florida Grand Opera and Lazarus in The Gospel According to the Other Mary at Volksoper Wien in Austria. Pulliam’s recent onstage performances include his Metropolitan Opera debut as Radamès in Aida (2022), his performance as Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca at Madison Opera (2023), his LA Opera debut as Manrico in Il trovatore (2021), and his role debut as Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana with Vashon Opera (2021). His recent concert performances include singing the role of Radamès in Tulsa Opera’s 75th anniversary gala concert of Aida, the title role of Otello and his debut as Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West with the Cleveland Orchestra, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and his Carnegie Hall debut performing “The Ordering of Moses” in collaboration with his alma mater, The Oberlin Conservatory. Pulliam was the 2012 Artist Division Winner of the National Opera Association’s Vocal Competition and, in 2013, a winner in the 3rd Annual Concorso Internazionale di Canto della Fondazione Marcello Giordano in Sicily.

JUSTIN AUSTIN BARITONE

Drama Desk Award-nominated baritone Justin Austin has been performing professionally since age 4. His roles this season include Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet at Washington

National Opera, Young Emile Griffith in Champion at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Motorcycle Cop in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, which also opened their season. Recent appearances include the role of Ned Keene in Peter Grimes at the Metropolitan Opera, Scott Joplin/Remus in Treemonisha at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and a concert tour of Our Song, Our Story, a tribute recital to African American operatic

WHO’S WHO

pioneers Jessye Norman and Marian Anderson. During the 2021-2022 season, Austin made his house debuts at the Metropolitan Opera as Marcellus in Hamlet and the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Charles in Fire Shut Up in My Bones. Other highlights include George Armstrong in Intimate Apparel at Lincoln Center (2022) and Thomas McKeller in American Apollo with Des Moines Metro Opera (2022). Among his accolades are awards from organizations such as The Recording Academy, NAACP, the George London Foundation, Opera Ebony, the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the Manhattan School of Music, NANM, the Choir Academy of Harlem, and LaGuardia Arts. He holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.

RENÉE RICHARDSON

SOPRANO

Kathleen Moore and Steven Homer/ Carolyn J. Levy/ Jeff Stocks and Juan Lopez Fellow

A second-year Butler Studio artist from Springfield, Pennsylvania, Renée Richardson performed the role of Flower Maiden in Parsifal, covered the role of Mary Jane Bowser in Intelligence, and will perform as Sister Berthe in The Sound of Music during HGO’s 2023-24 season. During the 2022-23 season at HGO, she performed the roles of Annina in La traviata and Woman Whose Uncle Loved Maria Callas in Another City and appeared in Giving Voice. In the 2021-22 season she sang Mimì in La bohème at the Academy of Vocal Arts. Also at AVA, she sang the Foreign Princess in Rusalka, the title role and Suor Dolcina in Suor Angelica, and Inès in La favorite. She holds a Professional Studies Diploma in Voice from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where her roles included Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Béatrice in Béatrice et Bénédict, and the title roles in Suor Angelica and Medea. Richardson has been seen in several Pensacola Opera productions including Carmen, La bohème, and The Pirates of Penzance. Richardson was the recipient of an A. Grace Lee Mims Scholarship for Negro Spirituals and was the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Kennett Symphony. She received an Encouragement Award at the

2024 George and Nora London Foundation Competition, and was recently named a finalist in the Vincerò Worldwide Opera Competition in Naples, Italy. This past summer, she debuted the role of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Wolf Trap Opera.

DEMETRIOUS SAMPSON, JR.

TENOR

Dr. Dina Alsowayel and Mr. Anthony R. Chase/ Eric McLaughlin and Elliot Castillo/ Alejandra and Héctor Torres/ Mr. Trey Yates Fellow

A first-year Butler Studio artist from East Albany, Georgia, Demetrious Sampson, Jr. performed the role of 3rd Esquire in Parsifal during HGO’s 2023-24 season. Sampson is the second place and Audience Choice Winner in HGO’s 2023 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias and a 2022 alumnus of HGO’s Young Artists Vocal Academy. He made his professional debut with Atlanta Opera at the age of 20 as Crab Man in Porgy and Bess, a role he reprised at Des Moines Metro Opera in summer 2022 as an apprentice artist. At Georgia State University, he has performed the roles of Vanderdendur in Candide and the title role in John Musto’s Bastianello. A previous Encouragement Award winner, he recently won the Southeast Region in the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Sampson received his bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University. During summer 2023, he joined the Merola Opera Program in San Francisco.

JOEL THOMPSON

HGO COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE, CONDUCTOR, AND PIANIST

Composer, conductor, pianist, and educator Joel Thompson is Houston Grand Opera’s Composer-in-Residence. His first opera, The Snowy Day, created with librettist Andrea Davis Pinkney, made its world premiere at HGO in 2021 and will be presented this season at Portland Opera. His choral work, Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, was premiered in November 2015 by the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club and Dr. Eugene Rogers and won

the 2018 American Prize for Choral Composition. In August 2021 he premiered To Awaken the Sleeper in Boulder at the Colorado Music Festival; the piece sets the writings of James Baldwin to music. Thompson’s works have been performed by esteemed ensembles such as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Master Chorale, Los Angeles Master Chorale, EXIGENCE, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, and London Symphony Orchestra. Currently a doctoral student at the Yale School of Music, Thompson was also a 2017 post-graduate fellow in Arizona State University’s Ensemble Lab/ Projecting All Voices Initiative and a composition fellow at the 2017 Aspen Music Festival and School, where he studied with composers Stephen Hartke and Christopher Theofanidis and won the 2017 Hermitage Prize. Thompson taught at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Atlanta from 2015 to 2017, and also served as Director of Choral Studies and Assistant Professor of Music at Andrew College from 2013 to 2015. Thompson has a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Master of Music in Choral Conducting, both from Emory University.

BYRON BUFORD-PHEARSE

PIANO

Byron Burford-Phearse has been featured on recordings, chamber music and solo recitals, as well as live radio broadcasts and music festivals around the world. He has toured extensively across the United States and Europe in myriad genres of music, and featured in such festivals as the Hot Springs Music Festival, the Centre d’Arts Oford, the International Keyboard Festival, and the École Normale de Musique de Paris as part of the European American Musical Alliance. He currently performs in themed recitals with violinist Tami Lee Hughes and chamber music theater with the CORE Ensemble. He has presented masterclasses and lecture recitals in all 50 U.S. States, Canada, and Mexico. Burford-Phearse holds degrees, diplomas

WHO’S WHO

and certificates from the University of Michigan, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Mannes College of Music.

DR. TYRON COOPER GUITAR

Dr. Tyron Cooper is the director of Indiana University’s Archives of African American Music and Culture, where he is also an associate professor in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology. Along with his teaching and research in African American music, Cooper is recognized for his extensive studio recording and live performance experience as music director, guitarist, vocalist, composer, and arranger for national artists such as A Taste of Honey, Max Roach, Bo Diddley, Felton Pilate, Marietta Simpson, Angela Brown, The Soulful Symphony, Donnie McClurkin, Jason Nelson, Lamar Campbell, Bishop Leonard Scott, Kathy Taylor, and Walt Whitman and The Soul Children to name a few. He has garnered five Emmy awards, one Telly, and several Emmy nominations for his music in PBS documentaries such as Strange Fruit: The Salt Project (2014), Bobby ‘Slick’ Leonard: Heart of a Hoosier (2014), Attucks: The School That Opened a City (2017), The Music Makers of Gennett Records (2018), Eva A-7063 (2018), Ernie Pyle: Life in the Trenches (2020), Crooked Stick: Songs in a Strange Land (2021), and Singing Winds: The Life and Works of T.C. Steele (2022). He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Bethune-Cookman University, as well as a Master of Arts degree in Jazz Studies and Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology, both from Indiana University. Cooper and his wife, Joii, own and operate Art Salad Productions, an enterprise with broad expertise and experience in programming arts and culture

RICHARD BADO CONDUCTOR AND HGO CHORUS DIRECTOR

Sarah And Ernest Butler

Chorus Director Chair

Butler Studio alumnus Richard Bado is director of artistic planning and chorus director at HGO. He made his

WHO’S WHO

professional conducting debut in 1989 leading HGO’s acclaimed production of Show Boat at the newly restored Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Since then, he has conducted for Houston Ballet, La Scala, Opéra national de Paris, New York City Opera, the Aspen Music Festival, Tulsa Opera, the Russian National Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, and Wolf Trap Opera. This season he conducts The Sound of Music for HGO and again conducted performances of The Nutcracker with the Houston Ballet. An accomplished pianist, Bado has appeared regularly with Renée Fleming in recital. He has also played for Cecilia Bartoli, Frederica von Stade, Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, Marcello Giordani, Ramón Vargas, Samuel Ramey, Jamie Barton, Ryan McKinny, and Michael Spyres. Bado holds music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he received the 2000 Alumni Achievement Award, and West Virginia University; he also studied advanced choral conducting with Robert Shaw. For 12 years, he was the director of the opera studies program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He has also worked for the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, the Bolshoi Opera Young Artist Program, Opera Australia, Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. He received HGO’s Silver Rose Award in 2013 in celebration of his 25th year as chorus master.

LEON C. LEWIS

MINISTER OF MUSIC, DIRECTOR OF WORSHIP

& FINE ARTS, WHEELER AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH

Leon C. Lewis is an accomplished musician, songwriter, producer, composer, and arranger. He has written, produced, and played for artists including Shirley Ceasar, Yolanda Adams, Bishop T. D. Jakes, Bishop Paul S. Morton, Tyler Perry, Donnie McClurkin, Brian C. Wilson, Kim Burrell, Beverly Crawford, Lamar Campbell, Elvin D. Ross, Benita Washington, Stephanie Dotson, Kathy Taylor, the late Shawn McClemore, and legendary jazz saxophonist Ronnie Laws. In 2007, Lewis received a Dove Award nomination from the Gospel Music Association for Best Traditional Song of the Year for “Miracles Still Happen,” which has been recorded by artists including the Queen of Gospel

Music Shirley Caesar and by Gospel Dream winner Stephanie Dotson. Lewis penned the song “Thank You,” which was recorded by Benita Washington and rose to #3 on the Billboard gospel national radio airplay charts. His songs “Your Power,” “Incredible” (both co-written with Brian C. Wilson), and “Holy Is His Name” were published in the hymnal Zion Still Sings by Abington Press in 2008. His songs “Glorifie” (Praise Your Name) and “Il Est Beni” (Give Him Glory) were included on Jessica Dorsey’s internationally acclaimed album Feedback (Tainos Records). Lewis has served as Musical Director and toured with Bishop T. D. Jakes’s play, Woman Thou Art Loosed; performed on the soundtrack for the hit Tyler Perry movie, Madea’s Family Reunion; served as Event Coordinator for national talent search tour/TV show Gospel Dream for BET and the Gospel Music Channel; and served as music consultant for the documentary Kunte Kinte Island: The Movie (2013) and the “Oh to be Kept by Jesus” episode of Tyler Perry’s TV program The Haves and Have Nots. He currently serves as Minister of Music/Director of Worship & Fine Arts at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Marcus D. Cosby, Senior Pastor.

JASON OBY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, EBONY OPERA GUILD

Dr. Jason Oby has performed as a soloist in opera, oratorio, and recital at venues throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. As a member of the acclaimed cast of Three Mo’ Tenors, he sang genres including opera, Broadway, jazz, and Motown. Known for his sensitivity and intelligence of interpretation as a singer of art song, he has been called on to coach, plan, and direct multi-disciplinary performances at museums, universities, and arts organizations around the U.S. He is the Acting Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences and a Professor of Music at Texas Southern University; he previously served as the university’s Chairman of the Department of Music, and Interim Assistant Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Oby holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, as well as a Doctor of Music degree from Florida State University. Early in his career

he won prizes at the Leontyne Price Competition, The Joy in Singing, and The Suncoast Opera Competition. As Artistic Director of Houston Ebony Opera Guild, he conceives, plans, and oversees choral and operatic content for the organization’s entire season. He continues to work professionally as a university professor, community lecturer, professional singer, and conductor. He has served on local and national boards and committees concerned with funding, philanthropy, and the arts.

CHRISTOPHER C. CARTER FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, VOICES OF HOUSTON

Christopher C. Carter is an educator, musician, and servant leader dedicated to utilizing his skills to foster an inclusive and supportive learning environment where all students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Carter is an active member of the Houston arts community, serving as the Founder and Artistic Director of Voices of Houston, a choral ensemble dedicated to preserving the performance and practice of the Negro Spiritual. There, he structures programs, directs recruiting and retention campaigns, and partners with the leadership team to develop significant musical experiences that propel positive social change. For five years, Carter has served at Galena Park Independent School District, where his roles have included English teacher, academic teacher leader, new teacher mentor, and now assistant principal. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with a specialization in English Language Arts for grades 7-12 from Bowling Green State University. Driven by his passion for leadership and a desire to effect systemic change, Carter received his Master of Arts in Education at Ball State University, where he is currently a 2nd year doctoral student in the Educational Leadership program.

WHO’S WHO

MARCUS D. COSBY

SENIOR PASTOR, WHEELER AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH

The Reverend Dr. Marcus D. Cosby holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion and English from Fisk University, a Master of Divinity Degree in Homiletics and Christian Education from the Morehouse School of Religion at the Interdenominational Theological Center, and a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Homiletics from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. As the successor to the Founding Pastor Emeritus, Rev. William A. Lawson, Pastor Cosby has been blessed to continue the ministry of this intentionally intergenerational congregation in the inner city of Houston since 2004, having served as Associate Pastor since 1998. Since that time, he has led the inception of the Wheeler Avenue Christian Academy; the opening of a transitional housing facility for single mothers experiencing homelessness in Houston’s Third Ward community; and the cultivation of mission outreach in multiple villages in South Africa. In addition to training the more than 100 ministers who comprise the Clergy Team of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, he has served as Adjunct Professor of Homiletics at Houston Graduate School of Theology and has taught at the Houston extension program of the ITC. In 2008, he was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta. In 2013 he became the Founder and CEO of Preaching with Power and Authority Ministries, a corporation committed to the pedagogy and promotion of relevant biblical preaching for the 21st century. Dr. Cosby is a member of the Board of Trustees of Fisk University, where he serves as the Chair of the Academic Excellence and Student Engagement Committee, as well as a member of the General Alumni Association of the university. He has served on numerous local and national boards and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, and a Life Member of the NAACP. He has lectured, preached, and taught in numerous national and international settings. He seeks to encourage and empower all humanity through the timeless and transformative truths found in the Word of God.

WHO’S WHO

KHORI DASTOOR

GENERAL DIRECTOR AND CEO, HOUSTON GRAND OPERA

Margaret Alkek Williams Chair

Khori Dastoor, General Director and CEO of Houston Grand Opera since 2021, is a passionate believer in great art and culture, its power to transform society, and the importance of making it accessible to every member of Houston’s diverse international community. Major achievements during her tenure include the season-opening 2023 world premiere of Jake Heggie, Gene Scheer, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s internationally acclaimed world-premiere opera Intelligence; HGO’s 2022 original production of The Wreckers, a lost masterpiece by Dame Ethel Smyth that had never been staged by a major America opera company; and the 2021 world premiere of Joel Thompson’s The Snowy Day, the first mainstage opera to be livestreamed by HGO in its history. In 2023, Dastoor announced that HGO had secured the largest gift

in HGO history—a $22 million commitment from Sarah and Ernest Butler. Dastoor joined HGO from Opera San José, where she served as General Director during a tenure marked by rapid growth of the company’s audience and patron base, unprecedented financial stability, and innovations including a new digital media studio. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Opera America, where she is the Co-Chair of the Learning and Leadership Council and a founding member and mentor for the Mentorship Program for Opera Leaders of Color, as well as the Advisory Board of the Asian Opera Alliance. She assists with industry efforts to identify young talent as a judge for the Richard Tucker Awards and the Metropolitan Opera’s Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Dastoor is a former lyric soprano who performed internationally. She began her career in arts administration as a member of foundation leadership at the Packard Humanities Institute. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and a master’s degree from UCLA. She and her husband are the proud parents of two young daughters.

HGO COMMUNITY AND LEARNING SUPPORTERS

GUARANTORS

Robin Angly and Miles Smith

The Brown Foundation, Inc.

Mathilda Cochran

William Randolph Hearst Foundation

Mellon Foundation

Sara and Bill Morgan

National Endowment for the Humanities

The Wortham Foundation, Inc.

GRAND UNDERWRITERS

Judy and Richard Agee

ConocoPhillips

The Elkins Foundation

PRESENTED BY

H-E-B

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo ™

The Powell Foundation

Shell USA

UNDERWRITERS

Ruth and Ted Bauer Family Foundation

Shelly Cyprus

Rebecca and Brian Duncan

Rosemary Malbin

Dr. Laura Marsh

Mr. David Montague

Halliburton

Vivian L. Smith Foundation

GIVING VOICE RECEPTION SPONSORS

Luz Flores, Avance Houston, Inc

DeRonica Horn

The Jewels

Dr. Robyn T. Lincoln

Shawntell McWilliams

Mrs. Davonda and Dr. Eric Peterson

Shaniese Ruffin, USI

Dr. Nicole McZeal Walters

Dr. Jackie Ward

WHEELER NIGHT OUT AT HGO

Church members had a phenomenal time at the Wortham Theater Center seeing Verdi’s Falstaff, starring baritone Reginald Smith, Jr.—a WABC congregant—as Falstaff!

Falstaff production credits, center and bottom left: Lynn Lane. All other photos: Deshawn Steele.

HGO OPERA CAMP

ART OF OPERA

A three-week camp at the Wortham Theater Center (grade 9–12)

JULY 1–19, 2024*

*no camp on weekends or July 4-5.

CREATE AN OPERA

A weeklong camp at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church (grade 3–8)

JUNE 10–14, 2024