Print Issue: January 23, 2003

Concert To Celebrate African-American Artists

By Priscilla Greear, Staff Writer

ATLANTA-St. Paul of the Cross Church and the archdiocesan Office for Black Catholic Ministry will present "My Tribute: A Musical Celebration of African-American Artists" on Friday, Feb. 21.

The concert by soprano Sabrina Coleman Clark and pianist Mark Husey will be held at 8 p.m. at the church, 551 Harwell Road, NW.

It will include the Atlanta premier of Lee Hoiby's setting of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, poetic texts of Langston Hughes, and works of Margaret Bonds, Harry T. Burleigh and others.

Husey, music director at St. Paul of the Cross, hopes the concert, in observance of Black History Month, will reflect to the Atlanta community the wealth of music in the black church tradition, the African American experience and their significant contributions to American culture.

"This concert is a really special opportunity for all Atlantans to enjoy. As all Americans we can celebrate Black History Month by celebrating the poetic, musical and oratorical contributions of African Americans to American culture," he said.

Coleman Clark is a soloist in opera, oratorio and as a recitalist throughout North America. She performs in the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area with several churches, synagogues, the DaCamera Singers, the Municipal Opera Company of Baltimore, the Handel Choir of Baltimore and the Baltimore Opera Company. She will be featured in the Baltimore Opera Company's "Tribute to Marian Anderson" concerts and will make solo appearances with First Evangelical Lutheran Church Choir and Orchestra's performances of Haydn's "Mass in Time of War" and a Bach soprano solo cantata.

Having received accolades for her interpretation of the African-American musical idiom, she was heard in Wales, France and England as a featured soloist with Cor Cymraeg Rehobeth, a Welsh choir based in Delta, Pa., during their 1998 Celtic Tour. She is the recipient of numerous awards in vocal competitions, including the Leontyne Price, the St. Cecilia Society of Baltimore and the Dicapo Opera Theater of Manhattan.

Husey is a conductor, organist, harpsichordist and tenor. A graduate of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J., he is a candidate for the master of arts in pastoral liturgy and music from St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind. He was awarded first prize in the 1991 Music Teachers' National Association Competition in Miami and in the 1994 American Guild of Organists Young Artist Competition for Baltimore-Washington. He served as accompanist to the Westminster Choir under Joseph Flummerfelt in Spoleto Festivals in the United States and Italy in 1993. He received critical acclaim in The Washington Post for performances as accompanist of Argento's "Peter Quince at the Clavier" with the Alexandria Choral Society in 1994, under the direction of Kerry Krebill. He performed as accompanist to Cantors Faith Steinsnyder and David Perper in Cantors Assembly conventions at Kutscher's Resort and Carnegie Hall. He has served as continuo player with the Columbia Pro Cantare, Columbia, Md., the National Chamber Orchestra, Rockville, Md., and currently with New Trinity Baroque of Atlanta.

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. To pre-register, mail checks payable to St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church to 551 Harwell Road, NW, Atlanta, GA 30318. Reserved tickets can be picked up at the door. For information call (404) 696-6704.