Black Voices in Classical Music:
A Conversation About Access
A Collaboration of True Colors Theatre Company and The Atlanta Opera
Thursday, May 6th, 2021, 7:00 – 8:30PM
Location: True Colors Theatre YouTube and Facebook Live
True Colors Theatre Company is delighted to present a timely Community Conversation on access to professional opportunities for Black opera singers, in partnership with The Atlanta Opera. In this time of cultural awareness and cultural upheaval, there is a call for greater representation and visibility on our stages, including on the grand opera stages of our country. Emerging singers of color continue to face unique challenges to accessing the pipeline that leads to a professional career. As we prepare to present our Concert for Unity on May 8 and 9, join us for a panel of distinguished local artists and educators as they discuss their personal experiences and ways to lift every voice in our communities.
Our Panelists:
Black Voices in Classical Music
Dr. Maurice Wheeler
Maurice Wheeler is an associate professor in the College of Information at the University of North Texas. His degrees include a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Master of Music in Voice Performance and Master of Library and Information Science, both from the University of Michigan. His archival career began as a music curator at the Detroit Public Library, where he facilitated the library’s acquisition of the personal archives of pioneering African American concert singer Roland Hayes.
Active nationally and internationally as an author and presenter on the topic of African Americans in opera, Wheeler has served as archivist for the National Opera Association, and is the co-curator of the Metropolitan Opera’s current exhibition, Black Voices at the Met. He also participated in the production of the Met’s 2019 release of a compilation of Met recordings of African singers and authored the CD’s liner notes.
Dr. Maurice Wheeler (Moderator)
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Black Voices in Classical Music
Morris Robinson
Morris Robinson is considered one the most interesting and sought after basses performing today.
Mr. Robinson regularly appears at the Metropolitan Opera, where he is a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Program. He debuted there in a production of Fidelio and has since appeared as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte (both in the original production and in the children’s English version), Ferrando in Il Trovatore, the King in Aida, and in roles in Nabucco, Tannhäuser, and the new productions of Les Troyens and Salome. He has also appeared at the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Teatro alla Scala, Volksoper Wien, Opera Australia, and the Aix-en-Provence Festival. His many roles include the title role in Porgy and Bess, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Ramfis in Aida, Zaccaria in Nabucco, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos, Timur in Turandot, the Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Padre Guardiano in La Forza del Destino, Ferrando in Il Trovatore, and Fasolt in Das Rheingold.
Also a prolific concert singer, Mr. Robinson’s recently made his debut with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in performances of the Mahler Symphony No. 8 with its music director, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyl. His many concert engagements have included appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (where he was the 2015-2016 Artist in Residence), San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, L’Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Met Chamber Orchestra, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, New England String Ensemble, and at the BBC Proms and the Ravinia, Mostly Mozart, Tanglewood, Cincinnati May, Verbier, and Aspen Music Festivals. He also appeared in Carnegie Hall as part of Jessye Norman’s HONOR! Festival. In recital he has been presented by Spivey Hall in Atlanta, the Savannah Music Festival, the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Mr. Robinson’s solo album, Going Home, was released on the Decca label. He also appears as Joe in the DVD of the San Francisco Opera production of Show Boat, and in the DVDs of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Salome and the Aix-en-Provence Festival’s production of Mozart’s Zaide.
This season, Mr. Robinsons returns to both the Michigan Opera Theater and the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Haggen in Twilight: Gods, an innovative production of Gotterdämmerung created by Yuval Sharon. He also sings Sparafucile in a special performance of Rigoletto produced by the Tulsa Opera. He is also a member of the Atlanta Opera’s Company Players for the 20/21 season where he will appear in various concerts, recitals, and educations outreach events throughout the year.
An Atlanta native, Mr. Robinson is a graduate of The Citadel and received his musical training from the Boston University Opera Institute. He was recently named Artistic Advisor to the Cincinnati Opera.
Morris Robinson
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Black Voices in Classical Music
Dr. Uzee Brown, Jr.
Dr. Uzee Brown, Jr. is a native of Cowpens, S.C. He is chair of the Department of Music at Morehouse College and formerly served as chair of Music at Clark Atlanta University, and director of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir in Atlanta, GA. His diverse career as educator, singer/performer, composer/arranger, and choir director has taken him to more than twenty-six countries, including Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Poland, Russia, Luxembourg, Spain, South America and the Caribbean, along with seven countries in Africa that include South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Senegal and Algeria.
Dr. Brown holds a BA degree from Morehouse College, a masters degree in Composition from Bowling Green State University, and master and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan. In 2011 he was voted Vulcan Teacher of the Year at Morehouse College and is past president of the National Association of Negro Musicians (founded 1919). He currently serves as Chair of the Morehouse faculty and a member of the Faculty Council.
Among his many performances are world premier performances in the role of Parson Alltalk in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s world premier of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, the leading role in Emory University’s King Solomon with music by celebrated composer James Oliverio, and Mr. Letterlaw in the world premier of Zabette. He has appeared in numerous national and international performances of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Brown is co-founder of Onxy Opera Atlanta, 1988 and founder and director of the Uzee Brown Society of Choraliers (2009), a choral ensemble comprised of some of the most gifted singers in metropolitan Atlanta, currently completing its 5th CD recording. In addition to writing music for two of Spike Lee’s movies, School Daze and Red Hook Summer, Brown has written works for National Public Radio and the Atlanta Symphony, including an orchestral setting for chorus of We Shall Overcome for the celebration of the 70th birthday of M.L. King, Jr. Dr. Brown’s commissions include works for colleges, universities, soloists and ensembles, along with commissioned works for the inauguration of four (4) Morehouse College presidents. His compositions and arrangements have been performed internationally in cathedrals and concert halls on four continents, including important music centers in the U.S, such as the Lincoln Center in Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls, the National Cathedral, Severance Hall, the Christ Church Cathedral and Carnegie Hall.
Dr. Brown is a member of the historic Friendship Baptist Church where he is a consultant and associate music staff member. In addition to Dr. Brown’s membership and service as an evaluation team chair on accreditation for the National Association of Schools of Music, Brown is a member of Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Professional Music Fraternity, Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, Kappa Kappa Psi Honorary Band Fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the Metropolitan Atlanta Musicians Association. He serves on the boards of The Georgia State University Harrower Opera Workshop, and the Atlanta Music Club/Pro Mozart Society.
Dr. Uzee Brown, Jr.
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Black Voices in Classical Music
Maria Clark
Maria Clark has been acclaimed for her virtuosic skills of expressive singing across the idioms of Opera, Oratorio, and Art Song, and has been critiqued as possessing “The Voice of An Angel”. One of the most important aspects of her vocal abilities is her superb control of a very large instrument, all the while presenting a beautiful, rich, and layered voice.
Her career grew in 2005, when she landed a position with Atlanta Opera and appeared with the ensemble of Atlanta Opera in its 2005 production of Carmen, participated in Atlanta Opera and Opera Comique’s 2008 collaborative production of Porgy & Bess, touring in France, Spain, and Luxembourg performing as the Strawberry Woman. Maria’s impressive rendition of the role earned her the cover of Bess, in the Atlanta Opera’s main stage 2011 production of Porgy & Bess, and performing the role of Bess in Atlanta Opera’s abridged version which was produced for the Atlanta Opera Outreach School productions.
In 2020, Maria Clark has been the soloist for several high profiled events and has successfully competed in several vocal competitions. She performed at the Progressive National Baptist Convention which included Stacey Abrams as the keynote speaker, and John Lewis and Andew Young as special guests. Ms. Clark also performed at the Toni Morrison Memorial Concert in Atlanta as a soloist, which was commissioned by the Toni Morrison Society. She is also the Oxnard Gold Medalist winner of the 2004 American Traditions Competition and was a winner in the West Palm Beach Opera competition.
Ms. Clark sits on the board of directors for RespirOpera-The GA Opera Initiative Company, as Vice President, and is a board member for The Irene Harrower Opera Program at GA State University. Ms. Clark is also a member of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), and is the Membership Chair of the Atlanta chapter of NANM (National Association of Negro Musicians). She is the new Coordinator of Vocal Studies at the very prestigious Spelman College, and is also a dedicated vocal instructor at Emory University.
Maria Clark
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Black Voices in Classical Music
Ronnita Miller
A Florida native, Ronnita Miller studied at Manhattan School of Music and at the prestigious Juilliard Opera School before spending two years in Los Angeles Opera’s Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program. At LA Opera she sang Dame Quickly in Falstaff, Tisbe in La Cenerentola, Filippevna in Eugene Onegin, Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette and Florence Pike in Albert Herring; she also appeared in Joachim Freyer’s controversial production of Der Ring des Nibelungen in the roles of Schwertleite and Flosshilde while additionally covering Erda, a role–along with First Norn–that she went on to sing at Teatro Real Madrid, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and The Metropolitan Opera.
Highlights of Ronnita’s career include her debut as Fricka Die Walkure with Odense Symphony Orchestra, a role she later sang in Amsterdam with the Concertgebouw Orchestra under the baton of Jaap van Sweden; Armando Le Grand Macabre with Simon Rattle and both the London Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic; at Brighton Festival, Tippett’s A Child of our Time with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Roderick Cox conducting; a special anniversary performance and live broadcast of Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses under the baton of James Conlon at Carnegie Hall; and Mama Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana with Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Riccardo Muti Future engagements include her debut as Amneris in Aida at Cincinnati Opera.
Ronnita Miller
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