LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING: Black Opera Singers Raise Their Voices in Remembrance and Triumph

Screenshot from Nicole Heaston's Purple Robe Song Series Part II - "Lift Every Voice and Sing"

Prof. Darryl Taylor, countertenor, recently participated in soprano Nicole Heaston’s Purple Robe Song Series. The Juneteenth tribute features 65 of the nation’s top operatic talents, singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing!” arranged by Roland Carter.

The song was written by James Weldon Johnson and was first performed by 500 school children to celebrate President Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12, 1900, in Jacksonville, FL. The poem was set to music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson, and soon adopted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as its official song.

Soprano 1
Nicole Heaston
Angela Brown
Kearstin Piper Brown
Janai Brugger
Anita Johnson
NaGuanda Nobles
Dara Rahming
Elisabeth Stevens
Brandie Inez Sutton
Marsha Thompson
Cherisse Williams

Soprano 2
Meroë Khalia Adeeb
Denise Nicole Battle
Hope Briggs
Lisa Gwyn Daltirus
Adrienne Danrich
Tiffany Jackson
Michelle Johnson
Laquita Mitchell
Aundi Marie Moore
Karen Slack
Indra Thomas
Cherissia Williams

Alto 1
J’Nai Bridges
Raehann Bryce-Davis
John Holiday
Briana Hunter
Jonita Lattimore
Latonia Moore
Key’mon Murrah
Krysty Swann
Melody Wilson

Alto 2
Lucia Bradford
Patrice P. Eaton
Leah Hawkins
Samantha McElhaney
Lori-Kaye Miller
Marietta Simpson
Darryl Taylor
Tichina Vaughn

Tenor 1
Lawrence Brownlee
Dorian L. Dillard II
Limmie Pulliam
Issachah Savage
George Shirley

Tenor 2
Cornelius Johnson
Patrick D. McCoy
Kay’mon Murrah

Bass 1
Justin Michael Austin
Mark Steven Doss
Brian Fenderson
Brian Major
Sidney Outlaw
Kenneth Overton
Reginald Smith Jr.
Jorell Williams

Bass 2
Donnie Ray Albert
Gordon Hawkins
Kenneth Kellogg
Nicholas Newton
Morris Robinson
Kevin Short
Robert Sims
Michael Sumuel
Kevin Thompson

Conductor: Damien L. Sneed

Pianist: Kevin J. Miller

Posted Date: 
Thursday, June 18, 2020