Queens Theatre in the Park (QTP) presents 3 Mo' Divas, on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 8pm at Queens College in Colden Auditorium, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY. Tickets are $40 and $38 and are available through the Colden Auditorium Box Office at 718-793-8080. Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey is the series media sponsor.
3 Mo' Divas breaks musical barriers by delivering 10 styles spanning 200 years of music in one concert. Variety wrote that 3 Mo' Divas offers "...an unparalleled collection of voices and material." Classically-trained singers and sassy performers, 3 Mo' Divas sing opera to
Tina Turner with class and style. 3 Mo' Divas: A New Concert Smashing Musical Barriers is an evening of entertainment wrapped around the concept that a concert can have several genres and with each song embodying its musical type; jazz should sound like jazz and opera should sound like opera. The concert delivers stupefying, genre jumping feats including opera, Broadway, movie-music, jazz, blues, soul, R&B, rock and roll, spiritual and gospel. 3 Mo' Divas is comprised of mezzo-soprano
Laurice Lanier, and sopranos
Jamet Pittman and
Nova Y. Payton. The group is directed musically by
Annastasia Victory.
Annastasia Victory (Musical Director) is an accomplished musical director, pianist, singer and composer. She's known for her amazing ability to play multiple styles of music proficiently.
Annastasia's touring credits include: Musical Director for 3 Mo' Divas and The Wiz, Assistant Musical Director on a North-American Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar starring
Ted Neeley, of the motion picture of Jesus Christ Superstar and
Corey Glover, lead singer of the two-time Grammy winning band Living Colour. Her Broadway credits include Jersey Boys and The Color Purple. She served as the musical director of JJEV Gospel Choir for Middle Collegiate Church in Manhattan, NY. She attended The Juilliard School of Music, LaGuardia School of Performing Arts,
Lucy Moses School of Music, Moscow Music Conservatory of Tchaickovskyand most recentlySchool of Sound and Audio Engineering (SAE). Annastasia was nominated as a top finalist inThe Markievicz Gold Medal Composition Competition in Ireland for her original musical score. She was the composer for the off Broadway show called Honey Bee Tales. Annastasia is known as the voice for the Pop/Rock/Reggae band called AñaVañA, signed to Australian based, Zip Records. Her music has been featured on MTV's reality show "Made." Annastasia was nominated amongst the top songwriters in The Billboard Songwriting Competition for 2003 and 2004 for her music works. She is currently working on a solo album soon to be released.
Laurice Lanier (Mezzo-Soprano) is originally from Jackson, TN, and is a graduate of the Juilliard School. Her strong vocal training comes from the incomparable, Edith Bers. Laurice has been named by Maryland Public Television, One of the Most Versatile Voices in the Planet. She has performed various roles in Opera Houses, Theatres, Concerts Halls, Private Functions, and Churches throughout the United States and abroad. Her performances include, Handel's Messiah with the Metropolitan Baptist Church, Washington, D.C., Brahm's Alto Rhapsody, El Amor Brujo, with the Jackson Symphony Orchesta, Jackson, TN, and a Spiritual Concert Series with Gaby Leib Cuturais Sao Paulo, Brazil, Rio di Janeiro, Brazil, and the Capitol, Brasilia. Laurice presented a concert for Sigma Gamma Rho's National Convention in Miami Florida. She has performed in
Carnegie Hall as a
Leontyne Price Showcase Winner, New York, NY, Bach Christmas Oratorio with the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, TN, Holiday Pops Concert with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra in Springfield, IL, and the Black History Opera View with Opera Memphis, Memphis, TN. Laurice has also performed with the
Nashville Symphony Orchestra for their
Martin Luther King Celebration at the Nashville Performing Arts Center in Nashville, TN. She opened TN's General Assembly with a performance of America the Beautiful on Tennessee's Capitol Hill. Laurice performed for the Hampton Ministers', Organists', and Choir Guild Conference at Hampton University in Hampton, VA. Laurice has been awarded various awards. Her awards include, Outstanding Musician Award from the Interlochen Arts Camp, Interlochen, MI and the Most Outstanding Musician Award from Hartwick College Summer Music Festival & Institute, Oneonta, NY. Laurice received scholarships to attend Opera Works Intensive Study at University of California at Northridge, and the Music Academy of the West under the direction of Opera Diva,
Marilyn Horne, in Santa Barbara, CA. Director
Baz Luhrmann selected Laurice for the cast of the Broadway production of Puccini's La Boheme. Laurice was selected out of three thousand singers to represent the state of New York in the Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition in Vienna, Austria. She was one out of fourteen singers to make it to the finals and perform in Vienna's beautiful and elegant city hall.
Nova Y. Payton (Soprano) is delighted to grace the stage with the other women of 3 Mo' Divas. A native of Washington, DC, this breathtaking songstress is known for her vibrant performances, stretching the vocal boundaries of Classical, R&B, Jazz and today's Neo-soul. As a child, Nova discovered her zeal for music, dance and theater as she experienced the dynamic musical gift of her mother's voice, singing in
Leon Roberts and Roberts' Revival. More specifically, at the age of 12, Nova became a member of Roberts' Revival and began to credit her versatility to one of her first musical influences in piano and singing, the late Leon C. Roberts. Payton later went on to study at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. At AMDA, her vocal abilities were broadened to Classical music, where she studied under Donna Reid, followed by tutelage under Derek W. Campbell. Nova has been very active in her home church at St. Martin's Catholic Church of Washington, DC. She is the favored director of the children's choir and the creator of her own ensemble, Favour. Nova's full-scale tour has included stops in over 150 major cities across the U.S., as well as Canada, Saudi Arabia and Australia. She has been seen performing in: Leiber and Stoller's Smokey Joe's Café as B.J.; Ain't Misbehavin' as Nell; Black Nativity;
Malik Yoba's Acoustic Chocolate; 8-Track-The Sounds of the '70s; J's Jook Joint; and starred in a soul-stirring rendition of Effie White in Dreamgirls, which garnered her the nomination for a 2006 Barrymore Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. Nova's unforced passion has given her the opportunity to work with an array of A-list artists such as
Stevie Wonder, Ashford & Simpson, Yolanda Adams, Karen Clark-Sheard, IMX,
Hezekiah Walker,
FrEddie Jackson, Will Downing and others. She is currently working with
Roberta Flack as a background singer, where she is being featured on Ms. Flack's upcoming CD entitled, "
Roberta Flack Presents Real Artists Symposium". Nova's other highlights include her recent honored selection to be the voice behind the recording for the National Council of Negro Women, singing the words to
Mary McLeod Bethune's Legacy; the diligent choreography of St. Martin's choirs' debut CD, "Have Faith"; her own recording, "Christmas in Harmony, Vol. I"; and most recent, her up and coming LP, which shows her vocal expertise in songs colored with a mixture of R&B, Pop, Inspiration and Jazz.
Jamet Pittman (Soprano) is a native of Washington, DC. She majored in Piano Performance at Oberlin Conservatory, but changed majors after she saw her first opera there. She later received a Master of Music degree (Vocal Performance, Opera Concentration) from the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at the Catholic University of America. At the tender age of 23, she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions for the Washington area (Northeast Region). One of the judges took notice and invited her to study at the Manhattan School of Music. She performed in the American premiere of the Czech opera The Two Widows. In 1998, Jamet made her
Carnegie Hall debut with a performance of Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream under the direction of Sir Neville Marriner. Most recently, Ms. Pittman performed at
Carnegie Hall in Bach's B-Minor Mass and Handel's Messiah with Musica Sacra. She has sung with the NY Choral Artists at Avery Fisher Hall with the NY Philharmonic under the baton of such Maestri as Loren Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, et al. Jamet was asked to sing the role of Bess in the Porgy and Bess Suite with the Washington Army Band and Chorus at the Gershwin Centennial Birthday Celebration with the world's leading Porgy,
Alvy Powell. Later, she would be part of the first American broadcast of Porgy and Bess in a "Live from Lincoln Center" telecast with New York City Opera. Additionally, Jamet performed in
Baz Luhrmann's production of La Boheme on Broadway. Jamet has performed in several musical
Theater Productions, including Carousel and Master Class. Jamet has sung and recorded with several professional ensembles, including the Baltimore/Washington Repertory Opera, the Opera Company of Brooklyn, New York Choral Artists, Clarion Music Society, and St. Ignatius Loyola Choir. Ms. Pittman is an original cast member of 3 Mo' Divas.
Tickets are available:
* By phone at 718-793-8080
* Orchestra $40; Mezzanine $38
* Multi-Show, Senior Discount, Student Discount Orchestra $38
The Colden Auditorium is located at Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY.
About Queens Theatre in the Park
Queens Theatre in the Park is committed to presenting performing arts that provide audiences with the highest quality work. QTP also produces new plays, with a concentration on up-and-coming directors and playwrights. QTP has broadened the experience of its core audience to include works by under-recognized artists from around the world and works that tap into the diverse communities of Queens.
Queens Theatre in the Park events are made possible with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information, visit
www.queenstheatre.org.
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