Vy Higginsen

Mama, I Want to Sing! 40th Anniversary Revival Receives Seven Audelco Award Nominations. Harlem's Audelco Awards to honor the acclaimed revival at their 51st Annual Awards.

The 40th Anniversary production of Mama, I Want To Sing! will play El Museo's El Teatro for a special Black History Month limited engagement, it was announced by Vy Higginsen, founder and executive director and producer of The Mama Foundation for the Arts.

Continuing a tradition in its 37th year that has evolved into the largest such gathering in New York City, BAM will host the annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 16, 2023, at 10:30am in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House.

The Big Mix - Juneteenth will play June 16 to 19 at 8:00 p.m., hosted by Tony and Grammy Award nominee Joshua Henry (Into the Woods, Waitress, Carousel). With performances from Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins ('All My Children,' Mother Courage and Her Children, Holler If Ya Hear Me), and more.

Little Island, New York City’s new public park in Hudson River Park by W. 13th Street, announced today the complete casting for The Big Mix, a three-week, three-holiday, one-of-a-kind performance party. Get the scoop on who's performing and how to attend!

Little Island, New York City’s new public park in Hudson River Park by W. 13th Street, announced today the 2022 line-up of ticketed events in The Amph, just days ahead of their one-year anniversary.

Jazzmobile's community concert “Keep The Music Playing” is back with nearly 60 stellar Jazz musicians who are donating their performance to support Jazzmobile, and its performance & education programs!

Work Light Productions and Mama Foundation for the Arts are partnering on a new program called 'Backstage' that will recruit, train, and employ BIPOC talent in multiple departments of Work Light's theatrical operation

The Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, the arts center of the Archdiocese of New York, has announced highlights of its 2020 Spring season, a rich mix of theater, film, music, author's nights, gallery exhibitions, and talk events featuring artists and thought leaders including Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street Journal columnist and author Peggy Noonan; New York Times columnist and bestselling author David Brooks, and Director of The Philanthropy Roundtable's Character Initiative and author Anne Snyder; Director of the Vatican Observatory and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation Br. Guy Consolmagno, SJ; a rousing evening of gospel music from Vy Higginsen's Sing Harlem choir; celebrated composer and big bandleader Darcy James Argue plus the New England Conservatory Alumni Big Band; Tony Award nominee Melissa Errico and multi-award winning New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik; singer, songwriter, and acclaimed clawhammer banjo player Abigail Washburn and genre-bending composer, guzheng virtuoso and vocalist from Beijing Wu Fei; and events tackling thought-provoking topical themes including justice in underserved communities, the protection of immigrants to America, and the inspiration of Sr. Thea Bowman and other Servants of God.

The Mama Foundation for the Arts announces open auditions for all roles in the upcoming performances of Mama, I Want to Sing, the classic gospel musical created by Vy Higginsen and Ken Wydro.  Auditions will take place on Saturday, September 28th (for those who sign up between 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm) at The Mama Foundation for the Arts, located at 149 West 126th Street (between 7th and Lenox Avenue). All roles are open; the leads are African American women in their ages 18 - 60; African American men ages 20s a?" 60; and ensemble soloists and chorus members of all ages and ethnicities.

Mama, I Want to Sing, the classic gospel musical created by Vy Higginsen and Ken Wydro, will celebrate a special 35th anniversary season this fall. Having been performed locally in Harlem, New York; as well as nationally and internationally for over three decades, Mama, I Want to Sing proudly returns to the theatre where it began, The Heckscher Theatre, now known as El Teatro of El Museo del Barrio, located at 1230 5th Avenue (at 104th Street).

Storytelling nonprofit The Moth – the force behind the Peabody Award-winning public radio show, The Moth Radio Hour, and the ultra-popular eponymous podcast, which is downloaded 70 million times a year – hosted The Moth Pop-Up Story Pitch Event on Saturday, August 17th as part of Harlem Week's “Summer in the City” celebration.

RoAnn Destito, Commissioner, New York State Office of General Services (OGS) today announced the lineup for New York State's Summer Stage in Harlem 2019 series of free concerts that will be presented from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building at 163 West 125th Street in Harlem.

The Shed, New York City's new arts center dedicated to commissioning, develops, and presents original works of art, across all disciplines, for all audiences, will open to the public on April 5 with the world premiere of Soundtrack of America. The five-night concert series, conceived and directed by Steve McQueen with a creative team led by Quincy Jones and Maureen Mahon, celebrates the unrivaled impact of African American music on contemporary culture with performances by a new generation of artists. A free live stream of the April 5 concert will be available on The Shed's website, TheShed.org, and its social media channels.

The Mama Foundation for the Arts proudly announces the return productions of two acclaimed musicals: ALIVE! 55+ and Kickin' and Let the Music Play... Gospel! From the creators of Mama, I Want to Sing - the worldwide musical sensation - the two hit shows, back by popular demand, will run for six weeks only; performances begin on October 13, 2018 at The Dempsey Theater in Harlem.

The Mama Foundation for the Arts proudly announces the return productions of two acclaimed musicals: ALIVE! 55+ and Kickin' and Let the Music Play... Gospel! From the creators of Mama, I Want to Sing - the worldwide musical sensation - the two hit shows, back by popular demand, will run for six weeks only; performances begin on October 13, 2018 at The Dempsey Theater in Harlem.

The Mama Foundation for the Arts proudly announces the brand new production of their acclaimed musical, Let the Music Play... Gospel! From the creators of Mama, I Want To Sing! - the worldwide musical sensation - Let the Music Play... Gospel! is a musical celebration of a generation, featuring an intergenerational company of performers comprised of both younger and older adults; at The Dempsey Theater in Harlem (127 West 127th Street, between Lenox and Seventh Avenues). After a long running hit engagement in 1988, the joyous concert musical returns 30 years later, for an energized remounting; performances begin on April 7, 2018.

Beginning this month, Carnegie Hall presents The '60s: The Years that Changed America, a citywide festival from January 14-March 24, 2018, featuring an expansive array of events to be presented at Carnegie Hall and at more than 35 leading partner cultural institutions throughout New York City and beyond. This special exploration of the '60s invites audiences to explore this turbulent decade through the lens of arts and culture, including music's role as a meaningful vehicle to inspire social change.

The flare and pageantry of 20 drummers from the Brooklyn United Marching Band, and an electric performance by Vy Higginsen's Sing Harlem Choir, will open this year's Kwanzaa Celebration. Artistic Director of Yaffa Cultural Arts Dr. Linda H. Humes will take visitors through the core principles of Kwanzaa, followed by gospel-infused tunes from a cappella legends The Persuasions.

On Sunday, January 14 at 3pm, the Apollo Theater and WNYC are partnering for the fifth year to present WNYC's 12th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration, 50 Years After MLK: A Dream Deferred, as part of the Apollo's Uptown Hall series.