Concert “Following the North Star: Songs of Freedom and Protest”
An exploration of the power of song in times of personal and social change.
With live music by DuPree & Barry Kornhauser.
About the Speaker
Dr. Carolyn Sebron is currently an adjunct assistant professor at Medgar Evers College (CUNY). She has served on the faculty at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY) and Southern University, A&M College. Her current activities include working to preserve the archives of Opera Ebony. She maintains a private voice studio in New York City and continues research on voice-related topics. Before transitioning to academia, Dr. Sebron worked with companies nationally and internationally, appearing in title roles at L’Arena di Verona, Rome, Bologna, Venice, Seoul, Glasgow, the DeutscheOper in Berlin, Barcelona, and opposite Placido Domingo in Samson et Dalila at Teatro Real in Madrid. Before performing with major opera companies, she was featured as Frankie in Carmen Jones, presented at the historic Old Vic in London’s West End. She has also appeared with local New York groups, including Dance Theatre of Harlem, Bronx Opera, Opera Ebony, and Harlem Opera Theater.
Presider, Kim D. Brandon is a poet, novelist, artist, activist, and storyteller. A proud mother and lifelong New Yorker, she writes and performs inspirational, culturally resonant stories that uplift and inspire. Her work has appeared in anthologies, stage productions, online journals, and public readings. She is a 2021 Brooklyn Poets’ Poet of the Week, a VONA alum, and her poem Love On The Front Line was nominated for Best of the Net in 2021. Kim is the founder of Wild Honey Writers Collective and is deeply involved in writing communities that center women of color and justice-driven storytelling. Follow her at Kimbrandon.com.
About the Musicians
DuPrée, perhaps best known as one of the lead vocalists of Casselberry, DuPrée, brings to her audience a rich legacy of musical genres. Drawing on a background of gospel, folk, and country music, her songs encompass a downhome spirituality, coupled with a deep appreciation for the Gullah narrative, a bridge to her African roots. Add some reggae and blues, mix with a generous helping of social commentary, and you begin to understand the wealth of this singer/songwriter. DuPrée’s soaring contralto voice, powerful vibrato, and melodious yodeling grip the listener with hope for humanity; her songs evoke a haunting longing for truth and an inquiry into the different shades of justice.
Barry Kornhauser was born in the Bronx and presently lives in Brooklyn. He is a composer, arranger, teacher, and multi-instrumentalist (cello, guitar, bass guitar, and mandola) in a wide variety of musical environments. He has performed on stages ranging from Merkin Hall and NJPAC to the Bronx Zoo and Hippo Playground. From Saint John the Divine and Trinity Church to Sing Sing Prison and Creedmoor. He has collaborated with DuPrée as an accompanist since the early 90s.
Time: 12:30 pm EST
Free!
