NEMPAC Opera Project’s 10th Season
JUNETEENTH: Opera in the Key of Freedom
Watch the Performance: HERE
STARRING
- Veena Akama-Makia | MEZZO-SOPRANO
- Kay Patterson | SOPRANO
- RaShaun Campbell | BARITONE
- Fred C. VanNess, Jr. | TENOR
- Thomas Cooper | VIOLIN
- Adrienne Baker | FLUTE
- Marshunda Smith | CELLO
- Freya Liu | VIOLIN
- Kevonna Shuford | VIOLA
- Julia Carey | PIANO
- Alexandra Dietrich | ARTISTIC & STAGE DIRECTOR
- Dr. Tiffany Chang | CONDUCTOR & MUSIC DIRECTOR
CONCERT REPERTOIRE
Lift Every Voice and Sing – Johnson & Johnson, arr. William Grant Still
Performed by the JUNETEENTH Ensemble featuring Adrienne Baker, Flute
String Quartet No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1 – The Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Performed by Thomas Cooper, Freya Liu, Kevonna Shuford, and Marshunda Smith
Song for the Lonely – William Grant Still
Performed by Fred C. VanNess, Jr. and Julia Scott Carey
Citadel – William Grant Still
Performed by Kay Patterson and Julia Scott Carey
Fanfare for the American Hero – William Grant Still, arr. Julia Scott Carey
Performed by Julia Scott Carey
Filmed at Church on the Hill, Boston, MA
Five Scenes from Treemonisha – Scott Joplin
Performed by Thomas Cooper, Freya Liu,
Kevonna Shuford, and Marshunda Smith
Plain-Chant for America – William Grant Still
Performed by RaShaun Campbell and Julia Scott Carey
Filmed at Church on the Hill, Boston, MA
If Singing is Free – Mason Bynes
Performed by Thomas Cooper, Marshunda Smith,
Julia Carey, Kay Patterson, Veena Akama-Makia,
Fred C. VanNess, Jr., and RaShaun Campbell
A World Premiere Commissioned for the North End Music & Performing Arts Center
Golden Days – William Grant Still
Performed by Veena Akama-Makia and the Juneteenth Ensemble
NEMPAC Opera Project is proud to celebrate its 10th Season with Juneteenth: Opera in the Key of Freedom on June 19, 2021.
Featuring the works of William Grant Still, Scott Joplin, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and a World Premiere Commissioned Piece for North End Music & Performing Arts Center by Mason Bynes.
This virtual streaming presentation will celebrate the holiday of Juneteenth, when the Emancipation Proclamation was read in 1865 in Texas to the final groups of enslaved people marking the end to slavery in the United States. Through a variety of music from Black Composers across three centuries, we will celebrate Juneteenth with the themes of freedom, triumph, and joy. These works will be performed by leading Black Musicians of the Greater Boston Arts scene and filmed at the African Meeting House on Boston’s Black Heritage Trail.
Originally Aired on June 19th, 2021, 12:30 p.m.
