Singer

This brilliantly curated program featuring music by both African and American composers, strikingly represents vocal works of the past and present. Each song reflects the beauty, humility, passion and power of each Queen being celebrated. The evening centers eight new songs written for Karen by some of today’s most acclaimed composers—Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, Jessie Montgomery, Shawn Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Carlos Simon, and Joel Thompson with text by Lorene Cary, Alicia Haymer, Tsitsi Ella Jaji, Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton and Creative Collaborator for the African Queens project Jay Saint Flono.

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African Queens: A Recital by Karen Slack soprano and Kevin Miller piano

Aspen Meadows Resort

NYO2 is "a superbly talented youth orchestra" (New York Classical Review) that shows “a bright future for classical music” (Musical America). Conducted by Teddy Abrams—and featuring principal players from several of the nation’s top orchestras as soloists—they perform some of the concert repertoire’s most beloved works. In addition to Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, and Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite, the program includes a Carnegie Hall co-commissioned world premiere by Emmy Award–winning composer Jasmine Barnes. 

NYO2 in Dallas, Texas

Meyerson Symphony Center

World Orchestra Week (WOW!) kicks off with a performance by NYO2—Carnegie Hall’s national youth orchestra for younger teens, called “superbly talented” (New York Classical Review) and “a bright future for classical music” (Musical America). Conducted by Teddy Abrams—and featuring principal players from several of the nation’s top orchestras as soloists—they perform some of the concert repertoire’s most beloved works. In addition to Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, and Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite, the program includes a Carnegie Hall co-commissioned world premiere by Emmy Award–winning composer Jasmine Barnes, who has been commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, and many more.

NYO2

Carnegie Hall

The 2023/24 Season of MusicNOW illuminates works by a dynamic collective of Black composers, the Blacknificent 7. Jasmine Barnes performs a work by Dave Ragland, and Damien Geter joins Barnes for her world premiere. From Thompson’s In Response to the Madness, which explores the composer’s angst in response to the chaos found today around the world, to Ragland’s Eight Tones for Elijah — a loving tribute to young violinist Elijah McCain who was killed by the police on his walk home — the program surveys current social themes. Also featured are works by Chicago’s own Shawn Okpebholo and Damien Geter. Nimble and accomplished improvisers, CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery and Carlos Simon perform of-the-moment interludes, woven between the other works on the program.

Montgomery and the Blacknificent 7

Symphony Center

Karen Slack, the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence winner and a featured soloist from The Jonah People, is one of today’s most celebrated sopranos. Widely admired for her voice of extreme beauty and dramatic depth, she returns to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center with her latest work, African Queens. This performance features new music written specifically for her by both African and American composers, each song reflecting the beauty, humility, passion, and power of a different queen. The program includes works by Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, Jessie Montgomery, Shawn Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Carlos Simon, and Joel Thompson, with texts by Lorene Cary, Alicia Haymer, Tsitsi Ella Jaji, Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton, and Creative Collaborator Jay Saint Flono. Presented without the Nashville Symphony, this concert promises a rich tapestry of musical and narrative elements that celebrate the legacy and influence of African queens through a contemporary lens.

African Queens – Karen Slack

Nashville Symphony Schermerhorn Symphony Center

Lawrence Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a singer on the world's top stages, and as a voice for activism and diversity in the industry. Captivating audiences and critics around the globe, he has been hailed as “an international star in the bel canto operatic repertory” (The New York Times), “one of the world’s leading bel canto stars” (The Guardian), and “one of the most in-demand opera singers in the world today” (NPR).

Great Artists Series '25: Lawrence Brownlee, tenor

560 Music Center

Experience an evening of musical brilliance with the Nashville Symphony under the baton of Anthony Parnther, making his Classical subscription debut. This concert features a compelling program that highlights both contemporary and classical works, celebrating diverse voices and historical significance. Joan Huang's Tu-Jia Dance opens the evening, a piece that masterfully blends Chinese folk music with Western compositional techniques, evoking the vibrant and rhythmic dance traditions of the Tujia people from western Hunan. Following this, Jasmine Barnes' Four Winds Concertante showcases the talents of Principal Oboe Titus Underwood alongside three principal players from other leading U.S. orchestras, creating a rich tapestry of sound that explores the dynamic interplay between the instruments.

The program culminates with Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5, also known as the Reformation Symphony. This seminal work, written in honor of the Protestant Reformation, is renowned for its incorporation of the Lutheran chorale A Mighty Fortress is Our God, reflecting Mendelssohn's deep admiration for Bach and his devout faith. The evening promises a journey through diverse musical landscapes, from the cultural depths of Chinese folk traditions to the profound spiritual reflections of Mendelssohn's symphonic masterpiece.

Jasmine Barnes

Soprano

Events

Upcoming events

Mar 16, 2025

African Queens – Karen Slack · Nashville Symphony

Mar 23, 2025

Great Artists Series '25: Lawrence Brownlee, tenor · Washington University in St. Louis Department of Music

11 - 12 Apr, 2025

Mendelssohn's Fifth · Nashville Symphony

May 16, 2025

Paul Robeson: Here I Stand · Oakland Symphony

Past events

Aug 7, 2024

African Queens: A Recital by Karen Slack soprano and Kevin Miller piano · Aspen Music Festival

Aug 6, 2024

NYO2 in Dallas, Texas · Dallas Symphony Orchestra

About

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