MARTA "Whimsy and Joy" | Atlanta Opera Performance

Whimsy and Joy

We are thrilled to, once again, partner with our friends at MARTA Artbound, The Atlanta Opera, and Midtown Alliance for a special concert. “Whimsy and Joy” will bring together much-beloved singers from The Atlanta Opera’s stage with a fantastic virtuoso spoken word artist and actor of True Colors Theatre, creating a unique celebration of joy, escapism, and a belief in the limitlessness of the imagination. Join us for an experience unlike any other happening around the Atl and escape with us to the far corners of the imagination.

When: Wednesday, April 22nd, 4:00 – 5:00 PM
Where: The Plaza at North Avenue Station (713 West Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30308)

The performance area is on the concourse level inside the fare gates. To enjoy the show, all you’ll need is your MARTA pass to enter the gates!

Our Performers:

Whimsy and Joy

Indra Thomas

Singer
Instagram: @indrathom

Indra Thomas, known for her lush and warm voice, has performed at many of the world’s most prestigious opera houses and concert venues, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Royal Albert Hall, and Carnegie Hall. She has appeared in the United States, France, Germany, Spain, and England, and has sung with renowned orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, London Symphony, and Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra, as well as leading ensembles in Paris, Spain, Brazil, the Netherlands, Japan, Finland, South Korea, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, Boston, Cleveland, and Detroit. Her festival appearances include the Bregenz Festspiele in Austria, Chorégies d’Orange in France, and the Proms Summer Festival in London.

Her screen credits include The Upside and the Academy Award-winning fi lm Driving Miss Daisy. She received an Emmy nomination for her performance of the “Porgy and Bess Suite” on the New Year’s Eve Broadcast Live from Lincoln Center, a Grammy nomination for Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with the London Symphony Orchestra, and multiple Off -Broadway nominations for the opera Intimate Apparel. She is also the recipient of the Joseph R. Biden Lifetime Achievement Award.

Thomas’s music is available on iTunes, Amazon Music, and all major streaming platforms. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, she earned her BM from Shorter College and an Artistic Diploma from the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. She currently serves as Artist in Residence in Voice at Berry College in Rome, Georgia.

Indra Thomas
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Whimsy and Joy

Durrell Lyons

Spoken Word Artist
FB: @durrelllyonsperforms
IG: @durrelllyonsperforms

From humble beginnings, born and bred in Wichita Falls, Texas, Durrell Lyons has gone from being a one man show, to a leading man on stage and screen. His screen credits include a wide range of projects, from a recurring role in “Tyler Perry’s The Have’s and Have Nots,” to a recurring role in the popular Apple+ series “Bad Monkey,” as well as notable others.

Durrell Lyons
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Whimsy and Joy

Jacob Lay

Singer
Instagram: @jcomposer12

Jacob Lay, Baritone, is an Atlanta native from Ellenwood, GA. He holds degrees from Simpson College in Indianola, IA (B.M Music Performance) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (M.M Voice Performance). He’s performed with companies around the country such as The Atlanta Opera, Knoxville Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Ad Astra Music Festival, Cedar Rapids Opera and the Georgia Symphony Orchestra.

Jacob is also a passionate advocate for the works of composers from underrepresented groups, especially the work of William Grant Still, whose works Jacob has researched and performed extensively. He is also a composer himself and has enjoyed success in several composition contests around the country.

Jacob Lay
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Whimsy and Joy

Elena Kholodova

Music Director
Instagram: @elenaoperacoach

Elena Kholodova is an internationally recognized Russian-American pianist, vocal coach, recitalist, and educator. She has earned her Master and Doctorate in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Voronezh Institute of Arts and Artist Diploma in Opera Coaching from The College-Conservatory of Music University of Cincinnati. Elena is a winner of International piano competition of Vladimir Krainev in Kharkiv, Ukraine and the holder of the title “Best Accompanist” from The International Rimsky-Korsakov Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia. Elena has served as a coach/pianist at Mariinsky Theater, Opera coach/pianist at the Cincinnati Opera Summer Festival, Sarasota Opera and Tyrol Music Festival. As a collaborative pianist Elena has appeared in substantial numbers of festivals, master-classes and summer programs including Constella Arts, Not So Classical, Spring of Saint-Petersburg Music Festival, White Night Festival at Mariinsky Theater, Festival of Music in Menton, France, Vocal Arts Schmidt Institute, Japan International Festival, and Mikkeli Summer Academy, Sewanee OperaFest. Currently Elena is working as an opera coach/rehearsal pianist at The Atlanta Opera and the Piano Adjunct Professor at The Morehouse College, also she runs her private music studio at East Cobb in Marietta, GA. Elena Kholodova has released the album Not So Classical in collaboration with violinist Tatiana Berman, available on Spotify, AppleMusic. Also she was featured in a number of documentaries as “Making Morning Star”, “Finding Glorie Denied” about musicians and the opera industry.

Elena Kholodova
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Whimsy and Joy

Jimmie Howell, Jr.

Drummer

Jimmie Howell Jr’s Bio Jimmie Howell, Jr is a musician, educator, and an up coming music producer who resides in Fayetteville, GA. He marched in the “Human Jukebox” band of Southern University (Baton Rouge, LA), graduated from Oral Roberts University (ORU) with a B.A. in Music and a M.Div., and completed a non-degree music teacher certification program from GA State University. He teaches elementary general music in the Clayton County Public School System. Jimmie has played drums with various local artists for different events such as The Atlanta Jazz Festival, The Greenwood Jazz Festival (Tulsa, OK), Wednesday Wind Downs, Gospel Showcases, several musicals, and has appeared in 2 movies “Greenland” and The Color Purple Musical. He has performed at The Holland Dance Festival in Amsterdam (African drumming) with the Ballethnic Dance Company. He currently works with The Spivey Hall choirs (located on Clayton State University).

Jimmie Howell, Jr.
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