Howard Watkins News

Public media producer GBH presents Greenwood Overcomes, a special two-hour radio broadcast of the Tulsa Opera's 2021 concert commemorating the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

San Francisco's acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, has announced its 2022 season, welcoming the largest class of artists in company history. Selected from more than 1,300 international applicants, this year's class is made up of 31 artists coming from as far away as China, Costa Rica, South Korea, Taiwan, and Uzbekistan, as well as across the United States and Canada.

McCarter continues the season with a jam-packed lineup of music, theater, dance, and family programming.

Sparks & Wiry Cries (Sparks), led by Co-Founders and Directors Martha Guth and Erika Switzer, will now present its 2022 songSLAM Festival from January 13 to 15, 2022, entirely virtually, due to rising Covid case numbers in the area.

American Composers Orchestra continues its 2021-2022 season, under the leadership of Artistic Director Derek Bermel and President Melissa Ngan, with new and ongoing partnerships with the Apollo, National Black Theatre, and Carnegie Hall in spring 2022.

The Apollo announced today details of its Winter/Spring 2022 season, with an array of free and ticketed programming in-person at the Apollo's historic theater and online on the Apollo's Digital Stage.

​​​​​​​Sparks & Wiry Cries (Sparks), led by Co-Founders and Directors Martha Guth and Erika Switzer, presents its 2022 songSLAM Festival featuring virtual and live performances from January 13 to 15, 2022 at the Blue Building (222 E 46th St) in New York City, including four live world premieres, a hybrid version of the popular songSLAM competition, and an all-virtual recital.

The Savannah VOICE Festival announces the virtual streaming of six episodes highlighting performances from Season Nine, “LIVE” which took place in Savannah during August 2021.

LA Opera's Digital Shorts initiative, which pairs today's most exciting composers with acclaimed filmmakers, continues this season with a series of new short films that tackle themes of confinement, social justice and isolation.

Audiences can look forward to educational intensives taught by Metropolitan Opera Assistant Conductor and VOICE Faculty member Howard Watkins on Tuesday, August 10 and Metropolitan Opera Director Fabrizio Melano on Wednesday, August 11.

Amazon offers its support for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the music and arts community with a sponsorship of Merola Opera Program's What the Heart Desires recital featuring works by women and people of color, as well as two master classes by world renowned artists.

For the 15th consecutive year, VOICExperience Foundation (VE) founded by acclaimed operatic baritone Sherrill Milnes and soprano Maria Zouves, will offer their annual 'Opera Idol' master class competition. Traditionally taking place in the Chicago area, this annual event will take place virtually on Tuesday, June 1 at 7 p.m. EST, due to COVID-19 restrictions.

LA Opera is launching a new Signature Recital Series to showcase world-class artists in intimate online performances. Tenor Russell Thomas launches the series on April 9, with subsequent recitals featuring mezzo-soprano J'nai Bridges, soprano Christine Goerke, soprano Julia Bullock and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham.

Due to high demand, Tulsa Opera has announced a second performance of Greenwood Overcomes featuring a program of works by 23 living Black composers performed by eight Black artists to commemorate the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The performances will be Saturday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. CT and Sunday, May 2 at 2:30 p.m. CT at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.

Savannah VOICE Festival has announced the expansion of its Board of Directors to include three new, distinctly talented members--Michael Ching, Jorge Parodi and Howard Watkins. Michael Ching is the Composer in Residence for the Savannah VOICE Festival.

LA Opera is launching a new Signature Recital Series to showcase world-class artists in intimate online performances. Tenor Russell Thomas launches the series on April 9.

Los Angeles Opera’s digital short film, Death, is Nadia Hallgren’s nine-minute creative take on Paul Laurence Dunbar’s turn-of-the 20th century poem, entitled Death. Two crows in seemingly choreographed flight introduce scenes with myriad black birds circling the edge of a leafless forest.

LA Opera's newest digital short film, Death, unites the striking visuals of celebrated filmmaker Nadia Hallgren, the Emmy-nominated director of the Michelle Obama documentary Becoming, with the intriguing harmonies of composer Tyshawn Sorey, a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship.

LA Opera's newest Digital Short is now online: Death, created by composer Tyshawn Sorey, a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship ('Genius Grant'), and filmmaker Nadia Hallgren, the Emmy-nominated director of the Michelle Obama documentary Becoming. 

Beginning February 19, LA Opera presents the online world premiere of Death, a new Digital Short showcasing the music of one of the most celebrated composers of our time, Tyshawn Sorey.