Worcester Chorus & Friends: Ellington & Gershwin

Kenneth Overton’s symphonious baritone voice has sent him around the globe, making him one of the most sought-after opera and concert singers of his generation. Kenneth is a 2020 GRAMMY AWARD WINNER for Best Choral Performance in the title role of Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshua with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by JoAnn Falletta. As a two time Top Ten Billboard Charting Recording Artist, Kenneth’s latest release “The LIVING Spiritual” is available now on Navona Records.

On the operatic stage singing the roles of Porgy in Porgy and Bess, Amonasro in Aida, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Marcello/Schaunard in La Boheme, and a host of new and contemporary works, Kenneth has appeared with The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Royal Danish Opera, L’Opera de Montreal, Palacio Bellas Artes (Mexico City), Deutsche Oper Berlin, Capetown Opera, Opera Carolina, North Carolina Opera, Opera Montana, Connecticut Opera, Skylark Opera, Opera Memphis, Nashville Opera, Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Sacramento Opera, Fresno Grand Opera, Pensacola Opera, Mobile Opera, Opera Tampa, Opera Idaho, Houston Ebony Opera, Opera Delaware, New Orleans Opera, Opera Ebony, New York City Opera, Bregenzer Festspiele (Austria), Fort Worth Opera, and the Welsh National Opera among others. This season, Kenneth makes his Main Stage Directorial Debut with Opera Columbus in Joseph Bologne’s opera “The Anonymous Lover”.

On the concert stage Mr. Overton has been a soloist with The New York Philharmonic, The Washington Chorus, Oregon Bach Festival, Chamber Music North West, NDR Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Lithuanian Philharmonic, Sopot Festival Poland, Klagenfurt Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, Harrisburg Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, The National Chorale, Bard Music Festival, Austin Symphony, Duluth Superior Symphony, New York Chorale Society, Oregon Symphony, Annapolis Symphony, Harlem Chamber Players, American Symphony Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony, and The Lyric Opera of Chicago. For more information www.KennethOverton.com

Raised in jazz music, Janinah Burnett is the daughter of legendary jazz drummer Carl Burnett and writer/educator/artist Imani Constance. As a child, Janinah was surrounded by Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Eddie Harris, Nancy Wilson, George Cables, Billy Higgins, and many others who inspired her early musical beginnings. This innovative and exceptionally artistic beginning led to a myriad of musical activities throughout Janinah’s formative years. While in school at the Hamilton Music Academy in Los Angeles, Janinah won the solo vocal jazz competition at Cal State Fullerton, propelling her desire to serve her artistic muse and study vocal jazz music at Spelman College. Never wishing to be limited to any one genre, Janinah was clear she wanted to be able use her voice to sing all styles. During her time at Spelman, Janinah continued her jazz studies and was a member of the Spelman College Jazz Ensemble. Janinah participated in a host of private events and engagements including singing for Margaret Thatcher, several performances with the Atlanta Symphony, singing with the great Ray Charles, and at a private birthday party celebration for Oprah Winfrey at the home of Maya Angelou. However, she was intrigued and inspired by her classmates who excelled in classical music styles, most specifically Art Song, Sprituals, and Opera. Her classmates’ excellence, inspiration from role models of color who excelled in the field of classical music, and many singing and performance opportunities allowed Janinah to get well acquainted with varying classical music styles. This encouraged Janinah to take the path toward Art Song and Opera. Janinah continued her music studies at the Eastman School of Music where she received a Masters Degree in Vocal Performance and Literature. Janinah’s experiences and opportunities while at Eastman were riveting. While there, she studied with accomplished musicians who guided and instructed her immensely. Each summer while at Eastman, Janinah studied Italian at the Centro Studi Di Italiani in Urbania as a participant in the Oberlin in Italy program. In the program she not only learned Italian but had many study and performance opportunities in opera. Her second year in Urbania, Janinah learned and performed the role of Violetta in La Traviata with orchestra in two large opera houses.

Another major role Janinah learned and performed at Eastman was the role of Mimì in La Bohème. Directly following those performances and upon graduation from Eastman, Janinah joined the cast of Baz Lurhmann’s La Bohème on Broadway as Mimì and thrilled audiences. Several exciting events occurred as a result of this show including her performances on the Tony Awards, performances at esteemed events for Prada and Tiffany’s, and her win of the LA Theater Alliance’s Ovation Award, to name a few. Janinah was even featured in the National Enquirer!

Directly after the whirlwind that was La Bohème on Broadway, Janinah joined an International tour of Porgy and Bess as Clara and Bess. On this tour she sang in several major opera houses in Austria, Japan, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark. Upon returning to the US, Janinah sang the following leading roles:

Violetta in La Traviata, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Norina in Don Pasquale, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Margru in Amistad, Marguerite in Faust, Leïla in Les Pecheurs de Perles, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Micaëla in Carmen, Suzanna in Le Nozze Di Figaro, Mimì in La Bohème, and many others in over 25 international and domestic cites.

Janinah’s brilliant technique and exceptional character interpretations led her to join the Metropolitan Opera Company for their productions of Carmen, La Bohème, Parsifal, Le Nozze di Figaro, La Rondine, The Enchanted Island, Iphigénie en Tauride, Elektra, and Manon. Janinah made her MET debut as Bianca in La Rondine and spent eight seasons singing at the MET. During this time, Janinah performed with the likes of Plácido Domingo, Susan Graham, Paul Groves, Angela Georgiu, Roberto Alagna, Dwayne Croft, Samuel Ramey, Jonas Kaufmann, Ramón Vargus, and many others. Also during this time, Janinah sang the role of Lucy in Treemonisha with Grace Bumbry and Willard White. She also sang Leila in John Adams’ I was Looking at the Ceiling and Suddenly Saw the Sky, both productions were performed at the Théatre du Châtélet in Paris which were huge successes featuring people of color and dealing with controversial socio-political themes.

Building a career as a successful, consistently working artist, Janinah was called upon for many world premiers. The first being Three Mo’ Divas, sister group to Three Mo’ Tenors, in which she worked with the virtuosic pianist/producer/arranger Joseph Joubert. Janinah originated the role of “Diva” and enjoyed performing genres that inspired and influenced her, including jazz and R&B. This foray into theater was more intimate and called for dancing and acting different from opera, a challenge Janinah rose to meet. Her subsequent world premier presentation was starring as “Harriet Tubman” in Nkeiru Okoye’s opera Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Road to Freedom presented by American Opera Projects.

Additionally, Janinah recreated the role of “Lolo, the VooDoo Queen” in Harlem Renaissance composer Harry Lawrence Freeman’s revival of VooDoo to much acclaim, earning her a glowing The New York Times review and feature. Janinah was also featured on the cover of the Arts Section of The Washington Post.

Janinah is in high demand and returned to Broadway in 2016, where her professional career began. She made appearances as “Carlotta Giudicelli” and “the Innkeeper’s Wife” in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and is a member of the closing April 2023 cast. Working on Phantom was a welcomed gift allowing Janinah to make her home in NYC and focus on creative musical projects near and dear to her heart.

Janinah also produces her own solo concerts of diverse vocal styles. These diverse vocal stylings led her to release her debut album entitled Love the Color of Your Butterfly, February 2021. Love the Color of Your Butterfly is a foray into the fusion of classical, jazz, and other popular idioms delivered with exceptional musicianship and emotional authenticity. This presentation of musical literature is re-imagined by Janinah with the assistance of some of the world’s finest jazz musicians including Sullivan Fortner, Christian Sands, Casey Benjamin, and Terreon Gully who produced the album. The album is available anywhere music is sold.

Additionally, Janinah produces performances of her own writings juxtaposed with photography, art songs, freedom songs, and spirituals entitled I, Too Sing America: A Lament for the Fallen which exists to provide quality performances rooted in education, activism, committed artistic expression, and healing while honoring those who have been killed due to social injustice.

Most recently, Janinah joined the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she currently serves as the Assistant Professor of Commercial Voice. Janinah’s artistry is far reaching and while she is moved to present the music of the past and present in innovative artful ways, she is also inspired to assist the future generations of singing artists, adding to her rich and illustrious legacy.

Angela Brown personifies the ideal soprano: sheer vocal power; luxurious finesse; and shimmering, high pianissimos. With captivating star power, she unites opera, pops, and gospel in one sensational voice. She has graced the leading opera and symphonic stages on six continents including Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, National Opera of Paris, Vienna State Opera, Capetown (South Africa) Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Edmonton Opera, Calgary Philharmonic, Shanghai World Expo, Moscow Performing Arts Center, The Metropolitan Opera, Bilbao Opera, Teatro La Fenice, Hamburg Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and more. She has been presented in solo recital throughout the United States, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, China, and Africa. She is a featured artist on the two-time Grammy Award® winning recording Ask Your Mama and the voice of contemporary African American opera roles of Addie Parker (Charlie Parker’s Yardbird) and Cilla (Margaret Garner) as well as the timehonored roles of Tosca, Aida, Amelia (Un ballo in Maschera), Elisabetta (Don Carlo), and Leonora (Il Trovatore).

2026 holds the world premiere of Phenomenal Queen: Coretta Scott King by James Lee III with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in March, a residency at Jackson State University, and the Naxos release of the world premiere recording of Nkeiru Okoye’s When the Caged Bird Sings. Last season Angela was in residency at Ole Miss (The University of Mississippi) for a concert and masterclass, sang for the Indianapolis Opera’s 50th Anniversary Gala and a concert with the Indianapolis Winds Symphony, had co-hosting duties for the American Piano Awards, and returned to Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra for their summer series. Performances in 2024 included two world premieres. Angela sang the soprano solo for award-winning composer Nkeiru Okoye’s new work When the Caged Bird Sings. The work was inspired by the life of Dr. Maya Angelou and performed for the University of Michigan’s University Musical Society’s series. Featuring four soloists, a narrator, full orchestra, and chorus, Angela sang the principal soprano role of “Cerise’s Mother.” Angela reprised the role of Addie Parker in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with the Indianapolis Opera. Angela premiered Presidential Service Medal recipient Bill Banfield’s Symphony 14 (Revelation) for soprano and symphony with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. She sang a selection from Okoye’s opera Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom with Louisville Orchestra.

Angela’s highly successful Metropolitan Opera debut in the title role of Aida captured instant attention from international print and broadcast media and catapulted Angela onto the world’s prestigious stages. Headlines from The New York Times read: “At last an Aida,” and CBS Weekend News proclaimed: “the future of opera has arrived!” followed by features on the front page of The New York Times, on CNN, in Oprah Magazine, Essence Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Classical Singer, Reader’s Digest, and Psychology Today.

Angela is the founder of Morning Brown, Inc., her nonprofit dedicated to the development of multicultural role models and audiences in the performing arts. The success of her signature show, Opera…from a Sistah’s Point of View©1997 provided the momentum and cornerstone for an array of outreach and educational programs that have been presented in 20 USA states under the auspices of Morning Brown. From orchestras and opera companies to libraries, schools, and music clubs, the programs have reached thousands of elementary, secondary, and university students as well as intergenerational audiences. (www.morningbrown.org)

A celebrated role model for the next generation of multicultural singers, Cincinnati Opera and Opera Birmingham released a virtual performance of Opera…from a Sistah’s Point of View in 2021 featuring rising young artists baritone Reginald Smith, Jr., tenor Jamez McCorkle, mezzo soprano Brianna Hunter, and Victoria Okafor alongside Angela. She received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts in 2022 for her impactful career and personal commitment to diversity in role models, performers, educators, and audiences in the arts. The Willson Center for Humanities and the Arts of the University of Georgia named Angela the 2023 Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding. The Chair is presented with the support of The Delta Air Lines Foundation, and Angela is the first musician to be honored with this distinction. She is the Artistic and Educational Ambassador of Indianapolis Opera. In 2023, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music presented her with the Centennial Award for meaningful contributions to the advancement of music education, performance advocacy, and/or philanthropy.

While opera is the main catalyst for her career, Angela’s performance experience includes everything from star emcee to producer, recording artist, educator, and podcast host. She is featured in the 2022 Marian Anderson documentary, The Whole World in Her Hand, on PBS’s American Masters, and the 2021 Marian Anderson documentary, Voice of Freedom, on PBS’s American Experience. In 2020, she launched a podcast with Classical Music Indy and co-host Joshua Thompson: Melanated Moments in Classical Music, now in its seventh season. The first season landed in the top 10% of all podcasts for listeners and won Best Music Podcast of 2020 for the Black Music Podcasting Awards.

Additional milestones for Angela include singing on the Grammy Award®-winning recording of Ask Your Mama, composer Laura Karpman’s setting of the poem by Langston Hughes of the same title, and costarring in the American opera, Charlie Parker’s Yardbird by Daniel Schnyder in the 2015 world-premiere performance with Opera Philadelphia. She reprised the role of Addie Parker in historic performances at The Apollo in New York City in 2016, for Lyric Opera of Chicago and Madison Opera, and in London at The Hackney Empire in 2017, for The Atlanta Opera in 2019, for Seattle Opera in 2020, Dayton Opera in 2022, and New Orleans Opera in 2023.

Earlier career high points include her collaboration with American composer Richard Danielpour. Her early success as Aida was immediately followed by world premier performances of Danielpour’s opera Margaret Garner in the role of Cilla with Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera and Michigan Opera Theater. The result was a triumph that led Mr. Danielpour to set the poetry of visionary Maya Angelou for Angela’s voice in an orchestral song cycle, A Woman’s Life, co-commissioned by Pittsburgh Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra, recorded in 2012 with the Nashville Symphony and released on the Naxos label in 2013.

A noted interpreter of African American spirituals, Angela released Mosaic, a collaborative recording featuring spirituals with guitarist Tyron Cooper and pianist Joseph Joubert, in October 2004 from Albany Records. In 2005, a live Christmas concert with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and Indianapolis Opera Chorus was recorded by WFYI-PBS and broadcast throughout the United States. She guest starred on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor radio show in 2009. In July 2010, Angela was presented in Shanghai at the World Expo 2010 as a guest of USA Pavilion and the United States Consulate. Angela was the only opera singer invited to perform for the USA Pavilion. She also opened the One Nation Working Together Rally in Washington, DC, by singing the National Anthem on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and was selected by Marvin Hamlisch to premier his song composed for her and the Indianapolis Children’s Choir in honor of The Indianapolis Prize.

Throughout her career, Angela has joined forces with symphonic pops legends Marvin Hamlisch, Jack Everly, and Erich Kunzel while traveling the world for classical performances at Lincoln Center, Paris Opera, Vienna State Opera, Capetown (South Africa) Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Edmonton Opera, Calgary Philharmonic, Shanghai World Expo, Moscow Performing Arts Center, and more. Her hometown of Indianapolis has welcomed her regularly for appearances with the Indianapolis Symphony for their Yuletide pops extravaganza, the Indianapolis Opera, the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, as National Anthem soloist for the Indianapolis Colts, Indiana Pacers, and Indy Eleven, and to sing “God Bless America” twice for the running of the Indianapolis 500.

Ms. Brown’s previous solo appearances include: Metropolitan Opera; National Opera of Paris; Bilbao Opera, Spain; Teatro La Fenice; Hamburg Opera; Vienna Staatsoper; Capetown Opera; Deutsche Oper Berlin; Opera Philadelphia; Cincinnati Opera; Pittsburgh Opera; Opera Pacific; Florentine Opera; Indianapolis Opera; Michigan Opera Theater; Opera Birmingham; Dayton Opera; Florida Grand Opera; The Philadelphia Orchestra; Pittsburgh Symphony; Auckland Philharmonia; Leipzig Radio Orchestra; Latvian National Symphony; Moscow Symphony Orchestra; Festival of St. Denis, France; Indianapolis Symphony; Cincinnati Pops; Cincinnati Symphony; Brevard Festival Orchestra; Phoenix Symphony; Roanoke Symphony; Madison Symphony; El Paso Symphony; Knoxville Symphony; Chautauqua Institution; Carmel (Indiana) Symphony; residencies and recitals at Skidmore College and Acadiana Symphony Orchestra; Calgary Philharmonic; Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic; The Trumpet Awards; The Walker Theatre in Indianapolis; The Sun Valley Writers’ Conference; The Marian Anderson Award Ceremony; the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Angela has performed in recital throughout the United States, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, and Africa.

A 1997 National Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions Winner, Ms. Brown received her Bachelor of Music degree in voice from Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama, where she studied with Ginger Beazley. She attended the Indiana University School of Music as a student in the studio of Virginia Zeani. Ms. Brown received the Indiana University African American Arts Institute’s inaugural Herman C. Hudson Alumni Award in 2006, given annually to recognize outstanding contributions made in the arts by former members of the Institute. Ms. Brown is featured in “Nineteen Stars of Indiana,” a book by Michael S. Maurer about nineteen, living Hoosier women with successful and inspirational life stories, released by Indiana University Press in December 2008. Angela is a proud recipient of the 2015 Indiana University Distinguished Alumni Service Award, the Jacobs School of Music Centennial Award, the Governor’s Arts Award from the Governor of Indiana, a Spirit of the Prairie Award from Conner Prairie in Indiana, and a member of the Indianapolis Public Schools Hall of Fame. The Carmichael Hotel in Carmel, Indiana, named the Angela Brown Dining Room in her honor and she is an honorary member of Sigma Alpha Iota national music fraternity. She is a voting member of The Recording Academy

Nathan De’Shon Myers is an American baritone, conductor, and educator whose multifaceted international career spans opera, jazz, and gospel performance, as well as conducting, teaching, and arts leadership. Recognized for his versatility and commanding stage presence, he has appeared as a featured soloist with leading opera companies and orchestras throughout the United States and Europe, including Deutsche Oper Berlin, Dallas Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Salzburg Landestheater, Stadttheater Trier, Theater Neustrelitz, Opera Louisiane, and the Amalfi Coast Festival.

As a former fest soloist with Deutsche Oper Berlin, Myers performed a wide range of roles including Dandini (La Cenerentola), Dancairo (Carmen), Schaunard (La bohème), Ping (Turandot), Marullo (Rigoletto), and Matthieu (Andrea Chénier), in addition to title roles such as Gianni Schicchi, Don Giovanni, and Ernst Krenek’s Johnny spielt auf. Recent engagements include his Houston Grand Opera debut as Jim in Porgy and Bess and Pinellino in Gianni Schicchi (Il trittico), as well as performances with the American Spiritual Ensemble and Cincinnati Opera.

Equally at home in commercial and contemporary genres, Myers has collaborated with artists including Kristin Chenoweth and Kirk Franklin, contributing to Franklin’s Grammy Award–winning album Losing My Religion and to major film soundtracks including Hidden Figures and The Star. His solo recording projects include Making a Way and Found My Joy.

A dedicated educator and mentor, Myers serves as Associate Professor of Voice and Choral at Arizona State University and has served on the faculty of the American Institute for Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. A former Conservatory Director at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, he built a nationally recognized opera and vocal program while leading curricular innovation, recruitment strategy, and community engagement initiatives.

Myers’ research and creative work center on the integration of classical and contemporary vocal techniques, artist development, and equity in arts education. As founder of the Myers Family Foundation for the Arts, he actively supports and mentors young musicians through scholarship, training, and outreach programs. He remains active internationally as a performer, conductor, clinician, and advocate for the transformative power of music.

A member of the critically-acclaimed Three Mo’ Tenors, Robert Anthony Mack receives glorious reviews for his powerful and sweet lyric tenor voice throughout the US and Europe. Recently, Mr. Mack sang the tenor solo in Händel’s Messiah with Moab Music Festival and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; the role of Judy Johnson in the world première of a new opera that explores the life of Josh Gibson, “one of the greatest Negro League baseball players,” The Summer King, with Pittsburgh Opera; and the role of Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess with Toledo Opera, Springfield Symphony, Traverse City Symphony, National Chorale, and at Margaret Island Open-Air Theatre in Budapest for their summer festival.

This season, Mack sings the role of Remus in Treemonisha in concert with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Carolina and Opera Grand Rapids and performs as Aubrey in the Today it Rains Workshop with American Opera Project and Opera Parallèle. He has performed principal roles with noted opera companies, such as Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, Opéra Française de New York, Nashville Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Indianapolis Opera, The Paris Bastille, The Teatro Real in Spain, The Royal Danish Theater, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, as well as being on the roster of The Metropolitan Opera.

He performed tenor solos with The Collegiate Chorale and The Alvin Ailey Dance Company in Revelations and performed in Spoleto Festival’s première of Amistad where the critics made mention of his very solid performance. He also performed in both the national and international tours of Smokey Joe’s Café. He can be heard on DECCA records, Paragon records, and KSW Music. Additionally, Mr. Mack co-founded and is the General Director of Opera Noire of New York.

Marquita Richardson is a soprano and voice actor with roots in Nashville and the Greater Philadelphia area. Raised in a musical family, Marquita learned to sing and appreciate a wide variety of musical styles at home, but she started studying voice officially after attending college (Oakwood University, B.S. in Biology). She fell in love with the unique world of opera under the tutelage of Dr. Lloyd Mallory at Delaware State University and continued her studies with Dr. Everett McCorvey at the University of Kentucky in 2018.

Marquita has performed leading and supportive roles for Opera Memphis (Juno in La Calisto, 2025, 2024; Mimi in La Bohème, 2024), the Chautauqua Opera and Conservatory (Suor Angelica in Suor Angelica, 2023), Kentucky Opera (Sandman and Dew Fairy in Hansel & Gretel, 2023; Musetta in La Bohème, 2022) and the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre (Mimì in La Bohème, 2022; Abigail Williams in The Crucible, 2021; Suor Angelica in Suor Angelica, 2019; covering Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly, 2018).

She served as a chorus member with Chautauqua Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Kentucky Opera, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (The Jonah People, 2023 world premiere), and as a featured soloist with the Louisville Orchestra, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra (The Harriet Tubman Oratorio, 2024 world premiere), Albany Symphony Orchestra, and Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. She also served as a 2022-2023 Barbara & Halsey Sandford Studio Artist with Kentucky Opera, as a 2023 Apprentice Artist for Chautauqua Opera, and currently as a Handorf Company Artist for Opera Memphis.

Marquita maintains her love of performing a variety of music—opera, musical theater, pop, Spirituals—and enjoys every opportunity to connect with and inspire others through music.

Marquita believes in creating a more empathetic world through art and great storytelling.

TEDRIN BLAIR LINDSAY, a pianist, composer, and musicologist, born in Lexington, Kentucky and raised in Rome, Italy, has been a professional performer since the age of ten. He currently serves on the opera faculty at the University of Kentucky, where he earned a Ph.D. in 2009, and at FIO-Mondo (Festival of International Opera) in Urbania, Italy. He performs throughout the world as a collaborative pianist and soloist, both independently and as the long-time accompanist for The American Spiritual Ensemble, in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Kennedy Center, and at international music festivals such as La Folle Journée in Nantes, France and those in Bilbao and Santander, Spain. In 2025, Dr. Lindsay won the prestigious international Josie Award in the category of “Best Musician – Piano” and is a nominee again in 2026. Under the auspices of his company Liberal Art Productions, he has released two solo albums, Tedrin (2015) and It Is Well With My Soul (2016), featuring his own virtuosic piano arrangements, and can be heard as collaborator on recordings with numerous prominent artists. He is also a frequently sought public speaker on subjects of arts and culture, and served for many years as music and theatre critic for The Lexington Herald-Leader.

Stephanie K. Sanders, Assistant Professor of Music is in her 26 th year at Norfolk State University (VA) as the Associate Director of Bands of the world renown Spartan “Legion” Marching Band, Symphonic Band and Director of the NSU Jazz Ensembles. She received her Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.) from Jackson State University and her Masters of Music Performance – Bassoon from the University of Houston (TX). She has been a music
educator for over 34 years on the secondary and collegiate levels.

In addition to teaching, Ms. Sanders is a concert bassoonist and jazz saxophonist. Her performing history includes: Symphonicity (formerly known as the Virginia Beach Symphony), Tidewater Winds, Virginia Wind Symphony, Northern Neck Orchestra, Rajazz, Rajazz Unplugged, Hampton Roads Woodwind Quintet, Symphonicity Wind Quintet, Woodlands Symphony, Brazos Valley Symphony, Texas Music Festival, Musical Arts League of Natchez, MS, P.S.D. Jazz Trio and the Scott Joplin Symphony Orchestra. She has performed with the following artists: The O’Jays, Peabo Bryson, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Teddy Riley, Kem, Jill Scott, Will Downing, Kirk Whalum, Norman Brown, Jennifer Holiday, Calvin Owens, Victor Wooten, “Slide” Hampton, Andrew White, Billy Harper, Donald Byrd, Bobby Lyle, Ben Tankard, Teddy RIley and David Sanborn. She has premiered with the Virginia Symphony in 2002, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. She also premiered with Symphonicity in 2007 and 2022. She is a featured artist for WHRO Classical Radio Series (A Local Touch).

Ms. Sanders has received numerous honors which include: Second CD Release (June 2023) entitled “I’m Done!; 2024 VEER Music Awards for Best Smooth Jazz Artist; Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award; Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity, Incorporated Phenomenal Woman Award; President for College Division, Virginia Music Educators Association; Advisory Board Member, Hampton Roads Flute Faire – Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA; Midwest Band and Orchestra Performer; Virginia Music Educators Association Performer and Clinician; Hampton Jazz Festival Performer; Suffolk Public Schools All City High School Band Clinician; NORFOLK Commission on the Arts and Humanities “Arts Within Reach” Performer; North Carolina Region East Jazz Ensemble Clinician; District XVI All State Jazz Ensemble Clinician; Who’s Who of Educators; Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers; Norfolk Public Schools All-City Middle School Band Director; Jazz at Lincoln Center HBCU Collegiate Jazz Ensemble (2023) and Board Member of Symphonicity – The Symphony of Virginia Beach.

Ms. Sanders’ professional affiliations include: Silver Star – Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority, Inc., Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity Inc., Phi Delta Kappa Fraternity, National Association for Music Educators, Texas Black Music Educators Association, Virginia Music Educators Association, Tidewater Association of Negro Musicians, National Association for the Study and Performance of African American Music and Founding member of the Association of Black Women Band Directors.

Praised as a pianist with “flair and energy” (The New York Times), Bösendorfer artist Dr. Michael Fennelly gained international attention upon his completion of George Gershwin’s unfinished setting of Rhapsody in Blue for solo piano, orchestra, and symphonic chorus, for which he received a knighthood in Spain. Following the premiere with the National Chorale in Lincoln Center, The Huffington Post exclaimed “[Fennelly’s performance] hit like a lightning bolt which catapulted the audience 2,000 feet in the air, taking them on a rocket-ride around the Chrysler building.”

Michael Fennelly has toured extensively on all seven continents, appearing throughout the US and Europe as well as in China, Japan, Siberia, French Polynesia, Bhutan, Dubai, Peru—from Andorra and Antarctica to Zimbabwe and Xinjiang. Concerto appearances include Rachmaninoff’s Second (Orange County Philharmonic), Brahms’ First (Altenburg Festival Germany), Saint-Saëns’ Second (Alisa Viejo Symphony), and Rhapsody in Blue (New Jersey Festival Orchestra). Dr. Fennelly represented the United States State Department on a tour of seventeen cities in Japan, and has performed in many of the world’s great concert halls, including Carnegie Hall (NY), Opéra de Monte-Carlo (Monaco), Prinzregenten Theatre (Munich), Komische Oper (Berlin), and the fabled Manaus Opera House (Brazil) in the heart of the Amazonian rainforest. Michael has performed with international opera star Renée Fleming in Manhattan, the New York Philharmonic under Alan Gilbert, and the Buffalo Philharmonic under JoAnn Falletta.

Michael Fennelly first performed at age five and made his debut concerto appearance at age ten in California. Dr Fennelly studied with Earl Voorhies (Fullerton, CA), Dr. Nelita True (Eastman School of Music) and the legendary pianist Byron Janis (Manhattan School of Music). His doctoral dissertation presented a comprehensive new theory of Metric Structure, which analyzed intermediate temporal patterns in compositions from medieval troubadours and Mozart symphonies to Verdi operas and Ligeti’s Etudes. Michael was the US winner of the Horowitz Competition in Kiev, Ukraine and made his solo Carnegie Hall recital debut upon winning the Artists International Competition.

As a staff pianist for The Juilliard School and the Metropolitan Opera, Michael has collaborated with many of the world’s most celebrated musicians including Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Renata Scotto, Itzakh Perlman, Lorin Maazel, Richard Goode, and Leon Fleisher. Dr. Fennelly has performed recitals for the Aristotle Onassis Foundation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Kosciuszko Foundation, the Opera Index Foundation, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, Joy in Singing, and the Metropolitan Opera Guild. He also toured for many years as a member of Community Concerts, which has since the 1930’s presented artists such as Arturo Rubinstein and Vladimir Horowitz in smaller cities throughout the United States.

In recent years, Dr. Michael Fennelly has begun a second career as a conductor, leading Madama Butterfly (Amore Opera), La Traviata (Berkshire MA) and the premieres of  Les Trois Mousquetaires (Phoenicia Festival, Woodstock NY), Faustine, Big Jim (Center for Contemporary Opera), and assisted in Japan Society’s Four Nights of Dream in sold out performances in Tokyo. Dr. Fennelly was invited as assistant conductor to many prestigious music festivals (Wolftrap, Castleton, Ashlawn, Bruges) and has led innumerable chamber and operatic concerts from the keyboard.

Michael Fennelly’s solo piano albums include The Legend of Faust, Debut, and Grand Tour (Athena Records).

Michael Fennelly and his wife, soprano Megan Weston, live in Manhattan where they co-founded and are the directors of the Athena Music Foundation, a non-profit organization, whose mission to promote and present dynamic music performances to diverse audiences. Athena’s programs include a recital and chamber music series; a touring troupe, The Athenians, who have appeared in Dubai and China; and the Young Performers Program, in which students have the opportunity to study and perform with professional artists.

Founded in 1967, the National Chorale and Orchestra is celebrating its 59th Anniversary Season under the baton of Maestro Everett McCorvey, Artistic Director. On Tuesday, December 15, 2026, the Chorale will present its 59th annual Handel’s Messiah Sing-In at David Geffen Hall,  Lincoln Center. This event is a celebration of choral singing with an audience-chorus up to 2,000 voices under the batons of 17 eminent conductors, 4 talented soloists, organist and National Chorale Orchestra. The Chorale’s programming at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, and other venues, also includes ensemble performances by students at the Professional Performing Arts High School, National Chorale’s Vocal Music Education Partner. These performances provide a life-changing opportunity for students to experience making music in a large NYC concert hall, working with professional musicians, and representing the National Chorale in its music
education initiatives.

Under the artistic leadership of Everett McCorvey and Executive Director, Amy Siegler, the National Chorale is devoted to inspiring diverse audiences through education and performance and increasing awareness of music’s power to engage and inform through artistic expression.

The Harlem Chamber Players is an ethnically diverse collective of professional musicians dedicated to bringing high caliber, affordable, accessible live music to people in the Harlem community and beyond. Founded in 2008, The Harlem Chamber Players annually presents a rich season of formal live concerts, indoors, outdoors, and online. They also promote arts inclusion and equal access to the arts, bringing live music to underserved communities and promoting shared community arts and cultural engagement. The group was first inspired by the late Janet Wolfe, a long-time patron of musicians of color and founder of the NYC Housing Symphony Orchestra. The Harlem Chamber Players have presented culturally relevant programs at numerous venues throughout the city and collaborated with many other arts organizations.

They have been featured on national radio on WQXR as well as The Greene Space at WQXR and WNYC. The Harlem Chamber Players have also been mentioned in articles in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Musical America, and on CBS, NPR, NBC, and “Here and Now” on ABC.  The Harlem Chamber Players were awarded the 2022 Sam Miller Award for the Performing Arts administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

To learn more about Harlem Chamber Players, please visit their website (www.harlemchamberplayers.org).

Under the baton of Artistic Director Chris Shepard and Assistant Director & Accompanist Mark Mummert, The Worcester Chorus of Music Worcester numbers approximately 100 professional and amateur singers who perform several times each year, primarily as part of Music Worcester’s season, including an annual performance of Handel’s Messiah. Their repertoire also includes other classical choral pieces, opera, musical theater, American folk songs, and more.

The Worcester Chorus is a key component of THE COMPLETE BACH, Music Worcester’s 11-year project to present all of J.S. Bach’s known works, which concludes in March 2035. A subset of the group, the Worcester Chorus Women’s Ensemble (dir. Mark Mummert) is also featured in the Music Worcester season.

Learn more and see their full schedule.

Everett McCorvey, a native of Montgomery, Alabama, and a graduate of the University of Alabama where he received his degrees including a Doctorate in Musical Arts. He has given performances at the Metropolitan Opera, Kennedy Center, Radio City Music Hall, Teatro Comunale, Florence, Italy, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, England, and in over 23 countries.

He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the American Spiritual Ensemble, a professional Ensemble dedicated to the performance and preservation of the American Negro Spiritual and he is the Conductor and Artistic Director of the National Chorale and Orchestra of New York City, a professional organization dedicated to performing the titans of the classical choral repertoire. He was recently appointed as the inaugural Principal Guest Conductor at Opera Columbus. Opera Columbus (Ohio, USA).

In his home state of Kentucky, he is the Chairman of the Kentucky Arts Council and nationally, he is an advisory panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. Dr. McCorvey also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Sullivan Foundation of New York, an organization dedicated to identifying gifted young opera singers in the early stages of their professional careers and helping them develop through a unique program combining audition awards with continuing support for learning new roles.

He has served on the faculties of the New York State Summer School of the Arts, American Institute of Musical Studies, Graz, Austria, and Bay View Music Festival as co-opera conductor and co-director of the American Negro Spirituals Intensive Program. He holds position of the OperaLex Endowed Chair of Opera Studies and Professor of Voice at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky

Recent conducting stints include SANCTUARY ROAD by Paul Moravec and Pulitzer Prize Librettist Mark Campbell with Virginia Opera this past February of 2024; Handel’s MESSIAH at the newly renovated David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in December of 2023; CARMEN by Bizet in October of 2023 with Opera Columbus; SUOR ANGELICA and GIANNI SCHICCHI with the Bay View Opera Festival in the summer of 2023; MARIA DE BUENOS AIRES with Kentucky Opera in November of 2022; The World Premiere of THE SECRET RIVER by Stella Sung and Mark Campbell with Opera Orlando in December of 2021 as well as conducting the Dvořák Symphony #9 in Prague’s Smetana Hall with the North Czech Philharmonic and the Grand Finale Opera Gala at the Mythos Opera Festival 2018.

Upcoming concerts include conducting THE THREE PENNY OPERA by Kurt Weil with Opera Columbus, THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE by Chandler Carter with the libretto by Diana Solomon Glover with Kentucky Opera, and TREEMONISHA by Scott Joplin with Opera Orlando. McCorvey served as the Music Director and Conductor of the World Premier of BOUNCE, The Basketball Opera, conceived and directed by Gretha Holby with the lead composer Glen Roven and author and librettist Charles R. Smith, Jr. Additional music for BOUNCE was written by Tomas Doncker and West Side Story Film Star Ansel Elgort.

Dr. Mccorvey is married to soprano, Alicia Helm and they have three children.