Leslie Adams News

New York Festival of Song, led by Artistic Director Steven Blier, presents four digital programs in 2022 as part of its free NYFOS@Home Digital Series launched in Fall 2020.

New York Festival of Song, led by Artistic Director Steven Blier, will present four digital programs in 2022 as part of its free NYFOS@Home Digital Series launched in Fall 2020.

Shriver Hall Concert Series has announced two free Discovery Series concerts in February 2022: the Baltimore debut of Yale Gordon Concerto Competition-winner Tianyuan Lin on February 5 and the Baltimore debuts of violist Jordan Bak, mezzo-soprano Megan Moore, and pianist Wynona Wang on February 26.

Shriver Hall Concert Series has announced its 2021-2022 Discovery Series. Created specifically for the community, Discovery Series programs are free performances presented in intimate venues throughout the region that feature talented artists emerging on the national and international music scene in their Baltimore debuts.

Juneteenth celebrations in Saint Louis got off to an early start on Tuesday, June 15. Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, in collaboration with the Missouri Historical Society, presented a gorgeous cornucopia of music—and a bit of slam poetry—in an early-evening performance on the steps of our History Museum in Forest Park. It was called 'I Dream a World'.

Opera Saratoga announced today that AMERICA SINGS, the company's free concert series that was created to amplify the voices of artists from racial groups historically underrepresented on the concert stage, will return to Caffè Lena this month on June 19th for A Juneteenth Celebration, celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.

On Site Opera is bringing music back to the streets of New York City with The Road We Came, a three-neighborhood musical walking tour that explores Black music history, May 1-July 31, 2021, in collaboration with Kenneth Overton, Kevin J. Miller, and Eric K. Washington.

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.

The commissioned composers include: H. Leslie Adams, Clarice Assad, Eugenia Cheng, Tom Cipullo, Andrea Clearfield, Nell Shaw Cohen, Emily Doolittle, Melissa Dunphy, Emerson Eads, Marti Epstein, Kurt Erickson, Evan Fein, Daniel Felsenfeld, Julian Gargiulo, Jodi Goble, Stanley Grill, Daron Hagen, Juliana Hall, Ted Hearne, Felix Jarrar, Jennifer Jolly, Joseph Jones, James Kallembach, Lori Laitman, Libby Larsen, Cecilia Livingston, Gilda Lyons, James Matheson, Bess McCrary, Reinaldo Moya, Eric Pazdziora, Kala Pierson, James Primosch, Matthew Recio, Jessica Rudman, Kamala Sankaram, Myron Silberstein, Lauren Spavelko, Gylchris Sprauve, Dennis Tobenski, Jennifer Wang, Scott Wheeler, Philip Wharton, Ed Windels, and Lorna Young Wright.

The choice for Cohens's associate artist was a stroke of genius.

Mar 13 and 14, San Francisco Opera presents Wagner’s Die Walküre. Chief god Wotan fathers the hero Siegmund to regain control of the ring. But, when confronted with the futility of his dream, Wotan is forced to forsake not only his son but also his beloved daughter, the warrior-maiden Brünnhilde. Wagner’s opera has English supertitles. 

Today, baritone Will Liverman has released Dreams of a New Day: Songs by Black Composers with pianist Paul Sánchez on Cedille Records. Liverman says, “Right now, it is more important than ever to celebrate the contributions of Black composers, and I’m honored to give voice to the art songs on this album.'

LA Opera will present the first episode of its newly revived After Hours recital series with a program entitled 'Black Love' on Saturday, February 13, at 5pm (PST).

Inspired by her own mixed-race heritage and career-long engagement with diverse musical traditions, pianist Lara Downes creates and curates a new digital recording venture, Rising Sun Music, that sheds a bright light on the music and stories of Black composers over the past 200 years.

On Friday, February 12, 2021, baritone Will Liverman releases Dreams of a New Day: Songs by Black Composers with pianist Paul Sánchez on Cedille Records.

Join Brandie Sutton and Damien Sneed for a virtual concert highlighting American Masters on Friday, January 29 at 8pm.  This intimate virtual performance of voice and piano will explore the works of George Gershwin, Leslie Adams, Undine Smith Moore, Duke Ellington and more. 

Today, The Cleveland Orchestra announced details of its 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. In the Orchestra’s 41st year of offering music to celebrate and reflect on the life and legacy of Dr. King, it will provide a variety of ways for guests to honor him in the safety of their homes from January 14 through early February.

World-renowned soprano Janinah Burnett will step into the spotlight with the release of her new album, Love the Color of Your Butterfly.

Award-winning pianist David Korevaar and acclaimed violinist Charles Wetherbee will present “American Tales,” their latest virtual recital from the University of Colorado Boulder's Grusin Hall on Friday, November 20, at 7:30pm Mountain Time. The program, including commentary on the music by the artists, will be live streamed at https://youtu.be/QvI0ozHArAA​​​​​​​.

Los Angeles Opera has a new a?oeLiving Room Recitala?? with mezzo-sopranno Taylor Raven sings with three different pianists, Jeremy Frank, Nino Sanikidze, and Brendon Shapiro. She sings two songs from Hector Berlioza??s Les Nuits da??Étè, four songs from Xavier Montsalvatgea??s Cinco Canciones Negras, and other delightful pieces.